Latest-dated Charleston Civil War issue we have offered?

Item # 701892

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January 21, 1865

THE CHARLESTON MERCURY, South Carolina, Jan. 21, 1865

* From the origin of the Civil War
* Close to Confederates evacuating

A newspaper from this famous Confederate stronghold quite late in the Civil War, in fact, our records seem to indicate this is the latest-dated issue of the Mercury we have offered from the Civil War. Just 3 weeks later General Beauregard would order the evacuation of the remaining Confederate forces from the city. On February 18 the mayor would surrender Charleston to Union forces.
Among the articles: "A Little More of Capt. Bragg" "Sentiments of the State of Texas" "The Confederate Congress" "Latest From the United States" "General Sherman & the Negroes" "The Arming of Slaves" "Our Prisoners on Johnson's Island" and so much more.
A single sheet issue printed on "necessity paper", meaning not typical newsprint but rather a browning, thin, wrapping paper-like newsprint. It was typical with late-dated newspapers from the Confederacy that they used atypical paper for printing as regular newsprint was very scarce in the South.
Untrimmed margins, irregular at the right margin, two small holes which seem to be due more to paper weakness rather than rare, foxing to a portion of the front page, an archival mend to the central fold of the back page.

history notes: Confederate “necessity” newspapers were an improvised product of the South’s material shortages during the Civil War, when the Union blockade cut off access to quality paper and ink; as a result, publishers resorted to printing on whatever was available, producing issues now prized as artifacts of wartime desperation. Some of the most striking examples were printed on the blank side of wallpaper, such as the Vicksburg Daily Citizen during the 1863 siege, while others used coarse brown wrapping paper, lined writing sheets, or even scraps of official documents. These makeshift editions, often crude in appearance, still carried war reports, political commentary, and local notices, and their very form underscored the economic strain and resourcefulness of the Confederate press under blockade conditions. Today, they are highly collectible not only for their content but also for the powerful symbolism of a society struggling to maintain communication and morale amid scarcity.