It is July of 1863. There might be a war on but daily life must continue. Businesses carried on, people went to the store, they strolled through parks and along pathways. Children went to school. Cases were tried in court, police arrested folks for a variety of crimes, people sued others for harm done. On an average day, a man sits down to breakfast at the Barnum Hotel located in Monument Square in Baltimore. Will he have the tongue or ham with his poached or scrambled eggs? Will he perhaps go for the stewed kidneys? Dry toast or corn bread? A wine to settle his stomach? Or coffee to get him set for the day ahead? The paper he most likely is reading is the Baltimore Sun. On this particular day, the headlines are full of the news of the twin victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Closer to home Archbishop Kendrick has passed, funeral plans are under way. Wait what is this? A suspicious steamer is spotted. This would send the shipping city into a frenzy. Rumors are rife even in the pages of the newspaper. Just another day in Baltimore.
Sources: Baltimore Sun July 1863