War Correspondents.

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CHAPTER XLVIII.

THE WAR CORRESPONDENTS.

WHAT HAVE THEY ACCOMPLISHED?-THEIR LABORS AND DANGERS.-THEIR CAPTURE AND IMPRISONMENT. - JOURNALISTS IN ACTION. WHAT IS THOUGHT OF THEM.—THEY ARE THE HISTORIANS OF THE great ConflICTS of the World.—The RebeLLION.-THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR.

THE war correspondent! How much would be lost without him! How many noble deeds and gallant actions have disappeared with the smoke of battle for want of a reporter!

Borrow, in his " Bible in Spain," thus speaks of this class of journalists:

What most extraordinary men are these reporters! Surely, if there be any class of individuals who are entitled to the appellation of cosmopolites, it is these, who pursue their avocations in all countries indifferently, and accommodate themselves at will to the manners of all classes of society. Their fluency of style, as writers, is only surpassed by their facility of language in conversation; and their attainments in classical and polite literature only by their profound knowledge of the world, acquired by an early introduction into its bustling scenes. The activity, energy, and courage which they occasionally display in the pursuit of information are truly remarkable. I saw reporters, during the Three Days at Paris, mingled with canaille and gamins behind the barriers, while the mitraille was flying in all directions, and the desperate cuirassiers were dashing their fierce horses against those seemingly feeble bulwarks; there stood they, dotting down their observations in their pocket-books as unconcernedly as if they were reporting the proceedings of a reform meeting in Finsbury Square; while in Spain, several of them accompanied the Carlist and Cristino guerrillas in some of their most desperate raids, exposing themselves to the danger of hostile bullets, the inclemency of the winter, and the fierce heat of the summer's sun.

What the correspondents of the newspapers did in the Mexican War, in the Rebellion, and in the recent conflict between France and Germany, is well described in this extract. Newspaper correspondents in the Rebellion incurred double risks in performing their duty. On the eve of the war, the Herald, Tribune, and Times had several "specials" in the Southern States, feeling the public pulse and describing public sentiment in that disturbed section. When the first gun was heard at Fort Sumter, these gentlemen were immediately denounced as spies and abolitionists. Efforts were made by mobs to hang a Herald correspondent in Richmond. One of the agents of the Tribune was arrested in Charleston, South Carolina. One of the correspondents of the Times barely escaped hanging on a "sour apple-tree" at Harper's Ferry. Glenn and Farrell, both of the Herald, one in Charleston and the other at New Or

leans, managed, with the greatest courage and adroitness, to reach the Northern line with their heads on their shoulders. It seemed as if that "first gun" turned the South into a lunatic asylum.

Incidents, anecdotes, hairbreadth escapes, sufferings, enough to fill this volume, could be related of the war correspondents of the Northern papers during the years 1861, '62, '63, '64, '65. After the war broke out the journalists in the field assumed new dangers and run new risks. Anderson, of the Herald, taken prisoner, was confined in an iron dungeon in Texas, and afterwards, with a bullethole through his arm, took notes at Spottsylvania in the thickest of the fight; Osborn, of the same paper, the only correspondent on the iron-clads in action, calmly watched the effect of each impact, and subsequently, as signal officer in the rigging with Farragut, run the gauntlet at New Orleans; Richardson and Browne, of the Tribune, and Colburn, of the World, captured in running the blockade at Vicksburg, were immured for months in Libby, till they escaped to the Union lines through marsh, and brush, and forest; Cook sat aloft on the flag-ship of Porter, pencil and book in hand, and watched the bombardment of Fort Fisher; Shanks, amid the plunging fire at Lookout, wrote a description of the battle that surpassed Napier's brilliant efforts; Hosmer, in the hottest of the great battle of Gettysburg, was full of fire and facts in his neat and accurate account of that decisive conflict of the war; Cadwallader and Fitzpatrick, of the Herald, and Crounse, of the Times, were captured by Mosby's band, deprived of watches and note-books, and had their facts published in the rebel papers; Skestfall fell into the hands of Morgan's guerrillas, who also fancied his valuables and notes; Stiner shivered out on picket, days and nights, for the latest rebel newspapers; Conyngham and Doyle made the famous march with Sherman to the sea; Ashley and Carpenter shared with the grand old Army of the Potomac its glory and repulses; Knox, "mit Sigel" in Missouri, described the brilliant battle at Pea Ridge; Chapman, at the “Headquarters of the New York Herald" at Cairo and all along the line, looked after maps and plans; Dunn died at his post on the Mississippi; Brady, lost in a canebrake, turned up as editor in Mobile; Hendricks, the indefatigable, always had a description of a battle; Swinton, of the Times, with his risks and dangers at Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg, gave graphic pictures of desperately fought battles; Keim, bivouacking with the lamented M'Pherson, was mild. and mindful of his duties to the Press and the public.

Others, many others, indeed, could be mentioned who are entitled to all the praise that we could bestow, and all that Borrow has given to his beau idéals. If the Press had ribbons and orders to confer for gallant conduct on the field of battle, these correspondents would

The Iron Cross of the Second Class.

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have their breasts covered with brilliants on state occasions; but their decorations shone in the columns of the papers, where they are imperishable. While the correspondents of the Tribune and Herald performed their duty splendidly in the recent Franco-German War, they are satisfied with the glory their reports gave them. Their légion d'honneur and their iron crosses are in their descriptions of Gravelotte, Sedan, and the siege of Paris. But the Emperor of Germany recognized the services of William Howard Russell, of the London Times, by conferring on him the Iron Cross of the second class, with the White Ribbon. What order in Heraldry should Stanley, the correspondent with the Abyssinian Expedition, receive after this? These emperors and kings have no idea of the cost of a war to a newspaper. They are made famous in history, and they bestow a paltry ribbon for the service. They are not aware that the New York Herald alone spent $500,000 during the American Rebellion, and $100,000 during the short and sharp war between France and Germany, in keeping its corps of correspondents in the field. Half a million for preparing one historical work!

Conyngham, in "Sherman's March through the South," speaks of his instructions, which describe, in a few words, the duties of a journalist in the field:

The instructions of the Herald to its army correspondents were brief, but comprehensive. They were simply these: To obtain the most accurate information by personal observation, and forward it with the utmost dispatch, regardless of expense, labor, or danger. Guided by these concise instructions-with his horse, his revolver, his field-glass, his note-book, blanket, and haversack-the army correspondent of the New York Herald started forth to share the vicissitudes and hardships of the camp, the fatigues of the march, and the perils of the battle-field, to contribute his narrative to the history of the great war.

One of the eccentricities of the Rebellion was the harmonious association of the representatives of the Northern Press in the several corps of the army. Knox, in his "Camp-fire and Cotton-field," in the opening chapter, said that early in February, 1861, he entered the editorial rooms of the Herald to make arrangements to become one of its correspondents. He said:

I announced my readiness to proceed to any point between the poles, wherever the Herald desired a correspondent. The editor-in-chief was busy over a long letter from some point in the South, but his response was promptly given. Half reading, half pausing over the letter, he briefly said,

A long and bloody war is upon us, in which the whole country will be engaged. We shall desire you to take the field-probably in the West. It may be several weeks before we need you, but the war can not be long delayed.

When Knox called at the Herald office for his final instructions, he found that

The managing editor had determined upon a vigorous campaign. Every point of interest was to be covered, so that the operations of our armies would be fully recorded from day to day. The war correspondents had gone to their posts or were just taking their departure. I was instructed to watch the military movements in Missouri, and hastened to St. Louis as fast as steam could bear me.

Knox went to the West and fought with Sigel. Afterwards, joining General Wallace, he proceeded southwest to Memphis. Three newspapers, the Avalanche, Argus, and Appeal, had enlightened the rebels of that city. The Appeal, like the old Spy, Gazette, and other prints of the Revolution of '76, became a migratory sheet, and was issued wherever it could safely be published. The Avalanche changed its name to that of the Bulletin, and became moderate in tone. After the war it resumed its old title. The Argus did not change its sentiments so readily, and needed the prick of the pen, if not of the sword. General Wallace therefore issued the following order:

Head-quarters Third Division, Reserved Corps, Army of Tennessee,
MEMPHIS, June 17, 1862.

EDITOR DAILY ARGUS,-As the closing of your office might be injurious to you pecuniarily, I send two gentlemen-Messrs. A. D. Richardson and Thomas W. Knox, both of ample experience-to take charge of the editorial department of your paper. The business management of your office will be left to you. LEWIS WALLACE,

Very respectfully,

General Third Division, Reserved Corps.

This order was printed at the head of the Argus. The eccentricity of this affair was in the peculiar fact that Richardson was a correspondent of the New York Tribune, and Knox a correspondent of the New York Herald. Notwithstanding this rather extraordinary combination, the Argus was a vigorously consistent sheet, and gave general satisfaction to all, save the radical rebels, while under the editorial care of these military historians and gushing journalists.

All correspondents with troops in the field are compelled to do their duty as historians under great difficulties, and frequently amid great danger under fire. But they are always ready. Edmund About, in describing for the Moniteur du Soir the defeat of the French at Woerth, mentioned this incident, showing the usefulness of a journalist to a military chieftain in retreat:

But here come one or two regiments of the line, quite firm, tolerably complete in numbers, rifle on shoulder, and knapsack on back. Behind them Marshal M'Mahon, calm, dignified, almost smiling, and fresh as a rose. I salute him as he passes. He responds without noticing me. One of his aids, M. d'Alzac, names me. Then the old hero stops, and tells quite simply the story of his defeat, thus: "I had only 35,000 men, and found 150,000 in front of me. We have given way before numbers. They have killed or wounded about 5000 men. But we have our revenge. Explain this to the public. But where are you going in that direction ?" "To Saverne," I reply. "You will be captured. The Prussians will be there in two hours," says the general. "I have my wife and children there," I answer. "God preserve you. Do not fail to say that the morale of the troops is excellent." We shake hands.

This war between France and Germany developed more journalistic enterprise than had ever been seen in Europe. American editors spiritedly and successfully entered the lists. The London Publishers' Circular of September, 1870, gave a list of correspondents engaged at the seat of war:

Newspaper correspondents work at the peril of their lives, as the death of the

The True Historians.

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correspondent of the Times, Colonel Pemberton, late of the Fusileer Guards, will prove. Of the other correspondents, the Pall Mall Gazette's "Azamat Batuk,' who is now back at the seat of war, is M. Thiebland. Captain Dashwood, late of the 91st Highlanders, is among the journalists following the campaign. Mr. N. A. Woods, who was in the Crimea for the Herald, and did the Atlantic cable for the Times, is at the war for the Scotsman. The New York Herald, it is said, has twentyfour correspondents in the field, and the Paris Gaulois twenty-six. A telegram, sent by the Pall Mall Gazette's correspondent immediately after Sedan, only reached the editor on Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile the correspondent had come home with his description in full, and gone back again. Much of Dr. Russell's manuscript, including the portion describing the actual battle of Sedan, had not reached the Times in time for publication on Tuesday, though subsequent letters had. Mr. G. A. Sala has been seized in Paris as a Prussian spy, seriously ill-treated and imprisoned. Mr. Sydney Hall, the artist of the Graphic, who accompanied the French Army of the Rhine, has again been heard of. He disappeared for some time, and there was subsequently a report that he had been arrested by the Prussians as a spy. He has now written from Nancy announcing his release, and that during his detention he was very well treated by his captors.

What these correspondents have accomplished, through the journals employing them, is strikingly illustrated by Lord Granville, the foreign minister of England, in a speech made in November, 1870. He said:

We have seen the Press of this country speaking with that freedom which fortunately is our privilege, and which we shall always maintain, discussing all the conditions of the war-that freedom sometimes necessarily leading to some irritation on the one side or the other-an irritation which is very natural on the part of the belligerents-but with an unswerving purpose, which I am glad to acknowledge, of showing that the great desire of this nation, expressed through the Press, is to promote and accelerate a speedy conclusion to a terrible calamity. (Hear.) And here I may, perhaps, in passing, remark that the extraordinary energy and exertions of the Press, of which the country may well be proud, have created, under very great difficulty, what was called a war literature, unexampled in ability and interest, putting before the public all the various astonishing events which have so rapidly succeeded each other in this tremendous struggle. (Hear, hear.)

This is a meagre account of the war correspondent and what he has done. No great conflicts like our own Rebellion, or the FrancoGerman War, were ever so fully, so graphically, so truthfully described. No records of previous wars can surpass those of the years between 1861 and '71. Anterior to these events we spoke of Napier, Thiers, Gibbon, Bancroft. They were compilers from old documents. Now we speak of the Tribune, Times, World, Herald. They have been eye-witnesses.