These reports are sure giving really good insight into the information that was going out to the general public. Without reading the name of the newspaper, it's not difficult just from reading the articles to know where they were from. Yet more reports of a possible revolt by the slaves. Someone has done a very good job of keeping these tidbits hidden for a very long time. It's not difficult to see how it may be believed to be a much larger threat than supposed to those in the South. With them showing up on a regular basis I'd think that information would be more than enough reason to cause alarm. Even if half were later found to be false, the other half would be enough to get the slave owners together to try to get to those who were either planting the idea or providing the 'poison'.

The article telling of the already set into place plan for a provisional government probably got the attention of the people who just did not think the states would go to that drastic measure and leave the union. Even though we think we have problems, and some may well be very distrustful of our current situatiom those soldiers from the Federal Army leaving the Union was a brave thing to do. There had to be much more going on than we've been led to believe because those who commanded the soldiers of the Confederacy did not take that switch lightly. It almost had to be more than one reason. Once the fighting started, those who joined at least had the act of war to use as a reason. Before that, they had to balance their infomation against all they had stood for before.

Pam