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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Baton-Rouge Gazette (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856 Gazette de Baton-Rouge / Baton Rouge weekly gazette / Published with an additional masthead in French: Gazette de Baton-Rouge

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About Baton-Rouge Gazette (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856

Founded as a French trading post in the early 18th century, Baton Rouge was part of the British and later Spanish colony of West Florida from 1763 until 1810, when, as part of the short-lived Republic of West Florida, it was annexed by the United States. Located on the east bank of the Mississippi River and surrounded by sugar and cotton plantations, it developed into the main commercial center between New Orleans and Natchez. In 1846, through the influence of rural planters, the state capital was moved from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, even though its population at that time was less than 3,000.

The first issue of the Baton-Rouge Gazette appeared in February 1819. Its editors and proprietors changed frequently but included Theodore Devalcourt, William Grivot, Louis Sheppers, Hugh Alexander, Henry A.S. Mussenden, Albert P. Converse, Francis G. Henderson, John Dufrocq, William Adams, and Mayhew G. Bryan. In 1843, Editor John Hueston was killed in a duel with Alcee Labranche, a candidate for Congress, whom Hueston had insulted in the Gazette. Although initially nonpartisan, by the 1840s the paper’s political sympathies lay with the Whig Party.

A four-page weekly, the Gazette was originally issued with two pages in English and two in French. By the 1840s, French-language content had virtually disappeared. Each issue typically contained miscellaneous news items related to politics and commerce, as well as advertisements for local businesses, schools, and entertainment venues, including horse racing, for which Baton Rouge was then well known. The paper also carried a large number of runaway slave notices.

Publication continued until 1856, when the Gazette merged with the Baton Rouge Weekly Comet to form the Weekly Gazette and Comet

Provided By: Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Baton-Rouge Gazette (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856

Other Title

  • Gazette de Baton-Rouge
  • Baton Rouge weekly gazette
  • Published with an additional masthead in French: Gazette de Baton-Rouge

Dates of Publication

  • 1819-1856

Created / Published

  • Baton-Rouge, La. : Morison & Devalcourt, 1819-

Headings

  • -  French Americans--Newspapers
  • -  Baton Rouge (La.)--Newspapers
  • -  French Americans
  • -  Louisiana--Baton Rouge
  • -  United States--Louisiana--East Baton Rouge--Baton Rouge

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Feb. 8, 1819)-
  • -  Ceased in Dec. 1856?
  • -  French title varies slightly.
  • -  Issue for May 26, 1838 misdated May 20, 1838.
  • -  Available on microfilm from Louisiana State University Library.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  In French and English, 1819-July 11, 1846.
  • -  Latest issue consulted: Vol. 34, no. 52 (Jan. 29, 1853).
  • -  Weekly morning comet (Baton Rouge, La. : 1856) (DLC)sn 86090960 (OCoLC)15242272
  • -  Weekly gazette and comet (DLC)sn 85038555 (OCoLC)12737465

Medium

  • volumes : illustrations ; 51-69 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn82003383

OCLC Number

  • 2258190

ISSN Number

  • 2379-7231

Succeeding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Baton-Rouge Gazette Baton-Rouge, La. -1856. (Baton Rouge, LA), Jan. 1 1819. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn82003383/.

APA citation style:

(1819, January 1) Baton-Rouge Gazette Baton-Rouge, La. -1856. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn82003383/.

MLA citation style:

Baton-Rouge Gazette Baton-Rouge, La. -1856. (Baton Rouge, LA) 1 Jan. 1819. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn82003383/.