The New South Newspaper Port Royal, South Carolina – February 18, 1865 

Description

The New South Newspaper 

Port Royal, South Carolina – February 18, 1865 

 

An exceptional original issue of The New South, published at Port Royal, South Carolina, on February 18, 1865, during the closing months of the Civil War. Founded under Federal occupation of the South Carolina Sea Islands, The New South was one of the most important Unionist newspapers operating within former Confederate territory and provided contemporary reporting on military operations, Reconstruction policies, emancipation, and conditions throughout the collapsing Confederacy. 

 

This issue is particularly noteworthy for its extensive first-page coverage of Confederate prison conditions, including a vivid account by Rev. H. S. White, Chaplain of the 5th New Hampshire Artillery, describing the suffering of Union prisoners held at Andersonville and other Southern prisons. The article contains graphic firsthand observations and reflections on the hardships endured by Federal captives, making it a powerful wartime primary source. Published just weeks before the fall of Richmond and only two months before Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, the newspaper captures the atmosphere of the war’s final chapter. 

 

The masthead prominently features the title The New South above detailed wartime news columns, editorials, and correspondence. Surviving examples from occupied Port Royal are increasingly scarce, particularly complete issues from 1865. The paper remains in attractive display condition and is housed in a period-style presentation frame. Of additional interest is the contemporary pencil inscription of Danbury CT. at the lower margin, likely from the wartime era. 

 

Inventory Number: CON 694