The New Orleans correspondent of The Tribune came North on the last passenger-train from Richmond to Aquia Creek.  One of The Herald’s representatives was thrown into prison by Jeff.  Davis, but released through the influence of Pope Walker, the Rebel Secretary of War.  Another remained in the South until all regular communication was cut off.  He reached the North in safety by the line of the “underground railway.”

When the Rebellion was fairly inaugurated, the various points of interest were at once visited by the correspondents of the press.  Wherever our armies operated, the principal dailies of New York and other cities were represented.  Washington was the center of gravity around which the Eastern correspondents revolved.  As the army advanced into Virginia, every movement was carefully chronicled.  The competition between the different journals was very great.

In the West the field was broader, and the competition, though active, was less bitter than along the Potomac.  In the early days, St. Louis, Cairo, and Louisville were the principal Western points where correspondents were stationed.  As our armies extended their operations, the journalists found their field of labor enlarged.  St. Louis lost its importance when the Rebels were driven from Missouri.  For a long time Cairo was the principal rendezvous of the journalists, but it became less noted as our armies pressed forward along the Mississippi.

Every war-correspondent has his story of experiences in the field.  Gathering the details of a battle in the midst of its dangers; sharing the privations of the camp and the fatigues of the march; riding with scouts, and visiting the skirmishers on the extreme front; journeying to the rear through regions infested by the enemy’s cavalry, or running the gauntlet of Rebel batteries, his life was far from monotonous.  Frequently the correspondents acted as volunteer aids to generals during engagements, and rendered important service.  They often took the muskets of fallen soldiers and used them to advantage.  On the water, as on land, they sustained their reputation, and proved that the hand which wielded the pen was able to wield the sword.  They contributed their proportion of killed, wounded, and captured to the casualties of the war.  Some of them accepted commissions in the army and navy.

During the campaign of General Lyon in Missouri, the journalists who accompanied that army were in the habit of riding outside the lines to find comfortable quarters for the night.  Frequently they went two or three miles ahead of the entire column, in order to make sure of a good dinner before the soldiers could overtake them.  One night two of them slept at a house three miles from the road which the army was following.  The inmates of the mansion were unaware of the vicinity of armed “Yankees,” and entertained the strangers without question.  Though a dozen Rebel scouts called at the house before daylight, the correspondents were undisturbed.  After that occasion they were more cautious in their movements.