Top of page

Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities
BETA

Newspaper The Union (Georgetown, Del.) 1863-1866 Weekly union / Union and messenger and peninsular news and advertiser

View All Front Pages

About The Union (Georgetown, Del.) 1863-1866

The Union was first published in Georgetown, Delaware, on September 11, 1863. Edited by Larry W. Wallazz, the newspaper supported the presidency of Abraham Lincoln and the preservation of the Union. In the first issue, the Union stated its position: “Our cause is the noblest, most precious, and honorable ever known to mankind – the preservation of the Union, the protection of the Constitution, the salvation of the country, the maintenance of the honor of our flag, and the enforcement of the laws.” The editor argued that support for the Union in Delaware was growing and encouraged readers to continue to fight against pro-Confederate sentiments.

Because Delaware was a border slave state, emancipation was a consistent issue in state politics. With the introduction on February 8, 1864 of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, the discussion gained intensity. The Amendment went to the states for approval, but Delaware refused to ratify it. The Union argued that the debate over slavery was making Delaware appear “ridiculous in the eyes of the whole country and even of the whole world by silly persistence in upholding an institution so clearly numbered amongst the things that were.” In fact, Delaware did not ratify the 13th Amendment until February 12, 1901.

Largely focused on political and war news, the Union reported on events such as President Lincoln’s suspension of the writ of habeas corpus which, the editor argued, was an attempt to prevent treasonous acts and bring their perpetrators to justice. The September 18, 1863 issue also reported on the siege of Charleston, while the headline for April 7, 1865 praised the Union’s capture of Richmond. In a story on the assassination of Lincoln, the editor of the Union called it “The foulest deed that ever sullies the name of humanity.”

In addition to political and war news, the Union included poetry, short fiction, and local interest stories; the paper sought to appeal to farmers, families, women, children, and religious individuals. In addition, it reprinted stories published in other papers related to the war or otherwise likely to interest its readers.

The Union ceased publication sometime in late 1865 or early 1866.

Provided By: University of Delaware Library, Newark, DE

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Union (Georgetown, Del.) 1863-1866

Other Title

  • Weekly union
  • Union and messenger and peninsular news and advertiser

Dates of Publication

  • 1863-1866

Created / Published

  • Georgetown, Del. : L.W. Wallazz, 1863-

Headings

  • -  Georgetown (Del.)--Newspapers
  • -  Delaware--Georgetown
  • -  United States--Delaware--Sussex--Georgetown

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Sept. 11, 1863)-
  • -  Ceased in 1866?
  • -  Volumes for called also whole no. <75-115>.
  • -  Also issued on microfilm from the Library of Congress, Photoduplication Service.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.

Medium

  • volumes : illustrations ; 59 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn84038105

OCLC Number

  • 11168250

ISSN Number

  • 2639-538x

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.

The NEH awardee responsible for producing each digital object is presented in the Chronicling America page display, below the page image – e.g. Image produced by the Library of Congress. For more information on current NDNP awardees, see https://www.loc.gov/ndnp/listawardees.html.

For more information on Library of Congress policies and disclaimers regarding rights and reproductions, see https://www.loc.gov/homepage/legal.html

Cite This Item

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

Chicago citation style:

The Union Georgetown, Del. -1866. (Georgetown, DE), Jan. 1 1863. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84038105/.

APA citation style:

(1863, January 1) The Union Georgetown, Del. -1866. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84038105/.

MLA citation style:

The Union Georgetown, Del. -1866. (Georgetown, DE) 1 Jan. 1863. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84038105/.