Harper’s Weekly During The Civil War
Try to imagine a time before TV news and radio during the War Between The States, people had to only two ways to get news, word of mouth or newspapers.
Of course talking to people who were actual witnesses to the battles was not always the the most correct view of the events. So people tended to rely on newspapers which provided citizens and soldiers alike with the most detailed accounts of war.
One of the most popular newspaper during the Civil War was Harper’s Weekly. Harper’s was one of the more fair minded newspapers, and because it was popular in the south before the civil war it still supported Lincoln and the Union. Since it did not take sides in it’s reporting but still reported just the facts (much like Jack Webb on Drangnet would quote “Just the facts lady, just the facts”) it still reported with disinterest, and remained the main newsource for Confederate Southern households during the war.
Besides its impartiality, Harper’s circulation of more than 200,000 during the Civil War is attributed to the fact that the paper employed some of the most brightest writers and artists of the time. Political cartoonist Thomas Nast was the anchor of Harper’s, along with artist Winslow Homer. Other artists who supplied illustrations to Harper’s during the Civil War included Theodore R. Davis, Henry Mosler, and the two brothers Alfred Waud and William Waud.
Harper’s Weekly is really a time machine back to the time of the Civil War. Reading the actual articles along with the list of the names of those fallen in battle really bring that terrible time in our history back to life. As you read issue after issue you get to feel the enormity and the massive grief everyone in the country felt at that time. While it was not a great time for America from it we can learn what a tremendous toll civil war takes on a country where families are divided simply because of where they live. It’s a lesson to be learned so the past may never repeat itself….
See For Yourself Here: 1868 SEP 5 HARPER’S WEEKLY MAGAZINE THOMAS NAST
Doug Murphy 9/18/10
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