Main Street – September 16, 1948

By Morris Rote-Rosen

The New York Times of Sunday, August 22, 1948, published a story which read in part as follows: "A Civil War story never recounted in history books was brought to light yesterday by a Confederate newspaper called 'The Daily Citizen'. Printed on wall paper, it was dated July 2, 1863. An original copy of the paper which was published in Vicksburg, Miss., is in the possession of Dan Zilko, of the Hotel Sheldon, Lexington Avenue and Forty-ninth street. Mr. Zilko said that he believed, after checking the museums, that the copy was the only one in existence."

While interviewing LeRoy L. Barnard, Granville's last Civil War veteran about 17 years ago, for a newspaper article, he brought out several souvenirs and relics which he salvaged while serving with the Union Army. "Here is something interesting", said Mr. Barnard, and he unrolled a copy of "The Daily Citizen" referred to in the "Times" story and he gave it to us as a souvenir of the interview. When we read the story in the New York Times, Sunday, August 22, we unrolled that wall-paper newspaper and it is another original copy which Dan Zilko claims is non-existent. If he has the "only" copy as far as he could learn we have one too.

Because of the shortage of newsprint in the Confederacy during the War of the Rebellion, newspapers were printed on the back of wall paper in some instances. "The Daily Citizen" in our possession is yellowed with age. It was printed 85 years ago - July 2, 1863. It is a four column sheet, printed on one side only, is 19 inches long and eleven inches wide. All, except a three inch item at the bottom of the newspaper, was set by the printers of "The Daily Citizen" who because of the attack by the Union Army were unable to finish setting up the full paper. The "Yankees" finished the setting up of the three inch space and ran off several copies as souvenirs such as is in our possession.

We are reprinting some of the items which appear in "The Daily Citizen" of Vicksburg, Miss., during its siege, dated Thursday, July 2, 1863, as follows: "We are indebted to Major Gillespie for a steak of Confederate beef, and meat. We have tried it, and can assure our friends that if it is rendered necessary, they need have no scruples at eating the meat. It is sweet, savory, and tender, and as long as we have a mule left we are satisfied our soldiers will be content to subsist on it."

"Grant's forces did a little firing on Tuesday afternoon, but the balance of the day was comparatively quiet. Yesterday morning they were very still and continued so until early in the afternoon, when they sprung a mine on the left of our center, and opened fire along the line for some distance. We have not been able to ascertain anything definitely as to our loss, but as our officers were on the lookout for this move of the enemy, the expectations of the Yankees were not realized by a great deal."

"Porter is enjoying a season of rest and his men are doubtless obliged to him for his kind consideration for their welfare. On Tuesday he fired a few shells from his parrots, and kept his men tolerably busy sharpshooting across the river, with no other result than might be expected. The mortars have not been used for nearly forty-eight hours. Poor fool, he might as well give up the vain aspiration he entertains of capturing our city, or exterminating our people, and return to his master, to receive the award such a gasconading dolt will meet at the hands of the unappreciative Government in Washington."

"Again we have reliable news from the gallant corps of Gen. Lee in Virginia. Our brave men under Lee are striking terror to the hearts of all Yankeedom. Today the mongrel administration of Lincoln is like Japhet in search of a father, for their old Abe has departed to parts unknown. Terror reigns in their halls. Lee is to the left of the them, the right of them, in front of them and all around them, and daily do we expect to hear of down on them. Today Maryland is ours, tomorrow Pennsylvania will be, and the next Ohio - now midway, like Mohammed's coffin - will fall. Success and glory to our arms. God and right is with us."

"If aught would appeal to the heart of stone of the extortioner with success, the present necessities of our citizens would do so. It is needless to attempt to disguise from our enemy, or our own people, that our wants is great. A rumor has reached us that parties in our city have been, and are now, selling flour at five dollars per pound, molasses and ten dollars per gallon and corn at ten dollars per bushel. We have not yet proved whether such prices are being paid, and to whom; and if so, let a brand not only be placed on their brow, but let it be smeared into their very brain, that humanity may scorn and shun them as they would the portals of hell itself."

"In devoting a large portion of our space to federal intelligence, copied from the Memphis Bulletin, it should be remembered that the news in the original truth is whitewashed by the Federal Provost Marshal, who desires to hoodwink the poor Northern white slaves. This paper (Memphis Bulletin) is in duress and edited by a pink-nosed, slab-sided, toad-eating Yankee, who is a lineal descendant of Judas Iscariot and a brother germain of the greatest Puritanical, cycophantic, howling scoundrel, unhung - Parson Brownlow. Yet, with such a character, the paper cannot cloak the fact that General Rob't E. Lee has given Hooker, Milroy and Co., one of the best and soundest whippings on record, and that the 'glorious Union' is now exceedingly weak in the knees."

"That great Ulysses - the Yankee Generalissimo, surnamed Grant - has expressed his intentions of dining in Vicksburg on Sunday next, and celebrating the Fourth of July by a grand dinner and so forth. When asked if he would invite General Joe Johnson to join, he said: 'No, for fear there will be a row at the table.' Ulysses must get into the city before he dines in it. The way to cook a rabbit is 'first catch the rabbit' etc." ... This item was written on July 2, 1863, but when the Union soldiers captured Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, the three inch blank space, referred to at the beginning of this column, was set in type and the paper printed in full.

The part that the Union soldiers included to fill out the "Daily Citizen" reads as follows: "NOTE. July 4th 1863. Two days brings about many changes. The banner of the Union floats over Vicksburg. Gen. Grant has 'caught the rabbit', he has dined in Vicksburg and, he did bring his dinner with him. "The Citizen" lives to see it. For the last time it appears on "Wall Paper". No more will it eulogize the luxury of mule meat and fricaseed kitten - urge Southern warriors to such diet nevermore. This is the last wall paper 'Citizen', and is, excepting this note, from the types as we 'yankee printers' found them. Copies will be valuable in years to come as a curiosity."

It is obvious that the Dan Zilko copy of "The Vicksburg Daily Citizen" is not the only one in existence. We don't know whether there may be others scattered around the country, but the one in our possession is evidently an authentic print from the "Yankee Printers" and apparently one of only two copies known to be in existence. We expect to frame this wall-paper newspaper, and in the near future, present it to the Pember Library and make it a part of the photo-history collection of the Library. It will be a memento to LeRoy L. Barnard, Granville's last soldier of the Civil War, who died at the age of 102, in 1944.