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Rare issue of the "Rebel", a newspaper on the run...



Item # 618091

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December 05, 1863

THE CHATTANOOGA DAILY REBEL, Marietta, Georgia, Dec. 5, 1863 

* Very rare Confederate title

A fascinating and quite rare title of a Confederate newspaper "on the run" which went from town to town as the Yankees advanced upon them during the war. Note that this issue was printed in Marietta, Georgia (see photo) some 100 miles from Chattanooga. And terrific to have the word "Rebel" in the title. See below and the hyperlink for much more on this interesting newspaper.
A few of the front page items include: "The Siege of Vicksburg" with a few details; "General Orders #120" from General Beauregard; a report that: "...that Grant's entire loss i the recent fights was in killed, wounded & missing 40,000."; several reports from Dalton, Georgia; a report that: "A courier from the front states that Longstreet had carried the enemy's works upon the Northern portion of Knoxville & had demanded the surrender of the city on Monday." and many other war-related items.
The back page is difficult to read as during the printing process a "wet" front page was paid upon the back page causing various off-setting, including the masthead (see). The the city of publication is clearly visible at the top of the first column: "Marietta, Georgia"
The first few issues of the Rebel had four pages but it was soon reduced to a single sheet. Content included general orders for soldiers, war news via telegraph dispatches, reports from other newspapers, local matters, and ads.  The Rebel was one of only a few Tennessee Confederate newspapers that remained in circulation throughout the war. In its attempt to stay ahead of the Union Army, the Rebel was forced to move from town to town and soon earned the nickname the “Rebel on Wheels.” Over the course of the war, the paper was published in Chattanooga; Marietta and Griffin, Georgia  and, finally, Selma, Alabama, in 1865. Federal troops eventually caught up with the Rebel in Selma, in early April 1865. The troops occupied the offices while the Rebel’s staff was held at the stockade. A few days later, as the troops left the town, they destroyed the Rebel’s presses and type, and the building was set alight. However, a small hand press survived the destruction and a few last copies of the Rebel were published before it permanently ceased on April 27, 1865. For more see this hyperlink.
Complete as a single sheet newspaper, various wear at the untrimmed margins with some dirtiness at the margins as well. Minor margin loss, not affecting any text. There are various archival mends to the back page, mostly at the margins but a few near the central fold. Some minor rubbing at the central fold.

Category: Confederate