Very Rare BERRYVILLE VA Virginia First Minnesota Camp 1862 Civil War Newspaper

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Very Rare BERRYVILLE VA Virginia First Minnesota Camp 1862 Civil War Newspaper :
$3135.00

Very Rare BERRYVILLE VA Virginia First Minnesota Camp 1862 Civil War Newspaper Offered is an original, collectible newspaper (NOT a copy/reproduction): THE FIRST MINNESOTA, Berryville, Virginia, March 11, 1862* First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment
* Extremely rare Berryville, Virginia camp publication A fascinating & very rare newspaper published under circumstances very similar to what would happen with the Daily Citizen of Vicksburg in early July, 1863.The following is credited to Tim Russo, who did much research on this newspaper: As I research my screenplay for a film about the charge at Gettysburg of the First Minnesota, it’s hard not to fall in love with these guys. Sealing the deal is the First Minnesota’s turn as a precursor of bloggers of today, when they descended upon a newspaper office in the small town of Berryville, Virginia, took it over, and started their own newspaper.
The First Minnesota was sent along with an entire brigade to Berryville, Virgina in March 10, 1862, to re-open the Baltimore and Ohio railroad to Harper’s Ferry. Upon the brigade’s arrival, the Confederate forces left town, fleeing with them the owner of the Berryville Conservator, the town’s secessionist newspaper. Filled with writers, editors, and assorted other newspapermen, the First Minnesota’s “Typographical Fraternity” couldn’t resist, issuing the first edition on March 11, 1862. Sgt. William Lochren probably described best what transpired before the brigade awoke the next day: “During the night the printers of the regiment took possession of the office of the Berryville Conservator, and in the morning following issued a large edition of The First Minnesota, a small paper of four pages, which sold readily, not only in the regiment but in all the surrounding camps. It was filled with a rollicking mixture of humor and patriotism, jibes upon the runaway editor of the Conservator, and the fleeing ‘secesh,’ and good advice to the inhabitants, which they were unlikely to profit by.” The chief rascal was Pvt. Thomas Presnell, who was not in the charge at Gettysburg July 2. His Company C was detached for provost duty that day, rejoining the regiment July 3rd for the defense of Cemetery Ridge against Pickett’s Charge. Presnell was actually present at the death of Confederate General Lew Armistead. Prsenell had been in the newspaper business since a child, fully equipped to set type, pull presses, and manage writers. Newspapers of the era were a manual labor operation, so the men put quite a bit of work into producing even one issue. The paper only lasted a few days, but sold like hotcakes among the First Minnesota’s brigade, from 5 cents a copy to a dollar a piece...".

As is explained on the front page, "...Our only apology for making our appearance in 'secesh' copy is, that the employees of Mr. Gregg [publisher of the Berryville Conservator] hearing, doubtless, that we Vandal Yankees had crossed the Potomac and were on their way to the pleasant little village of Berryville, were kind enough to 'set up' and 'work off' the first side of the paper...".

So as is seen in the photos, the front page is as set by the First Minnesota soldiers, while page 2 is page 4 of the Conservator, page 3 is the front page of the Conservator, and page 4 is page 2 of the Conservator. The only page not set up by the fleeing printers was page 3 of their issue, which was set up by the Minnesota soldiers and became the new page 1 of the issue.

A four page issue but as described above, 12 by 17 inches, mild wear at margins & the fold, archival strengthening at the spine with some discrete archival mends at margins. Generally in good condition.

background: On March 11, 1862, while the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment occupied Berryville, Virginia, a group of soldiers styled the “Typographical Fraternity of the First Minnesota Regiment” seized the local printing office of the Berryville Conservator and issued a one‑time sheet entitled the First Minnesota, effectively commandeering the remaining type and press of the fleeing publisher to produce Union‑friendly content bearing the motto “Death to Traitors!” on its masthead. The edition blends Union military news, satire of Confederate sympathizers, and repurposed material from the Conservator—its production merging two newspapers in one sheet.
American Printing History Association. According to catalog records of the Library of Virginia, the First Minnesota was published only in 1862 and issued with the Berryville Conservator that same day. Please Note: All of our offerings are 100% authentic! We do not offer reprints or reproductions of any kind. They are guaranteed to be original!
Links to Archival Storage Options & Certificates of Authenticity Are Below! Historical reports may be beautifulor ugly, but they are always informative. While we rejoice in the beautiful (heroic, discovery, amazing feats, etc.), we at History's Newsstand also offer "the ugly" for we are determined to learn from the wrongs of the past - understanding, to do so, we must be willing to look these wrongs directly in the face and shout "NO MORE!". It is for this reason many Black Americans collect historic slave ads, Jews collect reports regarding the Holocaust, women collect coverage of the Women's Suffrage Movement, etc.. If you find any to be offensive, we agree! Hopefully this is an indication we are moving in the right direction.
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We have been both collectors and dealers in rare newspapers since 1975, serve as consultants to multiple museums, and are members of both the Ephemera Society of America and the American Antiquarian Society.offer & Buy with confidenceknowing every item we offer is guaranteed to be authentic.

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"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." Thomas Jefferson