The Calvin Shedd Papers > Background > Lack of News, St. Augustine
Lack of News, St. Augustine
| Date(s) of Letter(s) | Fretwell,
Jacqueline, Ed. Civil War Times in St. Augustine. St. Augustine, Florida: St.
Augustine Historical Society, 1986.
|
| November 27, 1862 March 11, 1863 April 14, 1863 |
"News from the outside world was a scarce item. The supply ship from Hilton Head, which came every two or three weeks, was the most regular source of information, but even this ship could not always be relied upon to appear on schedule. A newspaper correspondent who came in on the courier ship declared, 'One can fancy that this staid, sleepy and ancient town of St. Augustine is a part of another planet.' Sometimes a rebel at the San Sebastian bridge would bring in a Southern newspaper to trade. Although events described in arriving news sources were sometimes more than a month old, word of great battles or momentous events created just as great a sensation as if they had occurred recently. Perhaps the reaction was even heightened because of the anticipation built up by the delay." (Fretwell, p. 37). |