Birmingham state herald., 1895-11-03
THE REBEL" ]"
Wanderings of the Daring Little Sheet Over the South--It Was Run at White Heat
 and Was Very Popular

An Atlanta, Ga, correspondence of the | Boston Herald writes: The story of the | Rebel in his wanderings over the south | is one of interest. Survivors of the army | of Tennessee especially remember the | little sheet that found its way to the camps daily and inspired the boys to re- newed 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 August | l. 1862, in Chattanooga. It was a four column folio, published by Franc M Paul | of Nashville. Of course, every victory | for the southern arms was promptly | printed from day to day Thousands of | copies were sent to General Bragg's army | at Tulahoma, Tenn, and often the sup | ply was inadequate to the demand, owing | to the fact that the publishers press, a | drum cylinder, could not print fast enough. Often the press was kept going all day to supply the demand from the army suttlers.
 So popular did the Rebel become in a few weeks that the publisher in October, 1862, engaged the young, but versatile and rising journalist Henry Watterson, to edit the paper. MT. Paul brought to the assistance of MT. Watterson MT. AL bert Roberts, a vigorous writer 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 im- l portance and in size, being made five
 column paper shortly after the publica- l tion began. Well does the writer remem- | Der the eagerness of the army for one l highly przed paper The boys in camp | could not rest until it's arrival every | morning on the train from Chattanooga. When General Bragg began his retro- | grade movement in the spring of 1863 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, 1t became evident | that the federals were coming to Chatta- nooga for the purpose of capturing that | important point. And then it was the | Rebel in August began it's meanderings over the south.
 l The paper was removed to Marietta, | Ga., Messrs. Watterson and Roberts l staying in Chattanooga for few days | after the plant had been shipped The smelling of Chattanooga in that month | soon convinced the editors that they, l 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 l tanooga One evening he visited gen l tlemans house In that town, and 1t hap | pened that General Bragg was also
 visitor. The two gentlemen had never
 met, and while waiting for the host to
 appear, after being ushered into the par | Tor by a servant, Watterson and Bragg | began a casual conversation which soon turned upon the war. Although he knew 1 he was in the presence of an officer of ] high rank, Watterson little suspected | a pd chief nf the army. He indulged in some criticisms | of General Bragg, as he had been doing
 in the Rebel. The general listened for | awhile in almost speeches. wonder, but l controlled himself until his fiery critic 1 had abused him for some minutes, when l he arose and addressing MT. Waiter | son, asked:
 l "Do you know who ann"
 l The editor replied that he had not that l honor.
 | My name is Bragg, sir" said the now fully aroused commander.
 Of course Watterson was somewhat l taken back, but in his most courtly and l chivalrous manner assured General l Bragg that he had not meant to be of- l fensive, but that his criticisms were made l in good faith and from motives of sin | cere desire to promote the welfare of l the Confederacy But apologies were not | asked nor given.
 l General Bragg, however, never forgot l nor fOrgaVe his cr1tlC. Alter the Daltle 1 of Chickamauga, while the paper was at 1 Marietta, Watterson continued his at- l tacks on General Bragg, who informed | the publisher of the Rebel that unless the | irate editor was discharged the paper could not come into the lines. MT. Wat l terson then realized that he must seek 1 other friends, for he was not the man to | retract word nor to be dictated to. AS editor inc chief he would write his sentl- ments despite anyone, so he made ar | engagements to become one of the staff of l Lieut. Gen. Leonidas Polk. After sery- | ing a short time in that capacity Wat | terson resigned and became editor of one | of the papers published in Atlanta. After an uneventful existence in Grif- | 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 afioat and | save his scalp. so it was taken to Selma, l Ala, that fall. | Here it was that the eventful paper | came to an untimely end with the Con- l federacy it had so long and faithfully up- 1 held It was in the latter part of April, 1865 that Selma was taken by General | Wilson The federals knew of the exist ence of the Rebel, and one of the first was to fire it's office, which was in build | ing beside the river and built partly over | it. The yankees printed a small sheet in | which they announced their victory over | the 'rebs," and probably the general | orders" from headquarters, announcing : the surrender Of the armies of the south