A group of twenty-four (24) issues of the Daily Dispatch, a Richmond newspaper whose strongly documented pro-Confederate sympathies were evident throughout the Civil War. That editorial stance persisted into the Reconstruction era following the paper’s postwar revival.

The Daily Progress. Richmond, Virginia: Cowardine & Hammersley. 

Bound together:

1. Vol. XIX, No. 105, 8 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

2. Vol. XIX, No. 106, 9 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

3. Vol. XIX, No. 107, 10 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

4. Vol. XIX, No. 108, 11 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

5. Vol. XIX, No. 109, 13 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

Bound together: 

6. Vol. XIX, No. 95, 25 April 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

7. Vol. XIX, No. 96. 26 April 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

8. Vol. XIX, No. 97. 27 April 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

9. Vol. XIX, No. 96. 26 April 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

10. Vol. XIX, No. 97. 29 April 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

Loose: 

11. Vol. XIX, No. 93, 23 April 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

12. Vol. XIX, No. 94, 24 April 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

13. Vol. XIX, No. 99, 1 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

14. Vol. XIX, No. 100, 2 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

15. Vol. XIX, No. 101, 3 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

16. Vol. XIX, No. 102, 4 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

17. Vol. XIX, No. 103, 6 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

18. Vol. XIX, No. 110, 14 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

19. Vol. XIX, No. 111, 15 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

20. Vol. XIX, No. 112, 16 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

21. Vol. XIX, No. 115, 20 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

22. Vol. XIX, No. 116, 21 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

23. Vol. XIX, No. 117, 22 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

24. Vol. XIX, No. 119, 24 May 1861. 4 pages, folio. 

An intriguing group of Daily Dispatch issues, dated 23 April 1861 to 24 May 1861, documenting the opening weeks of the Civil War from the perspective of Richmond, Virginia, soon to become the Confederate capital. The conflict was rapidly escalating as additional states seceded, Richmond was selected as the seat of power for the emerging Confederacy, and both sides rushed to rally volunteers, secure support, and define their political positions. The United States was in the full throes of division.

In April and May 1861, following the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter on 12 April, which plunged the nation into crisis, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina each formally left the Union. The growing number of seceding states only strengthened Confederate confidence. The deliberations of these states and their representatives are well documented throughout this collection, capturing a critical moment in the formation of the Confederacy: “Mr. Hemphill of Texas, said that since the adjournment of Congress in March last, he had received a communication from the President of the Convention of the people of the State of Texas enclosing resolutions expressive of their gratification at the election of the Hons. Jefferson Davis and A.H. Stephens, to the offices of President and Vice-President of the Confederate States” (No. 103). The early evolution of the Confederacy is vividly recorded in these issues.

Also documented is the reaction to Great Britain’s declaration of neutrality on 13 May 1861. In doing so, Britain effectively recognized the Confederacy as a belligerent power, though not as a sovereign nation. This recognition nevertheless allowed the South certain trading privileges and access to British ports. Reprinted in the Daily Dispatch is a striking passage from the Manchester Guardian following Britain’s formal declaration: “It may be premature to say how far the calculations on which this course was taken are likely to be justified by the event. To our limited power of judgement it appears, we confess, to complete the character of Mr. Lincoln’s policy as including every known kind of blunder…Morally he is to the full as responsible as the Government of Montgomery for transferring the matters in dispute between them from the the arbitrament of reason to that of arms…if he meant what he said, it was the virtual commencement of war; if he did not, it was still more culpable as idle menace. We say nothing in justification of the revolt of the seceding States we only remark that Mr. Lincoln seems to us to have thrown away, with singular impartiality, every advantage of argument…” (No. 110). It is clear that while Great Britain remained officially neutral, neither the Union nor Lincoln enjoyed its favor. The paper goes so far as to suggest that the fall of Fort Sumter was little more than a political maneuver, albeit an unsuccessful one, intended to push the Border States away from the Union: “He has lost Fort Sumter, which was perhaps necessary; but has he succeeded in exciting in the wavering communities of the Border States the disgust and apprehension which were desired, in order to permanently alienate them from the seceders? Nothing appears less probable” (No. 110).

Taken together, this collection of Daily Dispatch issues captures the mounting tensions, political maneuvering, and ideological fervor that followed the outbreak of the Civil War, all as recorded in one of the Confederacy’s most important urban newspapers.

The issues are folded and generally show only light wear and age toning. The text remains clear and legible throughout, with only minimal tearing to a few editions.

 
[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Broadsides, Ephemera, Printing, Posters, Handbills, Documents, Newspapers]