American Civil War Newspapers

General Burnside Reading A Newspaper Sitting Across From Photojournalist Mathew Brady

Newspapers Published During
The American Civil War

1861-1865

American Civil War Newspapers
Newspaper reporting during the Civil War has come to be recognized not only for it's vigilant reporting of news but also for the important social context it provided. Never before was a war so well reported as was the American Civil War—so fully, promptly, and accurately. The problems confronting the newspapers when the war began were the greatest ever faced by journalists. The size of country to be covered, the number of armies and of widely separated actions, and the still primitive means of communication such as horseback, wagon, railway or from a distant telegraph station. The New York Herald quickly built a great news-gathering organization, with the New York Tribune and the Times of London following as close competitors, while every important paper in the country sent at least one correspondent to Washington or to the front. Harper’s Monthly Magazine, the first of the greater illustrated magazines, was established in 1850 by Harper and Brothers, of New York. Once the Civil War began, Harper's Weekly took a firm Unionist stance with it's 200,000 subscribers and was increasingly supportive of emancipation and black civil rights. Thomas Nast was an illustrator with Harper's and helped develop the Uncle Sam character. Harper's sent Winslow Homer to the front during the American Civil War, where he did sketches of battle scenes and camp life. Although these did not gain him much note at the time, they were to influence much of his later work. Back at his studio after the war, Homer set to work on several war-related paintings. Frank Vizetelly sent sketches of battles directly from the Confederate front-lines to The Illustrated London News, a pioneering publication of nineteen-century picture magazines. By 1863 sales of the magazine had risen to over 300,000 copies a week, far in excess of its nearest rival. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (1855-1922) was the first successful American venture to bring pictures and news together in a weekly. Leslie's career coincided with the rise of photography, a technological achievement that increased the public appetite for pictures. But the camera was little help for publishers during Leslie's life since there was no mechanical way to bring a photograph to the printing press. These artists sketches from the battlefield were sent back to the newspapers where they turned the artist's drawing into wood engravings. The wood engravings were then used to print the images in the newspaper and that's what people saw as the illustrations of war and other events. The newspaper pages below are single pages unless noted. The engravings are absolutely remarkable and the articles are astounding as the story of the war unfolds in words and pictures for the world to see from 1860 through 1865.

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Harper's Weekly January 5, 1861 Cover The Georgia rebellion in Congress	Harper's Weekly Artist 1863 Alfred R. Waud, artist for Harper's Weekly, sketching at Gettysburg							Harper's Weekly January 12, 1861 Pgs. News: Secession and famines in the Southern states, the death of the last survivor of the Battle of Bunker Hill

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Harper's Weekly January 17, 1863 Pgs. 39-42 Centerfold engraving of War In The Border States by Thomas Nast, inside map of The Battle of Prairie Grove, news article on the famine during war in the border states	Harper's Weekly January 19, 1861							Harper's Weekly January 26, 1861 Pgs. 57-58 Engraving of the main battery at Fort Sumter, a magnificent, full page engraving

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Harper's Weekly February 2, 1861 Pgs. 71-74 News: Secession of Louisiana, war and political activities.	Harper's Weekly February 28, 1863 Cover & Pg. 130 Major General Hooker engraving from a Brady photograph, article and story on the next page.							Harper's Weekly February 23, 1861 Pgs. 123-124 Engraving of a map showing Northern and Southern states East of the Rocky Mountains.

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Harper's Weekly March 1, 1862 Pgs. 135-136 The Burnside Expedition, the capture of Fort Henry, engraving of Roanoke Island showing Reb batteries.	Harper's Weekly March 8, 1862 Pgs. 157-158 Engravings of General Curtis, General Garfield and the Execution of The Slave Trader in N.Y.							Harper's Weekly March 9, 1861 Pgs. 151-156 Engravings of General Twiggs and Fort Pickens, news of a death threat on Lincoln.

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Harper's Weekly March 15, 1862 Pgs. 165-166 News: The fight at Fort Donelson, engraving of a Submarine Torpedo	Harper's Weekly March 22, 1862 Cover & Pg. 177 Lieutenant Worden, Commander of the Monitor and the Monitor are the engravings on the cover.							Harper's Weekly April 27, 1861 Pgs. 261-262 Engraving of a map of Charleston Harbor and the Confederate batteries

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Harper's Weekly May 5, 1862 Cover & Pg. 274 Cover: The Heroes Of Pittsburg Landing (includes U.S. Grant)	Harper's Weekly May 24, 1862 Pgs. 333-334 Engravings of Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock, Commodore Goldsborough and Ruins Of The Great Fire in Troy, N.Y.							Harper's Weekly August 29, 1862 Cover & Pg. 498 Cover engraving of the late President, Martin Van Buren News: Gen. McClellan under criticism by General Halleck

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Harper's Weekly August 29, 1863 Cover & Pg. 546 Cover engraving of Rear Admiral David Farragut with article, inside article on the draft and public opinion.	Harper's Weekly October 4, 1862 Pg. 692, Left Side Battle Of Corinth							Harper's Weekly November 1, 1862 Pg. 701, Right Side Battle of Corinth

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Harper's Weekly December 6, 1862 Cover and Pg. 770 Cover engraving of Major General Banks from a Brady photograph. The French propose to mediate the War.	Harper's Weekly March 7, 1863 Pg. 153 Centerfold engraving of the Battle Before Vicksburg by Thomas Nast, article describing the battle is on page 154.							Harper's Weekly April 7, 1860 Pgs. 215-216 News: a pirate held, a slave kills his master, woman gets unexpected ride on a train's cowcatcher, terrible tenement fire in N.Y.C. with illustrations.

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Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper September 8, 1860 Pgs. 240-241 Advertisement for "Barnum's American Museum"				Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper May, 1861 Pgs. 37-38 Engravings of the German Steuben Regiment presenting their flag to Col. John Bendix before they went off to war.	Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper February 9, 1861 Pgs. 189-190 Advertisements for tonics and cures and Burnett's Cocaine for baldness

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Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper March 2, 1861 Pgs. 237-238 Engravings of scenes on Sullivan's Island by artist Burlett, article on the Confederate Congress in Alabama				Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper April 6, 1861 Cover & Pg. 306 Florida shipwreck cover, inside is an advertisement for Barnum's American Museum, Fort Sumpter news.	Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper June 9, 1860 Pgs. 47-48 Advertisement for Walt Whitman's new book "Leaves Of Grass", Dickens's new book "Thirty-One Stories", Lincolns speeches book, a political cartoon engraving, several ads for cures and tonics, beer & wine.

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Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper August 6, 1864 Center Fold Sherman's Campaign at Kennesaw Mountain, artist J.F.E. Hillen.				Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper December 22, 1860 Pgs. 79-80 Advertisements for interesting gadgets and cures for ailments	Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper June 6, 1860 Pgs. 19-20 Japanese presents at the Washington embassy engravings, fascinating items in the News Of The Week column.

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Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper Pgs. 399-400 An engraving of The burning of the Gunpowder Creek railroad bridge and advertisements for Smith and Wesson's Seven Shooter, Steinway Piano, roller skates and several tonics and sure cures.			Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper May 5, 1860 Pgs. 363-364 The illustrations of The Gilmore House Hotel in Baltimore, ad for Burnett's Cocaine as a tonic for hair loss and an ad for Walt Whitman's "Leaves Of Grass."			The New York Herald Newspaper Wagon In Camp

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Illustrated London News June 18, 1864 Pgs. 585-586 Engraving of the Late J.E.B. Stuart and his eulogy.				Illustrated London News August 10, 1861 Pgs. 143-144 Engravings of the fight at Hainsville and the port of Dieppe, article on the Battle of Bull Run.	Illustrated London News June 14, 1862 Pgs. 607-608 Engraving of ironclads and gunboats off Fort Pillow on the Mississippi with a great article above the illustration about the battle.

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Illustrated London News August 17, 1861 Cover and Pg. 152 Cover engraving of Confederate prisoners in Fairfax, Virginia and an article on Bull Run and it's consequences.				Illustrated London News September 21, 1861 Pgs. 303-304 Engravings of "A Boats Crew On The Potomac" and the "Viaduct of the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway." Articles on the Enfield rifle.	Illustrated London News October 5, 1861 Pgs. 337-338 Engravings of Sir John Franklin and a View Of Yorktown from the old Nelson house with accompanying articles.

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Illustrated London News October 19, 1861 Pgs. 361-362 Engraving of the chain bridge across the Potomac from Georgetown to the Virginia shore with an accompanying article.				Illustrated London News October 19, 1861 Pgs. 411-413 Engravings of The Destruction of Fort Okracoke by fire and a Confederate deserter.	Illustrated London News October 21, 1865 Pgs. 375-376 Engraving of Penn's Marine Engine factory and the Regatta on the Danube.

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Illustrated London News November 16, 1861 Pgs. 491-492 Engravings of St. Joe, Missouri, Rockall Fishing Ground and Fairfax Courthouse, Virginia				Illustrated London News October, 1864 Pgs. 443-444 Engravings of Official War Dept. maps, the Confederate Army at Cedar Creek and the Battle of Middletown	Newspaper Correspondent During The Civil War Pencil Drawing Civil War artist Edwin Forbes' pencil drawing of a newspaper correspondent
Miscellaneous Newspapers 1860-1865
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New York Tribune May 10, 1864 Pgs. 1-8 "The Great Battles," Fredericksburg, The Wilderness, Sherman in Tennessee.			Rappahannock Station During The War Artist's Pencil Sketch Civil War artist Edwin Forbes' pencil drawing of a soldier reading			The Juniata Sentinel Mifflintown, Pennsylvania May 29, 1861 Pgs. 1-4 Invasion Of Virginia, Death of Colonel Edwards

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New York Tribune New York, N.Y. April 21, 1863 Pgs. 1-8 Lincoln's Assassination, Mourning Margin Bars on the front page with pages devoted to describing the plot and the capture of Booth, etc.			The Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pa. April 8, 1864 Pgs. 1-8 Fighting in the Southern West, news of the C.S.S. Alabama, Forrest's raids, war news			Pictorial War Record New York October, 1860 Pgs. 223-224 Engraving of Secession Scouts at Falls Church, Virginia, articles on Balls Bluff, Hampton and Fredericktown, Mo.

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Pictorial War Record New York May, 1865 Pgs. 445-446 Engravings of the Battle of Winchester and Smith's Confederate Army at Shreveport, Louisiana			The Evening Star Washington, D.C. August 1, 1864 Pgs. 1-4 Assault on Petersburg, mine explosion, Ford's Theater Advertisement			Thomas Nast Harper's Weekly made Thomas Nast a Civil War correspondent in 1862.