The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 90, April, 1865: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics

In Short

This issue of The Atlantic Monthly brings together field reporting, Civil War field memoirs, moral essays, serialized fiction, and political poetry from the final months of the American Civil War. Authors chronicle the chaos of the Pennsylvania oil boom, black Union soldiers conducting raids in the South, and the moral grit required in public and religious life. Through vivid travelogues, personal accounts of anti-slavery struggles, and literary humor, the issue captures a nation undergoing dramatic transformation. Its lasting appeal lies in its immediate, unvarnished window into the social, political, and cultural mindsets of mid-nineteenth-century America.

The Story

The volume opens with a lone woman’s daring journey into the heart of the Pennsylvania oil boom. Overcoming warnings of terrible roads and lawless crowds, she reaches Oil Creek, where timber derricks, steam engines, and iron drills sink hundreds of feet into the earth. She observes the technical mechanics of the wells, the wild financial fortunes of flowing strikes yielding thousands of dollars daily, and the tense skirmishes between local miners and visiting sight-seers.

The focus then shifts from physical frontier grit to moral and intellectual resolve. An essayist examines the unyielding nature of "grit" in business and religious history, contrasting weak good-nature with the stern ability to say an implacable "No." The piece traces this stubborn moral courage through figures like John Knox and the Covenanters, who resisted religious imposition with brutal, morose heroism.

Military and expeditionary narratives take center stage next. A Union officer describes landing on the coastal islands of Georgia, reflecting on the tragic desecration of abandoned plantations and tangled tropical gardens. Under cover of darkness, he leads flatboats of black soldiers to surround a Southern town, enforcing strict discipline against plundering while securing lumber, supplies, and quiet military victories. Another traveler journeys far beyond civilized ports to the icy mission stations of Labrador, observing the stark, extreme survival of Christian Esquimaux in frozen climes.

Domestic life and literary history interweave through the issue's midsection. In serialized fiction, small-town New England ministers navigate parish gossip, motherless children, and church repairs, while young women weigh duty against happiness in quiet, rigid households. A seamstress chronicles her transition to small-scale agriculture after leaving her sewing school. Interspersed with these domestic scenes are rich literary recollections of London figures like Theodore Hook, who improvised brilliant satirical verses at dinner tables, and the brilliant, tragic career of Dr. William Maginn.

The collection culminates in intense reflections on the Civil War and the anti-slavery struggle. Dialect poetry gives voice to the profound grief of lost youth, demanding a victory that delivers a saved nation and a freed race. Personal memoirs detail the early persecutions faced by Northern Abolitionists whose homes were wrecked by mobs. The final narrative recounts an encounter with an enslaved man named Jim, whose quiet, desperate longing for freedom turns into a resolute promise of action should arms ever be placed in his hands, closing the issue on a note of impending justice and national renewal.

How It Unfolds

The rush for oil A woman sets off alone for Pennsylvania's remote oil fields despite warnings of impassable mud and lawless speculators. She details the drilling process, from steam engines driving iron pipes to the sudden, lucrative strikes of flowing wells.

The anatomy of grit An essayist explores the necessity of stubborn resolve in business and historical reforms. He highlights how figures like John Knox and the Scotch Covenanters used fierce, uncompromising moral strength to withstand persecution.

Raids on the coast A Union officer lands his force on Georgia plantation islands, mourning the war's destruction of beautiful homes. He leads black Union soldiers on a disciplined night operation, capturing a town without firing a shot or engaging in plunder.

Expeditions to the far north A voyage past Cape Harrison leads to the Moravian mission of Hopedale in Labrador. The narrator observes the unique physical endurance and contented, isolated lives of the local Esquimaux.

Village life and literary lore Scenes of New England clerical life and parish matchmaking alternate with autobiographical tales of a seamstress. Meanwhile, biographical sketches recall the dazzling improvisational wit of Theodore Hook and the mournful downfall of writer William Maginn.

Voices of freedom and war War poems mourn the loss of young lives while calling for a triumphant, meaningful peace. A final memoir details the violent mob attacks against early Abolitionists and records an enslaved man's fierce desire to fight for his own liberation.

The People

• Miselle: An adventurous, independent woman who travels unchaperoned to the Pennsylvania oil fields. Guided by curiosity and sheer nerve, she observes the chaotic oil boom and stays calm even when surrounding trips devolve into brawling.
• Friend Williams: Miselle's practical acquaintance on Oil Creek who hosts her, guides her explorations, and physically defends his companions when confronted by hostile local miners.
• John Knox: The unyielding Scotch reformer highlighted as an exemplar of moral "grit." His blunt, fearless temperament shapes a movement capable of resisting religious tyranny through sheer stubbornness.
• The Union Officer: A thoughtful military leader who commands black Union troops along the Southern coast. He respects the dignity of local inhabitants, deeply regrets the sacrilege of war, and takes immense pride in his men's self-restraint.
• Deacon Tourtelot: A henpecked, pragmatic New England church officer who attempts to gently matchmake for his widowed minister while casually negotiating timber sales for chapel repairs.
• Jim: An enslaved hotel worker who secretly inquires whether Northern Abolitionists are coming to offer redemption, revealing a desperate patience that transforms into a fierce readiness to bear arms.

In Its Own Voice

"A flowing well, struck while Miselle was upon the Creek, yielded fifteen hundred barrels per day, the oil selling at the well for ten dollars and a half the barrel."

— A direct observation of the staggering wealth generated during the early Pennsylvania oil boom.

"I observed with delight the good demeanor of my men towards these forlorn Anglo-Saxons, and towards the more tumultuous women."

— A Union officer reflecting on the exceptional discipline of his black soldiers during a raid.

"'Mossa, could you hab de great kin'ness to come out to de quarters to see Peter?'"

— An enslaved father using a quiet pretext to pull a trusted guest aside and ask about incoming liberation.

What It's Really About

At its core, this collection examines the tension between unyielding personal conviction and a society in upheaval. Whether exploring the fierce moral grit of historic reformers, the discipline of newly freed soldiers, or the quiet defiance of an enslaved man waiting for a gun, the writings investigate what gives human beings the strength to endure transformation. Beneath the varied topoi of oil exploration, literary history, and regional fiction lies an urgent inquiry into freedom, duty, and the price paid to reshape a nation.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in Civil War history, nineteenth-century journalism, and American cultural evolution will find this issue fascinating. It offers an immediate, unfiltered look at a pivotal moment in time—published the very month the Civil War reached its climax. The prose balances light, sharp humor with serious moral reflection, making it surprisingly accessible and engaging.

The primary difficulty for modern readers lies in period-specific conventions. Dialect writing—used both in Northern war poetry and in the dialogue of Southern African Americans—can feel jarring or difficult to parse. Additionally, nineteenth-century racial terminology and subtle period prejudices appear in the travelogues and essays. Yet these elements also preserve the authentic texture of the era. What stays with you is the vivid immediacy of the voices: a woman coolly stepping behind a pine tree to watch a frontier brawl, a officer standing watch on a flatboat deck, and the powerful, quiet yearning for liberation that echoes across its pages.