REBEL BEACON
Two weeks into the Civil War, students of the Atlanta Female Institute put on a program that included a faux bombardment of Fort Sumter. The Atlanta Daily Intelligencer covered the event. “It became necessary for one of the smallest of the girls to hoist the United States flag, and to keep it standing until the close of the bombardment,” the paper reported. William P. Howard, a teacher at the Institute who directed the event, apparently had trouble finding a volunteer. One girl of about 10 told him, “No, it is not our flag, and I will never hold it.” Two other young ladies also refused. Finally, a reluctant flag bearer was found. She held the Stars and Stripes, though crying as she did so, saying that she hoped she was not disgracing herself.
This was the face of Confederate patriotism, as reported in Atlanta’s leading daily newspaper.
The had been founded another daily. The competitors strove to scoop one another on big stories, such as the Great Locomotive Chase (Andrews’ Raid) of April 12, 1862. Both papers rushed to print on how Anthony Murphy, William Fuller, and others had captured the Yankee train-thieves. staff interviewed the two pursuit leaders; the in turn printed those individuals’ written statements. Both pieces appeared on the 15th. Because the got its morning issues out early, it might have scored the scoop. But the long Andrews article was not on the front page, as one would expect today. Readers looked inside the four-page layout; like most papers of the day, it put big stories on page 2, sometimes page 3 (the one that carried its “Telegraphic” column). The first page was mostly ads, anyway.
