Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1895-12-30


pecially remember the little sheet that
found its way to the camps daily and
inspired the boys to renewed energy and
hope for the cause they deemed the
right. Like the loved and inspiring
Dixie, " The Rebel fired the southern
heart by its very name.
The Rebel first saw the light Aug. l..
1862. in Chattanooga. 1t was four
column folio, published by Franc M.
Paul Thousands Of copies were sent 10
Bragg's army at Tullahona, Tenn, and
often the supply was inadequate to the
demand, owing 10 the fact that the pub
lisher's press, drum cylinder, could
not print them fast enough. Often the
press was kept going all day TO supply
the demand from the army suffers
So popular did The Rebel become in
few weeks that the publisher in Octo-
Der, 1862, engaged the young but versa
tile and rising journalist, Henry Wat
terson, to edit the paper. Mr. Paul
| brought ia the assistance of Mr.. Waiter
son Mr. Albert Roberts, vigorous writ
er and trained journalist Of Nashville.
| He was a humorous writer. using the
| nom de plume Of John Happy.
| Watterson and Roberts kept The Rebel
at white heat, and the paper grew in
Importance and size, being made five
column paper shortly after the publica-
| ton began Well does the writer re-
/ member the eagerness of the army for
the only highly priced paper. The boys
in camp could not rest until its arrival
every morning on the train from Chat
| tanoOga.
When General Bragg began his retro
| grade movement in the spring of 1868
| to Chattanooga, The Rebel was supplied
to the army with much difficulty. When
the army arrived there, the paper was
| in still greater demand. In the summer
| of that year, however. il became evil
| dent that the Federals We're coming to
Chattanooga for the purpose of captur-
ing that important point. And then it
was The Rebel began its meanderings
over the south
The paper was removed to Marietta,
Ga, Messrs. Watterson and Roberts
staying in Chattanooga for a few days
after the plant had been shipped. The
| Smelling of Chattanooga in that month
soon convinced the editors that they,
| too, must go if they would avoid cap
ture by the Federal army, and they left
to join the paper. Editor In Chief Wat
terson had been sharply criticising Gen
eral Bragg while the paper was in Chat
tanooga. One evening he visited gen.
| tleman's house in that town, and it
happened that General Bragg was also
a visitor. The two gentlemen had never
met and while waiting for the host to
( appear, after being ushered into the
parlor by servant, Watterson and
| Bragg began a casual conversation, which
soon turned upon the war. Although he
knew he was i'll the presence of an Off
| Ger of high rank Watterson little sus-
pected it was the commander in chief
| of the army. He INDUCED in some crit
cisms of General Bragg as he had been
| doing in The Rebel. The general listen
ed for awhile i'll almost speechless Won
der, but controlled himself till his fiery
critic had abused him for some minutes,
when he arose, and addressing MIR. Wat
! terson asked:
"Do you know who / am, siry''
The editor replied that be had not
] that honor.
my name is Bragg, sir, said the
! now fully aroused commander.
OF course Watterson was somewhat
| taken aback, but in his most courtly
and chivalrous manner assured General
| Bragg that he had not meant TO be Of
! fensive, but that his criticisms We're
made in good faith and from motives of
sincere desire to promote the welfare of
the Confederacy. But apologies We're
not asked or given.
I General Bragg, however, never forgot
nor forgave his critic After the battle
| Of Chiclamauga, while the paper was
| at Marietta, Watterson continued his at
tacks on General Bragg. who informed
! the publisher of The Rebel that unless
the irate editor We're discharged the pa
per could not come into his lines Mr..
| Watterson then realized that he must
! seek other friends, for he was not the
| man TO retract a word nor to be dictated
to. As editor in chief he would write
! his sentiments despite any one, SO he
i made arrangements to become one of
the staff of Lieutenant General Leonidas
! Polk. After serving a short time in that
capacity Watterson resigned and became
editor of one of the papers published in
| Atlanta.
After an pneventful existence in Crit
fin for awhile the approach of the Fed
| eral army TO Atlanta in July of that
year warned the publisher that he must
move on if he would keep The Rebel
atioat and save his scalp, SO it was taken
| to Selma, Ala, that fall.
Here it was that the eventful paper
came to an untimely end with the Con-
federacy it had so long and faithfully
| upheld 1t was in the latter part of
| April, 1863, thai Selma was taken by
General Wilson. The Federals knew of
the existence of The Rebel, aud one Of
she first things they did to appease their
wrath was to fire its Office, which was
in building beside the river and built
partly over it. The Yankees printed a
small sheet, in which they announced
their victory over the ''rebs" and prob
ably the general orders from head
quarters announcing the surrender OF
the armies of the southern Confederacy.
They then threw the materials in the
river and burned all the files they could
find Boston Herald.