24
Letters from Boweryem
Submissionist to a friend of his, in an Ala-
bama ball-room, when the exasperated Souther-
ner drew a bowie-knife and made a cut at
his breast, slicing a huge gash in his coat. On
which, I took the liberty of putting a bullet
into his hat said Vitriol junior. There were
a hundred people between us in a minute and
we made it up and shook hands, he added,
telling me also that Dean and Adams patent
was his favorite weapon. I must
have received a letter from Boweryem during
these four first days of January; one which
bears the date of December 27. It has news
of Mc. Elrath s assuming control of the Century
and Stockton becoming editor, mentions that its
writer passed a dull Christmas at the Pha-
lanx, being very coldly received. Not having
made any decided advances it was easy to
withdraw, when I became aware of my mis-
take (in re Mary Bucklin of course.) I
have a warm welcome awaiting me at Fort Lee,
continues Boweryem, and shall go there on New
Year s day. x x The eldest daughter ^|is| char
ming. Half of the letter contains an amusing
domestic burlesque of Secession and Revolution
as appropriate to 132 Bleecker street. I
| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Fifteen: page thirty-one |
| Description: | Regarding a letter received from George Boweryem. |
| Date: | 1861-01-04 |
| Subject: | Boweryem, George; Bucklin, Mary; Century.; Christmas; Firearms; Gunn, Thomas Butler; McElrath; Mitchel, John, Jr.; Stockton |
| Coverage (City/State): | [Charleston, South Carolina]; Alabama |
| Scan Date: | 2010-05-07 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Fifteen |
| Description: | Describes Gunn's experience as a correspondent for ""The New York Evening Post"" in Charleston, South Carolina, in the aftermath of South Carolina's secession from the federal government, including a conflict between A.H. Colt and Mr. Woodward, a visit to Sullivan's Island, John Mitchel's tale of assisting with the lynching of an abolitionist, attending a celebration in honor of Benjamin Mordecai, Will Waud's arrival in Charleston, the scene in Charleston the day the ''Star of the West'' was fired upon by the Morris Island battery, pistol and rifle practice with various Charlestonians, a rumor in New York about his having been tarred and feathered in Charleston, a visit to the quarters of the ''Richland Rifles,'' witnessing a slave auction, and a visit to Colonel Bull's home. |
| Subject: | Boardinghouses; Books and reading; Civil War; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Journalism; Military; Publishers and publishing; Secession; Slavery; Slaves; Travel |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; Charleston, South Carolina |
| Note: | Thomas Butler Gunn was born February 15, 1826, in Banbury, England, and came to New York in 1849. During the Civil War he worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the New York Evening Post. He returned to England in 1863, and died in Birmingham in April 1903. The collection includes twenty-one volumes of his diaries, including newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, sketches, and various other items inserted by Gunn. Diary entries date from July 7, 1849, to April 7, 1863, and include his experiences with the New York publishing and literary world, his descriptions of boarding houses, his travels throughout the United States, and his experiences traveling with the Federal army as a Civil War correspondent. |
| Publisher: | Missouri History Museum |
| Rights: | Copyright 2010 Missouri History Museum. |
| Source: | Page images, transcriptions, and metadata of the Thomas Butler Gunn diaries have been provided by the Missouri History Museum. |
