ABSTRACT
His understanding of this prejudice was particularly acute as he was developing a growing political identification with the defeated South. On his way to New Orleans, he was delayed in Memphis, the end of his train journey, where he was to connect with a riverboat for the remainder of the journey. He eked out his savings on survival in a carpetless room in a grim old house on the waterfront of the 'dirty, ugly town'. While he was there, watching the comings and goings of the river traffic in frustration, he observed the funeral of a Confederate Civil War veteran, General Forrest. This provided the material for his first dispatch to the Commercial, under the pseudonym, Ozias Midwinter, a self-deprecatory reference to a Wilkie Collins character. By dwelling on the shady character of the general's business transactions and his reckless temper, the article may have contributed to the 'Republican' reputation he developed and which was to lead to difficulties in New Orleans.8
