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Memphis, Tennessee Confederate newspaper... Lincoln explains the purpose of the war to Congress...
Memphis, Tennessee Confederate newspaper... Lincoln explains the purpose of the war to Congress...
Item # 682518
July 06, 1861
THE MEMPHIS DAILY APPEAL, Tennessee, July 6, 1861
* Very rare Confederate publication
* Abraham Lincoln on the current war
This newspaper had fascinating history as it was chased around the South--see the information below. Among the war reports are: "War Intelligence" "Affairs At Pensacola" "How The Southern Climate Affects the Yankee Troops" "East Tennessee" "From Virginia" "The Way Northern Soldiers Are Treated" and more.
Of significance is the complete printing of the lengthy: "PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, Delivered to the Extra Session of the Federal Congress" on July 5. It is signed by him in type: Abraham Lincoln.
Between the fall of Fort Sumter on April 13, 1861, and July of that same year, President Lincoln took a number of actions in response to secession without Congressional approval. In this special message to Congress, Lincoln asks Congress to validate his actions by authorizing them after the fact. This message also marks Lincoln's first full explanation of the purpose of the war. Notable as such, particularly in a Southern newspaper.
Complete as a very large size, 4 page newspaper, archivally rejoined at the spine and a bit close-trimmed to a portion at the spine. Some margin wear and small mends at the margins.
Memphis was a Confederate stronghold up through the Battle of Memphis on June 6, 1862, at which time the Yankees moved in and it became a Yankee city. The "Memphis Daily Appeal", dedicated to the Southern cause rallying both civilians & soldiers, it was the most important newspaper of the region, soon famously known as the "Moving Appeal."
On June 6, 1862, the presses and plates were loaded into a boxcar and moved to Grenada, Mississippi, where it stayed for a few months, until approaching Federal troops threatened again, forcing a move in November 1862 to Jackson, Mississippi, where it published until May 1863, when Federal troops again arrived. By this time, the Appeal had gained notoriety among Union forces as a rebel sympathizer while it remained on the run. The next stop was Meridian, Mississippi, from where, one issue and two days later, the wandering journalists moved on to Mobile, Alabama, then to Montgomery, and ultimately to Atlanta, the economic heart of the Confederacy. Publication from Atlanta began in June 1863 and continued through July 1864, when it returned to Montgomery, where it published from September 1864 to April 1865. Its final move was to Columbus, Georgia, where Federal forces finally caught up with it. It resumed publication following the war in Memphis on November 5, 1865. During just a four year period this newspaper published in nine different cities. (credit: Tennessee State Library & Archives)
Category: Confederate
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