“A Sensation Letter”: Fake News, 1861-Style

One of the interesting things about studying the Civil War in the Southwest is seeing how the extreme distances influenced the perception of events in the other theaters of the war. While the advent of the telegraph meant that some news could travel faster than ever, that was only true of accurate news to and from places along a telegraph line.

On April 12, 1861, forces under the command of P.G.T. Beauregard opened fire on Fort Sumter, kicking off the Civil War. It was perhaps the most significant news that had occurred in America since the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

The next day, the weekly issue of the Santa Fe Gazette led their front page with a discussion of the breaking news…that 4 mules and a horse had been stolen in Mesilla, New Mexico. Some discussion of the growing crisis in Charleston, South Carolina was reserved for the lower right corner of the first page.^[1]

On April 20, the Gazette – a weekly publication – included two articles about the nascent Confederate secession movement in Arizona, and a shorter article about Federal reinforcement of Fort Pickens, with a single aside mentioning Fort Sumter. But the longest section about the secession crisis was devoted to this “news”:

“A Sensation Letter

In the St. Louis Republican of the 2nd inst., we find the following communication, attractive heading and all:

Revolution in New Mexico – Governor Rencher Heads It – Fort Marcy in Possession of the Revolutionists.”^[2]

It was followed by a reprinting of the original article from St. Louis, and this delightfully tongue-in-cheek debunking of the notion that secessionists had stormed Fort Marcy, Santa Fe, or the New Mexico Territory as a whole:

“The story is without foundation from beginning to end. On the morning of the 11th of March our little city wore its accustomed quiet appearance; the half dozen soldiers on guard at Fort Marcy were as calm in the discharge of their duty as they have ever been; Col. Fauntleroy may have been moderately excited over a game of billiards, but not from an apprehension of danger to the public property : we feel almost sure that the Governor in the quiet of his office did not even think of placing himself at the head of a revolutionary force…”^[3]

Santa Fe readers could rest assured that their city hadn’t been occupied without their noticing.

By the April 27 issue, it was clear that tensions back east were mounting rapidly, but the most recent dispatches from the East Coast were from April 11 – still 24 hours before Fort Sumter came under attack. There was detailed discussion of the military buildup around Charleston, but as far as the Gazette was concerned, no shots had been fired yet.^[4]

In an era when social media and breaking news notifications pushed to our cell phones will give us information (or misinformation) within moments of an event happening, it’s hard to imagine that it wasn’t until May 4 – more than three weeks after the bombardment started – that the Santa Fe Gazette could lead their front page with the news that Fort Sumter had surrendered.^[5]

None of this is meant to mock the Gazette posthumously. You don’t know what you don’t know, and in an era of slow communication, it might take nearly a month to find out what the breaking news was on the other side of the country. 

This particular bit of fake news also highlighted a very real tension in the West. The secession crisis had escalated breathtakingly fast, and nobody knew where that tide would crest. Not long after this, the southern third of the New Mexico Territory would secede, form the self-proclaimed Arizona Territory, and throw their lot in with the Confederacy. Federal leadership had serious, and not entirely unfounded, concerns, that some or all of Colorado, California and Utah would follow suit.

And in defense of the St. Louis Republican, they were just ahead of their time. As it turned out, secessionists would, in fact, occupy Santa Fe – but not for nearly another year. 

[1] Santa Fe Gazette, April 13, 1861. Accessed via Library of Congress.

[2] Santa Fe Gazette, April 20, 1861. Accessed via Library of Congress.

[3] Santa Fe Gazette, April 27, 1861. Accessed via Library of Congress.

[4] Santa Fe Gazette, April 27, 1861. Accessed via Library of Congress.

[5] Santa Fe Gazette, May 4, 1861. Accessed via Library of Congress.