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Newspaper Maryland Free Press (Hagerstown [Md.]) 1862-18??

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About Maryland Free Press (Hagerstown [Md.]) 1862-18??

The Maryland Free Press was a weekly newspaper published in Hagerstown, Maryland, between 1862 and 1876. Andrew G. Boyd, editor and proprietor of the Free Press, created the paper in order to represent the Democratic point of view in Western Maryland during the Civil War. His goal was to exercise the freedom guaranteed us by the Constitution, of criticising the acts of this, or any other administration, regardless of forts, ropes or bayonets, lawless mobs, or private malice.The paper included local news, war reports, market reports, an agricultural section, and advertisements.

Boyd began his newspaper career apprenticing for William D. Bell of the Hagerstown Torch Light and Public Advertiser and for his brother, John W. Boyd, of the Hagerstown News. The Boyd brothers edited the weekly edition of the News until John retired in January 1847, leaving Andrew in charge.

The Maryland Free Press began publication on October 31, 1862, when rivalry amongst the Hagerstown newspapers was fierce. The contention was at least partially due to the fact that some papers, such as the Maryland Free Press and the Hagerstown Mail, sympathized with the South, while their rival, the Hagerstown Herald of Freedom and Torch Light, opposed secession. Due to its support for the Confederate cause, the federal government suppressed the Maryland Free Press after its March 13, 1863, issue, stating that the paper had printed matters of an incendiary and revolutionary character, tending to, and evidently designed to encourage and foster insurrection, rebellion and hostility against the Government of the United States. Boyd was arrested on March 12 and exiled to the South for the remainder of the Civil War, where he enlisted in the First Maryland Calvary of the Confederate Army as a private.

Over three years later, on May 3, 1866, the Maryland Free Press reappeared in Williamsport, Maryland, bearing the motto Truth Crush’d to Earth, shall Rise Again and endorsing the policies of President Andrew Johnson. The paper resumed publication in Hagerstown late in 1866. After the Civil War, the Maryland Free Press criticized Reconstruction, resented the newly freed slaves, and opposed efforts to protect their civil rights. Boyd remained the editor of the paper from the time of its return in 1866 until 1875, when he left it in the hands of his son Marmaduke Wyvil Boyd. “Duke” Boyd changed the title to the Reporter and Advertiser in March 1875 before selling it to the Hagerstown Mail in April 1876, when it was discontinued.

Provided By: University of Maryland, College Park, MD

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Maryland Free Press (Hagerstown [Md.]) 1862-18??

Dates of Publication

  • 1862-18??

Created / Published

  • Hagerstown [Md.] : A.G. Boyd

Headings

  • -  Hagerstown (Md.)--Newspapers
  • -  Maryland--Hagerstown
  • -  United States--Maryland--Washington--Hagerstown
  • -  United States--Maryland--Washington--Williamsport

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Oct. 31, 1862)- ; vol. 1, no. 1 (May 3, 1866)-
  • -  Published at Williamsport, Md., May 3-Nov. 15, 1866.
  • -  Suspended <1863>-Apr. 1866.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn84026707

OCLC Number

  • 10663331

ISSN Number

  • 2378-0533

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:

Maryland Free Press Hagerstown Md. -18??. (Hagerstown, MD), Jan. 1 1862. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84026707/.

APA citation style:

(1862, January 1) Maryland Free Press Hagerstown Md. -18??. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84026707/.

MLA citation style:

Maryland Free Press Hagerstown Md. -18??. (Hagerstown, MD) 1 Jan. 1862. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84026707/.