30. Johnny Reb read newspapers and magazines as well
The most popular periodical in the camps of the Confederate Army was the Southern Literary Messenger, which was published in Richmond and which had in an earlier day been edited by Edgar Allan Poe. The Messenger continued publication until June, 1864, when it was forced to stop its presses, in part because of the situation in Richmond. The Southern Illustrated News was also popular. Also published in Richmond it was unabashedly favorable to the government of the Confederacy, and continued to publish until that government was forced to flee the capital in April, 1865, as Lee and the remnants of his army retreated towards Appomattox and surrender.
