A group of three (3) issues of the Daily Dispatch, a Richmond newspaper whose strongly documented pro-Confederate sympathies are evident throughout the Civil War. 

The Daily Dispatch. 3 issues (incomplete run). Vol. XXIII, nos. 66-68, Richmond, Virginia: Cowardine & Hammersley, 17-18 & 20 September 1862. Each 4 pages, folio. 

VERY RARE. War-time issues of the Daily Dispatch are very scarce. We have rarely seen more than 1 issue offered at a time. 

This collection of three (3) issues from the Daily Dispatch documents the Battle of Antietam, which took place on 17 September 1862. These issues cover the immediate aftermath following the great loss by General Lee and the Confederate army. Its bloody results, which amounted to more than 22,000 casualties and the retreat of General Lee’s entire forces from his invasion of Maryland to the South of the Potomac River, were considered a tactical draw. It would, however, encourage the Union army in its ability to confront the Confederacy and ultimately allow President Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation from a position of strength. 

On the morning of 17 September 1862, the Daily Dispatch reported its guesses on Lee’s strategies. Prophesying the fall of Union forces, it is brusquely stated that “We hope the troops will turn the whole country into a desert, as the Yankees did the Piedmont country of Virginia. Let not a blade of grass, or a stalk of corn, or a barrel of flour, or a bushel of meal, or a bag of salt, or a horse, or a cow, or a hog, or a sheep, be left wherever they move along. Let vengeance be taken for all that has been done until retribution itself shall stand aghast.” (No. 66) 

Such harsh sentiments foreshadow a bitterness that would not be resolved in the days to come. However, speculation remains optimistic on the morning after the conflict, with intelligence still being drafted into the capital. The Union army is reported as being in poor condition, doubtlessly encouraging the narrative of a successful South, “...On the avenue today, above the President’s House, I saw about a regiment of cavalry drawn up in line, who represented the most miserable and outreappearance I have ever witnessed. In plain phrase, they were a disgrace to themselves and to the army, The men were fair enough in size and in healthy appearance, but in want of uniformity of their equipment, in the dirt and disarray of their uniforms and accoutrements, there were all painful evidences of absence of discipline and of inefficiency on the part of their commander, whoever he may be…” (No. 67) While not much is discussed of the battle, this seems poignant as the general tone of the article highlights only the supposed “reality” of the Union forces, which seems ultimately rather dismal. 

On the Saturday following the battle, reports from the days leading up to the conflict are discussed, with strong dissent of the Yankee forces filling the report, making note of their general savagery: “The Yankees stole nearly a thousand dollars from a lady whose husband is an invalid, threatening her and her daughter with quittage if she did not give up. When she complained to the General in command, he cooly dismissed her saying. ‘This is war, madam. You all have just begun to see it.” (No. 68)

Also described is another example of which “a young lady who is a cripple and an orphan was taken by a party of soldiers without an escort…Appearing before the General she asked what was the charge. ‘You were overheard saying thus and so.’ ‘Hush,’ cried she, stamping her foot in indignation! ‘Use not such language before me. Your Northern ladies may use such words; we do not, and will not even hear them.’” (No. 68) While reports of the aftermath regarding the Battle of Antietam seem to have not yet circulated the newspapers, expressing the Confederate setback, the reports which are featured only serve to perpetuate the belief of Southern superiority and Northern savagery. These tales, extravagant in nature, feed Confederate sympathies, whether based in fact or fiction, which seems to be the general tone for The Daily Dispatch.

The Daily Dispatch was first published on 19 October 1850 by James A. Cowardin and William H. Davis. Cementing itself as the first penny paper south of Baltimore, it originally prided itself in its non-partisan reporting, providing the people of Richmond with local, state, and national news. As the war drew closer to the city of Richmond, and it was cemented as southern territory, The Daily Dispatch shifted its perspective, serving as a mouthpiece for Confederate patriotism. In March of 1865, the offices of the Daily Dispatch were destroyed by fire upon the retreat of Confederate forces out of Richmond. The paper would be revived in the proceeding years, but would never again regain its independent dominance of the editorial scene within Richmond.  

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

Old folds, minor toning.