James Garfield Randall

“ In striking contrast with the feebleness of the censorship was the activity of the various news-gathering agencies. It is doubtful whether any war has ever been as fully "covered" as the Civil War. The leading New York dailies spent huge sums on their "war departments"—half a million being spent by the Herald alone—and an army of "specials" was placed in the field whose stories form a notable record of adventure and activity. ”

“ When one contemplates the full result of a loose policy toward newspapers during war, the case for some form of news control becomes a convincing one. The American Civil War presents a significant field for study in this connection, for the double reason that a period of remarkably keen journalistic enterprise coincided with a time of laxity in the matter of press control. ”

“ Moreover, a libel suit is, in practice, usually found to be an inadequate remedy, and American law may be considered both defective and uncertain in the enforcement of responsibility of newspapers. Such laws as we now have requiring the registration of the owners, managers, and editors of publications were not in existence during the Civil War, and it was an easy matter to conceal the actual ownership and responsible management of a newspaper. [50] When abuse of the government was in question, there seemed to be no adequate way of securing action by judicial process against offending journals. ”

“ Always the superior fighting power of Confederates over Unionists was assumed in the newspaper comments, and that fighting spirit which goes with an air of invincibleness was engendered. [35]
In spite, however, of all this caution there were occasional breaches of discretion on the part of Southern papers. The "rebel war clerk" Jones declared that the enemy "seemed to have speedy and accurate information from Richmond not only of all movements of our army, but of the intentions of the government. ... They know every disposition of our forces from day to day sooner than our own people!" ”

“ The importance of secrecy in Jackson's movement lay in the fact that the Confederates were greatly outnumbered, and the true Union policy was to concentrate against Richmond. It was Jackson's diversion in the valley and the panicky dread of an attack upon Washington that caused the Federal authorities to retain McDowell's army corps which had been promised to McClellan, to divert part of McDowell's troops into the valley, and to withhold the forces under Frémont, Banks, Milroy, and Shields, which ought to have co-operated in the Richmond campaign. ”

“ THE NEWSPAPER PROBLEM IN ITS BEARING UPON MILITARY SECRECY DURING THE CIVIL WAR
In every modern war the control of the agencies and channels of publicity has presented a serious problem. According to the regulations in use in the present European war, correspondents must keep their distance from the scene of action, and the public must be content with such "hand-picked" news touching military movements as the belligerent governments see fit to issue. ”

“ Even news of victory was sometimes withheld from an eager people lest the enemy should derive the first intelligence of their disaster from Confederate papers. [32] Sherman at various times testified to Confederate success in guarding military information, and declared at one time that while everything his own army attempted to do was paraded, yet he looked in vain for scraps in Southern papers from which to guess at the disposition of the enemy's forces. ”

“ There were many in the North, however, who waxed indignant at the thought that while their sons were fighting for the cause of the Union, editors should be unmolested in furnishing to the enemy by their pens a form of aid and comfort which was more effective than guns and ammunition. This popular resentment found expression in numerous attacks upon such papers as were tainted with disloyalty. Editors were worried, threatened, banished, or subjected to personal outrage; newspaper offices were frequently attacked by mobs so that guards were needed to protect property ”

“ The average reporter, under the pressure of a constant demand for news, would just as soon chat with a disgruntled subordinate officer and print his story as to search for reliable information from a safe source. ”

“ Besides guarding secrets, the Southern press did much to develop and preserve a high morale among the people and the soldiers. In reporting the many indecisive engagements near Richmond, the editors of the South would always claim victory while the Northern papers were exaggerating Union disasters or complaining that the successes achieved by Federal arms were not more conclusive. To use a familiar athletic term, the men in the field were well supported "on the side lines". ”

“ It may be said that the government did far less than the enthusiastic Union men of the time would have wished in the way of controlling the press. Zealously loyal men had to be disappointed while policy was so trimmed as to avoid offending conservative sentiment. ”

“ The journalistic profession may complain of the curtailment of correspondents' privileges, the occasional suppression of papers, the governmental control of communication, the censorship of casualty lists, the restrictive instructions and regulations of official press bureaus, the exclusion of generals' names from war reports, the lack of definiteness in official communiqués, and the heavy penalties enforced against offending papers. ”

“ In the early days of the censorship, the transmission of "contraband" intelligence through the telegraph offices of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York was not prevented. Information of a highly confidential character might be suppressed in Washington and then sent over the wires from other points. [5] When for instance a Tribune writer found that the Secretary of War had ordered the censor to suppress all news from Fredericksburg, the forbidden article was sent by messenger on a night train. ”

“ A system of correspondence maintained between Northern and Southern papers by means of publications entitled "Personals" was held to be illegal as an evasion of this rule. [44] Editors might be subjected to summary arrest for disloyalty or under the elastic charge of "resisting the draft", and other methods were available such as excluding correspondents from the lines, withholding facilities for news-gathering, denying the privilege of the mails, prohibiting the circulation of papers, seizing an edition, and, in extreme cases, suppressing the paper. ”

“ A disclosure of Jackson's movements, by newspaper indiscretion or otherwise, would have completely upset Confederate strategy. McClellan, at the time, conceived himself to be confronted by an army far superior to his own, and this belief, as well as his clamoring for reinforcements, was published in Northern papers which reached Richmond. This known timidity on the part of their adversary emboldened the Southern generals. ”

“ This puffing of some officers and pulling down of others plays into the hands of the enemy, he said, by sowing dissension, and "encourages discontent among the officers who find themselves abused by men seemingly under the influence of officers high in command". ”

“ Halleck had to make a simulated attack on Columbus to prevent the press giving notice of his intended move against Forts Henry and Donelson. [18]
It is no wonder that the general gave the position of emphasis on the concluding page of his Memoirs to a denunciation of newspaper correspondents. They are the "world's gossips", he said,
gradually drifting to the headquarters of some general, who finds it easier to make reputation at home than with his own corps or division. ”

“ In speaking at Macon he explained that reinforcements were not sent to Georgia from Virginia because the troops were sorely needed to oppose Grant. He referred to the alarming proportion of men who were "absent without leave", and called upon the deserters to return. To freshen the hopes of his people he announced the plan of harassing Sherman's communications by cavalry raids and declared that soon the enemy would be driven beyond Chattanooga. ”

“ It would seem that the copy for the papers underwent no sifting to eliminate contraband news, for we find casualty lists with full data as to the location of military units, statements of expected reinforcements, revelations of the amount of force commanded by various generals, speculations as to plans, reports of the location and strength of batteries, and many other similar items. ”

“ The problem of keeping the enemy mystified seems to have been carefully studied, and at times spurious information was furnished. For instance, in 1862, when Jackson was on his way to Richmond to support Lee, Confederate editors published accounts of reinforcements sent to Jackson in the Shenandoah valley. ”

“ Accordingly the publication of newspaper statements as to movements of troops was prohibited, correspondents were ordinarily excluded from the lines, reports of military operations were submitted to the appropriate commanding officer before publication, and severe penalties were enforced against editors who disclosed army secrets or published statements likely to impair confidence in the officers. ”