Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1900-01-01

ton made it's influence felt throughout
the entire State and in no incOnsider-
able part of the then comparatively
small country. With conservative
and thoughtful mind at its head, who
eschewed everything savoring OF the
sensational and unseemly, with q due
regard for the feelings OF every reader.
the Gazette took its place upon the
plane of lofty journalism and there re
NAMED amid all the ranc0r OF party
broils and the surgipgs of political is.
sues. While pronounced in its con-
victions, It's columns never became the
vehicle of invective which 80 often
furnishes the pages OF other Journals.
| When the war between the North and
South was about to be p-ecipitated the
circulation OF the Triweekly Gazette
10 this Congressional district alone was
over two thousand copies, and the daily
edition few weeks before Alexandria
was captured by the federal army had
ran up to nearly four thousand. circu-
lations never reached before or since by
an Alexandria paper. This demand
was caused by the fact that the Gazette
bsing located so close to Washington
was in position to obtain and publish
all the press dispatches and present
the latest news to its readers during
those stirring times long before it could
be obtained by other papers. Conse-
quently newsdealers in Richmond and
others on the lines of railroad running
out OF Alexandria were compelled to
have the Gazette, which was in demand
by their customers.
The city was captured by the federal
troops May "a, 1861, and the Gazette's
southern mail being cut of and business
having come to a complete staadstill
here, it was thought best to discontinue
the publication of the paper for short
time, and after getting out quarter
sheet on the night of that day describ-
Jag the occupation of the city and the
killing of Jackson and Ellsworth at the
Marshall House, the Office was closed
and the old cylinder press which had
revolved for SO many years stood still,
destined never again to turn wheel.
az in the early part of the following
year the building was burned by fed.
eral soldiers.
Shortly after the Gazatte suspended
publication a detachment of soldiers
from the FIfth-Pennsylvania regiment
were placed in possession of the Ga.
zette office by the military authorities,
and for few weeks printed paper
named after their regiment. Part
of the paper was in English and
part 10 German. Nearly every.
thing in it pertained to their regi.
ment. The paper was set up 10 the |
Gazette Office and printed on the Vir-
yinis Ssntinel's press. The Messrs.
smith, whose Office was where the |
tleischmsnn House now stands, had
.tandoned their property and gone |
south. The soldiers before vacating |
be Gazette Office transacted the building,
-tole a valuable library and threw near
ly everything topsy-turvy. After
things had once more been put in place |
! quarter sheet, known as the 'Local
News" appeared Oh October 7, 1861,
he object Of the proprietor OF the
Gazette being to to keep a record OF
local events, knowing from a business
point of view the enterprise would
b. unremunerative. This publication
Vas continued until February 10, 1862.
when the entire plant. minus the files
which had fortunately been removed
previously, was destroyed.
On the 18th of the following June o
and equally unremunerative
four-ps paper bearing. the name of
the Alexandria Gazette appeared, and
continued to appear every afternoon un-
I'll the latter part of October, 1864,
when Edgar Snowdsn, j., who was
he business manager and one of the
editors, was taken into custody by the
federal authorities, placed with others
q box car and run up and down the
Manassas Railroad every day. This
vas done under the delusion that Mosby
would not derail the train if Southern
people were aboard as hostages.
The Gszstte resumed publication on
January 2, 1865, still in its abbreviated
oim, and continued in that shape until
he close Of the war, since which time
t has been enlarged three times, the
asst time on May 10, 1892.
10 September, 1898, it published %
page industrial issue which up to that
lime was the largest paper ever publish
ID In this section-including Washing
on.
The senior editor OF the Gazette died
September "a, 1875, and bis eldest SOD,
Edgar Snowden, jr., July 20. 1892, since I
which time the paper has been conduct.
4 by the younger sons.