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Newspaper The Alexandria Herald (Alexandria [Va.]) 1811-1826 Alexandria Columbia herald

About The Alexandria Herald (Alexandria [Va.]) 1811-1826

The Alexandria Herald was established in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 3, 1811, as a predominantly local paper. Published semiweekly to triweekly, the six-page paper primarily covered financial and political news within the city, but it also broadcast national events, such as public addresses from then-President James Madison on the conduct of the War of 1812 against Great Britain.

One of Virginia’s earliest English towns, Alexandria boasted a lucrative tobacco industry during the colonial period. On November 1, 1748, a petition was submitted to the House of Burgesses by Fairfax County representative Lawrence Washington, on behalf of “inhabitants of Fairfax (Co.) praying that a town may be established at Hunting Creek Warehouse on Potowmack River.” Lawrence’s younger brother, George Washington—then an aspiring surveyor—made a sketch of the Potomac’s shoreline to demonstrate Alexandria’s potential locational advantages for the tobacco trade. In 1791, during President Washington’s administration, the County of Alexandria was ceded by the state to the U.S. government and incorporated into the newly established District of Columbia. In 1846, during a downsize of the nation’s capital, a portion of Alexandria—excluding what is now Arlington County—was retroceded to the state of Virginia. The Herald demonstrated Alexandria’s important social and political connection to Washington, D.C., with its masthead, “Columbia.”

Over sixty years after Washington’s successful petition, John Corse and Nathaniel Rounsavell began publishing the Alexandria Herald as a semi-weekly. Shortly thereafter, on November 4, 1811, they increased the paper’s circulation to a tri-weekly, and they continued to co-publish the paper until 1820. Henry Pittman replaced Corse as Rounsavell’s partner, and from 1820 until May of 1822, they jointly published. Pittman then became its sole publisher until its final issue on November 15, 1826. Thereafter, the Herald was consolidated with the Washington Gazette and continued as the United States’ Telegraph, which was circulated in Alexandria and Washington, D.C. from 1826-1837. Throughout the Herald’s tenure from 1811-1826, the city experienced the War of 1812 and later became one of the antebellum United States’ principal slave-trading centers. As with most antebellum newspapers published in the South, the Alexandria Herald printed fugitive slave advertisements posted by enslavers, as well as jailers who held fugitive slaves. The ads were one tool, among many, used to police and control the movement of the enslaved.

In 1814, during the War of 1812, Alexandria was raided by the British fleet just days after its invasion and burning of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. The Royal Navy forced the city’s surrender and looted its stores and warehouses. The Herald would report in great detail on these national events. While the paper published original articles, they were also quick to republish existing accounts from other newspapers – much like today’s wire services – as the war covered massive distances, from Canada to New Orleans. For example, reporting on the Battle of Beaver Dam in July 1813, the Herald used a dispatch originally published in the Buffalo Gazette.

Provided By: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Alexandria Herald (Alexandria [Va.]) 1811-1826

Other Title

  • Alexandria Columbia herald

Names

  • Corse, John
  • Rounsavell, Nathaniel, 1786?-1826

Dates of Publication

  • 1811-1826

Created / Published

  • Alexandria [Va.] : J. Corse & N. Rounsavell, 1811-1826.

Headings

  • -  Alexandria (Va.)--Newspapers
  • -  Virginia--Alexandria
  • -  United States--Virginia--Alexandria

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Semiweekly,
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (June 3, 1811)-v. 16, no. 2466 (Nov. 15, 1826).
  • -  The word "Columbia" printed over the masthead ornament, May 2-Dec. 28, 1825.
  • -  Publishers: Rounsavell & Pittman, <1821>-July 26, 1822; Henry Pittman, July 29, 1822-182<5>.
  • -  Includes bibliographical references (Shaw & Shoemaker 22171; Brigham, C.S. Amer. newspapers, page 1110).
  • -  Also issued on microfilm from the Library of Congress, Photoduplication Service, and from West Virginia University Library Photoduplication section.
  • -  Also available online.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  United States' telegraph (Washington, D.C. : Daily) (DLC)sn 83045674 (OCoLC)2268926

Medium

  • volumes : illustrations (chiefly advertisements) ; 46 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper
  • AN

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn84024513

OCLC Number

  • 10859252

ISSN Number

  • 2767-4274

Succeeding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

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:

The Alexandria Herald Alexandria Va. -1826. (Alexandria, VA), Jan. 1 1811. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84024513/.

APA citation style:

(1811, January 1) The Alexandria Herald Alexandria Va. -1826. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84024513/.

MLA citation style:

The Alexandria Herald Alexandria Va. -1826. (Alexandria, VA) 1 Jan. 1811. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84024513/.