NEW YORK HERALD, July 20, 1864

• General William T. Sherman
• Advancing upon Atlanta, Georgia
• "March to the Sea" prelude

Among the front page column heads on the Civil War are: "SHERMAN" "Advance of Our Forces Upon Atlanta" "Rebel Communications Between Atlanta & Richmond & Montgomery Destroyed" "Latest Rebel Accounts from Atlanta" "GRANT!" "Guerrilla Fighting In Missouri" and more.
Eight pages, very nice condition.

Background: Period newspaper reporting from July 19, 1864—and the days immediately following—holds exceptional historical value and rarity because it captured a seismic pivot point in the Civil War in near-real-time: the dramatic changing of the guard in Confederate command from the cautious Joseph E. Johnston to the fiercely aggressive John Bell Hood just as Union forces under Sherman crossed Peachtree Creek. Northern and Southern press accounts from this precise window are remarkably scarce in good condition due to severe wartime newsprint shortages—especially in the blockaded South, where papers were routinely forced to print on wallpaper or harsh rag stock—and wartime disruption of telegraph lines, which meant published dispatches were a chaotic patchwork of delayed military wires, visual signal-station reports, and firsthand war correspondent dispatches. What makes period reporting around July 19 particularly notable is the stark ideological contrast between regions: Northern headlines nervously tracked Sherman’s multi-pronged approach while grappling with rumors of Hood’s appointment, whereas Southern journals published emotional, highly charged editorials reflecting a mix of shock over Johnston’s removal and desperate hope that Hood’s fiery reputation would shatter Sherman's advancing columns before Atlanta fell.