ABSTRACT
The responses of military commanders, North and South, hinged on the press accounts they received of troop movements and battle outcomes, and, even more importantly, on how President Abraham Lincoln and his administration reacted publicly to the news. Lincoln's subsequent Gettysburg Address is a key moment in the development of modern consciousness not only of that great battle, but also in understanding of American history. The chapter explains military life, as reported in stories of casualties, communications, conscription, engineering, medical services, naval operations, officers, prisons, strategy, and transportation. Reports on military operations led Civil War journalism. The most important function of the Civil War press was that of exposition. The major battle of the war occurred at Manassas, Virginia, and Lincoln and the country paid close attention to press accounts. While military news was of the greatest interest to journalists during the war, the war's meaning became the primary objective of their analysis upon the conflict's conclusion.
