Activity 6, The Press and the Military
Background
While there were many causes of the Civil War the most significant was slavery. Ever since the Constitution recognized the legality of Southern slavery, the United States had been troubled by this issue. Anti-slavery feelings grew, particularly in Northern states during the 1840's and 1850's. Abraham Lincoln was elected President on the platform of outlawing slavery in new Western territories acquired during the Mexican-American War. Many Southerners believed that Lincoln's election would result in their eventual ruin.
After Abraham Lincoln was elected president, South Carolina seceded from the Union. It was followed by other slave-holding states. On April 12, 1861, troops from the newly-formed Confederate States of America fired upon the Union-held Ft. Sumter in the middle of Charleston's harbor. This was the first shot in America's Civil War (1861-1865), which engulfed the nation for four long years.
When the war was over, the South was militarily defeated and the Southern economy was shattered for decades. The Civil War resulted in more casualties than the combined losses of all other wars in which the United States has been involved since its inception. But the Union had been preserved and slavery was declared illegal. However, it took more than a hundred years before legal discrimination based upon race was ended.
The Press in the Civil War
The widespread adoption of the telegraph gave journalists the ability to report on military engagements as they were taking place, thus providing the public with information previously received only by the governmental and military leaders. Many issues that today confront the relationship between the press and governments at war emerged during this conflict.
Reporters and photographers followed the movements of the military on both sides of the war and then sent reports via the telegraph to newspapers. As news streamed from the telegraph, newspapers began to highlight headlines which summarized the story in a few words. Press reports of the Battle of Bull Run reached New York within 24 hours.
There was a hunger for information about the war, and 500 correspondents flocked to Union armies to cover the war for Northern newspapers. No war had ever been so fully reported before. New York newspapers often devoted as much as a third of their space to war coverage. Much of the reporting was sensationalist, biased, inaccurate and propagandistic. This was partly due to the inexperience of the vast majority of reporters. But as the war dragged on, the professional "war correspondent" emerged and reporting improved.
Censorship restrictions were initiated both by the Confederate and Union governments. In the South, the Confederate government consistently censored the press, which was also restricted by a severe limitation of paper for newspapers due to the Union blockade and the lack of trained journalists. In the North, the Federal government at first called for publishers and editors to comply with voluntary censorship, but no guidelines were provided. The government subsequently enforced a compulsory censorship scheme, which was enforced by prosecuting papers deemed supportive of the Confederate cause, and by denying newspapers access to telegraph lines and the mails. Temporarily, the military suspended publication of some newspapers for reporting information believed to be false or believed to foment dissatisfaction with the Union cause.
In war zones, reporters were severely restricted. Some generals barred reporters from areas under their command. Union General Irvin McDowell facetiously suggested that correspondents wear white uniforms in the field "to indicate the purity of their character." General William T. Sherman believed that the press caused the Civil War, and that much military failure could be blamed on leaks emanating from reporters. Sherman arrested Thomas Knox, a reporter for the New York Herald, after Knox violated censorship regulations. While Knox was eventually released, Sherman established the principle that journalists must be accredited and acceptable to military commanders in the field. Perhaps the Northern Generals were right. The Confederate General Robert E. Lee was an avid reader of Northern newspapers throughout the war.
Reporting during the war was not limited to words. Matthew Brady's photographs of famous battles and leaders added a new dimension to the press coverage of war. Although his photographs were not published since a practical method of transferring photographs to newspapers was not perfected until a decade later, artists copied his pictures, and these accurate likenesses conveyed the image of war to the public through newspapers and magazines. Brady captured the hysteria, horror and occasional glory of war. Civil War illustrations dotted newspapers as well as magazines which had developed large readerships.
Student Questions
How did technological advances change the relationship between reporters and the military?
Why was the military concerned about the news gathering and reporting of correspondents during the Civil War but not before?
Why were photographs and illustrations important during the war?
Return to Activity 6.
Go to the Contents page for International Conflict and the Media.
Go to the Bibliography.