1 // Private letters, containing matters of general interest, sent to residents or to the publisher
2 // Ship captains and sailors at the dock or tavern
3 // Merchants receiving or sending goods
4 // Travelers on sea or land who had some news to tell
5 // Soldiers fighting in wars who returned with information or sent letters
6 // Postcarriers who picked up items on their route
7 // News which came to the governor from governors or from officials in other colonies or from the King
8 // Official news of the colony secured from the governor and (later) the assembly
9 // Postmasters or friends in other colonial towns, who acted as volunteer or unpaid correspondents
10 // Later: Colonial newspapers, when they were established in Philadelphia, New York, Annapolis, Williamsburg, etc., furnished news of their communities

Two of the historical figures appearing as primary characters in the HBO series Deadwood were Seth Bullock and Sol Star. Season 1 of Deadwood takes place in mid- to late-1876 when Deadwood was a gold-mining camp in the Dakota Territory.

Fans of the HBO series will appreciate the newspaper below, an authentic and ultra scarce August 26, 1876 Black Hills Pioneer, the first newspaper in Deadwood and a title that was featured prominently in the TV series.

In addition to news about General Custer’s Last Stand (Battle of the Little Bighorn), this particular issue includes two local news blurbs about Star and Bullock:

Star & Bullock will sell at auction to-morrow, commencing at 10 a.m., a large stock of Stationery, Boots, Cutlery, Underclothing, Pants, Miners’ Supplies, etc. Sales positive and without reserve.

Star & Bullock are erecting a fire-proof warehouse, which, when completed, will be in fact as in name, entirely fire-proof. It is 20×40 feet, with 18-inch stone walls, and the front is to be arched with stone and hung with an iron door.

Star and Bullock were frequently seen building their new warehouse and hardware store during the first several episodes of Deadwood.

In 1854, Rufus Wilmot Griswold first published The Republican Court; or American Society in the Days of Washington, which was the first time a source suggested Washington finished his oath with “So help me God.” As Boston 1775 asks, “Did it really take two-thirds of a century for a significant detail of a well-attended public ceremony to be described in print?”

What is perhaps more interesting is the fact that Griswold only used one eyewitness source in his entire focus on Washington’s inauguration.  That firsthand account was a letter from an unidentified person. The same extract of the letter first appeared in the May 13, 1789 issue of The Gazette of the United States.  Read Griswold’s only eyewitness source below. “One of the most august and interesting spectacle ever exhibited on this globe.”

“From the vantage point of the twentieth century, journalism historians look back on the period between 1789 and 1808 as the ‘dark ages’ of the American newspaper.” This great line leads the third chapter — titled Weapons in the Great Debate — of John Tebbel’s Compact History of the American Newspaper.

“The golden age of America’s founding was the gutter age of American politics,” said Eric Burns, author of Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism, during a C-SPAN presentation on his book.  According to Burns, when Franklin, Washington, Jefferson and Adams were creating this country, journalism was more vile than ever before or ever since.

Tebbel and Burns are primarily referring to The Gazette of the United States and the National Gazette, which were the 18th century equivalent of MSNBC and FOX NEWS. The Aurora General Advertiser, Porcupine’s Gazette and New York Evening Post are three other titles often included in the dark ages.

The Gazette of the United States, edited by John Fenno, supported the Federalist party, which wanted a big, central government and weak states. Alexander Hamilton was the party’s symbolic figurehead. National Gazette, edited by Philip Freneau, represented the Republicans, who wanted more state power and weak central government. James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were the Republican’s symbolic figureheads.

According to Burns, Hamilton and Jefferson both used government money — funds from the State Department — to launch their respective Gazettes, which provided as much competitive back-and-forth entertainment as an Agassi-Sampras tennis match. For examples of the barb exchanges watch chapter 14 of Burns’ C-SPAN presentation (starts at 29:52).

As you’ll learn from Burns, Thomas Jefferson had a very devious side to him.  “Jefferson would leave the door to the state dept unlocked at night on occasion and he would leave documents on the desk which, if taken out of context or willfully misinterpreted, could make the Washington administration look bad. Phillip Fernau was the editor of the National Gazette, Jefferson’s paper, and he’s the one who would sneak into the office late at night, copy down these documents and publish articles about them in the National Gazette a few days later.”  Jefferson lied to George Washington on at least one occasion when Washington asked Jefferson if he knew anything about how the National Gazette was obtaining its information.

UPDATE: Via Twitter, @woodpainter asked us to provide a source for Hamilton and Jefferson using State Department money to found their respective Gazettes.  Below are the specific sources, time logs and page numbers with excerpts:

According to Burns’ C-SPAN presentation about Infamous Scribblers (starting at 27:14):

Hamilton appropriated or, if you will, misappropriated government money to start a newspaper. He didn’t think he was doing anything wrong. He took funds from the State Department and created a newspaper called The Gazette of the United States. And he thought that was just fine because he was using government money to promote government positions… Jefferson, however, took State Department money and used it to fund a paper which savaged the government of which Jefferson was one of the main decision makers.

Beyond that, on page 267-8 of Infamous Scribblers, Burns writes:

But it was Hamilton who made [Fenno's newspaper] possible, Hamilton who raised the money to get the Gazette started… He saw to it that all of the Treasury Department’s advertising went to the Gazette of the United States and encouraged friends and firms that did business with various governmental agencies to put their own ads in the paper, the implication being that Hamilton would consider such transactions a favor and that favors were more often than not returned… In addition, Hamilton arranged for Fenno to get as many of Treasury’s printing contracts as possible… In fact, as Ron Chernow points out, Fenno ‘was even listed in the 1791 Philadelphia directory as an officer of the U.S. government.’ Such a relationship between journalism and government could not exist today, not openly at least, and would be scandalous if revealed.

Burns quotes the July 25, 1792 issue of the Gazette of the United States on page 282 of Infamous Scribblers and continues onto pages 283-4:

‘The editor of the National Gazette receives a salary from the government,’ readers are informed in a back-page letter, which then asks how such a publication can be trusted… But was Hamilton not guilty of the same thing? Was he not in fact as much a hypocrite as Jefferson, pursuing his own political ends at the expense of taxpayers… The Gazette of the United States was using government money to support government positions, Hamilton explained, and he believed that to be a perfectly legitimate expense… As late as 1796, Hamilton was still writing in the Gazette of the United States about Jefferson’s having ‘conferred a sinecure office in [the State] department… on Mr. Freneau to induce him to remove to Philadelphia, and set up a newspaper at the seat of the government called the National Gazette.

That said, it was interesting to find the October 24, 1771 Massachusetts Spy had stacked one news brief about the repeal of the American tea bill on top of a blurb about Captain Preston of the Boston Massacre. See the ironic placement below.

Dunlap was the printer of the first copies of the Declaration of Independence although his Packet was second to print the full text of the Declaration (July 8, 1776) after The Pennsylvania Evening Post (July 6, 1776).  The Pennsylvania Packet eventually became the first daily newspaper in America with its September 21, 1784 issue.

Below is the full text of Dunlap’s colonial newspaper launch announcement, as published in the October 21, 1771 issue of The Massachusetts Spy. Click to enlarge.

According to The Life of Colonel Paul Revere, Volume 1, by Elbridge Henry Goss: “When the British troops evacuated Boston on March 17, 1776, the Continental Army “endeavored to make useless the cannon at Castle William — now Fort Independence — and the other fortifications, by breaking off the trunions, and in other ways disabling them. At the request of General Washington, Revere repaired the damages; and he also invented a new carriage for them. At this time a regiment of artillery, consisting of ten companies, was raised for the defence of the town, with its headquarters at Boston. This was also called the ‘Massachusetts State’s Train.’ Revere immediately entered the service, being commissioned at first, April 10, 1776, as Major in the First Regiment of Militia. A month later, however, May 10, he was transferred to the Artillery Regiment; and not long after, November 27th, he was promoted to the position of Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment… In the artillery service which Revere entered, he remained; fulfilling his various duties with the utmost conscientiousness. He was detailed on many occasions for important duties, and was several times placed in command at Castle William.”

From what I have been able to find, only one brief mention of Revere’s promotion to Lieutenant Colonel ever made the Boston newspapers.  The one-liner was tucked away on the third page of the December 5, 1776 issue of The Continental Journal, printed by John Gill on Queen Street. Below is that one Boston newspaper announcement of Revere’s military promotion.

UPDATE:  Please consider donating a symbolic $76 to help the Paul Revere House renew and expand its historic facilities. It’s a true historic treasure and $76 will go a long way.  If you’re a loyal reader of Rag Linen, a fan of Paul Revere, or a history buff of any kind, please consider it.  Thank you! Donate your symbolic $76 today.

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