The Texas Republican

In 1849, an influential, pro-Southern newspaper, the Republican was established by Robert W. Loughery, who was an adamant supporter of slave-owning rights, and eventually for secession. The Republican was published every Friday; subscriptions sold $3.00 per year, with four pages printed for most issues. Circulation extended outside Harrison County to major urban settlements of the region, including Shreveport and Mansfield in Louisiana, and Jefferson and Tyler in Texas.

Harrison County, located in northeastern Texas along the Louisiana border, became a major hub for cotton in the region during the antebellum era. Marshall was the first town in Texas to have a telegram; by the 1850s the local newspapers, including the Harrison Flag, Star State Patriot, and the Texas Republican had a telegraph link to New Orleans, which gave the newspapers in Harrison County quick access to national news. Consequently, Harrison County newspapers became very influential media outlets west of the Mississippi River before and during the Civil War. By the 1850s, Harrison County’s dependence on cotton became apparent, as did its dependence on slavery.

Following the victory of president-elect Abraham Lincoln, the Texas Republican expressed their fears, “The South is engaged in a fearful struggle for her right, and her equality and she must maintain her position, or she is lost forever.” Along with ten other southern states, Texas became the seventh state to secede from the Union, forming the Confederacy. Although, most of the Confederacy witnessed battle, Texas was mostly untouched by the events of the Civil War; however, the Republican published letters written by prisoners-of-war from Harrison County serving for the Confederacy. Although the Republican continue to publish during the Civil War, the paper began to struggle to publish consistently by 1863, due to paper shortages and labor scarcity inflicted by the war. Consequently, Republican reduced its page size from 29x43 inches and suspended publication in July 1863, but resumed with two five-column pages on September 24, 1864.

After the Civil War ended in 1865, the Republican continued to struggle to publish. With the presence of federal troops, Loughery was wary about publishing anything too radical that would draw attention to him or his readers, turning the Republican bitterly against Reconstruction policies. In 1869, the paper’s offices at Marshall were destroyed by a fire.