HOW THE ENEMY RECEIVES INFORMATION: As Reported by the Washington Naional Republican 150 Years Ago

An article 150 years ago in the Washington National Republican alerted readers to  the Confederates' use of northern newspapers as their principal intelligence source on Union military activity.  Incidentally, the Washington National Republican went out of its way to call out The New York Herald, which was closely aligned with the Democratic Party.  However, the Washington National Republican's complaint was not so much that potentially sensitive military information was being published in northern papers, but that these papers were allowed to make it through Union lines and to the rebels.  In essence, the National Republican held Union authorities responsible for the problem for failing to keep newspapers out of the enemy's hands.   The correspondent certainly would be astonished by today's instant internet publishing.

Confederate troops stationed in and near Fairfax County were able to take advantage of gaps in Union picket lines to obtain northern newspapers, which were scoured for potentially useful information. As the war went on, Union commanders would become increasingly concerned about the operational security issues posed by reporters who could now quickly report Union military movements via telegraphic dispatches.  In 1863, General Joseph Hooker reportedly required correspondents accompanying the Army of the Potomac to attache their name to their stories, apparently one of the earliest uses of a byline in American journalism, in order to provide for some accountability.

Professor Lowe Flies High in Falls Church, Virginia

Two weeks ago I wrote about Professor Thaddeus Lowe and the advent of aerial reconnaissance in the U.S.  On Saturday, the City of Falls Church sponsored a program commemorating Lowe's June 24-25, 1861 flights near Falls Church.   After his National Mall demonstration  had secured President Lincoln's support for employing balloons with the army, Lowe finally got a positive response from previously reluctant army officers. In late June 1861, he was ordered to bring his balloon across the Potomac, so that it could be used to determine Confederate force dispositions in Northern Virginia.

A sketch of Lowe's June 1861 balloon operations near Falls Church.