[Archived] “Reporting from the Field - Travels of a Civil War Correspondent”-Nov. 12

   Lecture to be held November 12

The 2014-15 season of the Alexandria Civil War Sesquicentennial monthly lecture series continues in November, with a presentation entitled Reporting from the Field - Travels of a Civil War Correspondent by noted historical re-enactor Steven Mark Diatz, who is a former librarian with the Alexandria Library.  Mr. Diatz, will perform a first-person portrayal of Civil War-era reporter W.S, Halliday, a correspondent for the famous New York Herald newspaper.  Mr. Diatz will discuss Halliday’s career writing about important events and people, as newspapers in both the North and South became a chief source of information and propaganda before, during and after the conflict. At the time, the New York Herald was considered one of the most important and influential newspapers in the nation, exceeding all other papers in profit and popularity.

In 1861, the New York Herald had a  circulation of  84,000 copies and referred to  itself as "the most largely circulated journal in the world."  The news venue was under the direction of publisher James Gordon Bennett, Sr., who once offered the opinion that the purpose of a newspaper "is not to instruct but to startle." Many articles included in the Herald archives certainly met that expectation.  New York’s famous Herald Square, home of the flagship Macy’s department store at Broadway and 34^th Street, is named for the site of the newspaper’s offices.  That location is within eight blocks of Times Square, the location of the paper’s arch rival, The New York Times.

The lecture will be held on Wednesday, November 12, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. at the historic Lloyd House, 220 North Washington Street, Alexandria, Virginia.  Admission is free, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.  There will be a short period for questions and light refreshments afterward.

This program will be the tenth lecture presentation sponsored by the Historic Alexandria Resources Commission, Alexandria American Civil War Sesquicentennial Sub-committee, and the Office of Historic Alexandria on the American Civil War.  For more information, please call 703.746.4554 or visit www.historicalexandria.org.