The Waterford News
THE UNION UNDERGROUND WOMEN’S NEWSPAPER OF CONFEDERATE VIRGINIA: A remarkable Union newspaper written and edited by three young Quaker women inside Confederate Virginia — this issue prominently endorsing Abraham Lincoln for reelection.
An extraordinary survival from one of the most remarkable journalistic enterprises of the Civil War: an underground Union newspaper conceived, written, edited, and distributed by three young Quaker women living within Confederate Virginia.
Sarah A. Steer (1837–1921) and sisters Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dutton (1839–1915) and Emma Eliza “Lida” Dutton (1844–1913) lived in Waterford, Loudoun County, a strongly Unionist Quaker community repeatedly exposed to Confederate incursions. Determined that their Union sympathies “should not be suppressed,” the three women reported, edited, published, and distributed the newspaper, arranging for its printing across Union lines. Their copy was carried across the Potomac into Maryland, where the paper was printed by the Baltimore American, whose editor was an old friend of the Dutton family.
The women themselves described the enterprise as a “hazardous undertaking.” Their stated purpose was “to cheer the weary soldier, and render material aid to the sick and wounded,” with proceeds from the ten-cent cover price benefiting the United States Sanitary Commission. Only eight issues appeared during the final year of the Civil War.
This August 1864 issue, underneath the bold masthead proclaiming "UNION FOREVER" opens with a prominent political endorsement:
FOR PRESIDENT,
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Vice-President,
ANDY JOHNSON.
Appearing less than three months before the presidential election, the announcement was an explicit declaration of Union political allegiance by three young women publishing within a Confederate state.
MOSBY’S RAIDERS AND GUERRILLA WARFARE:
Several articles in this issue document the reality of guerrilla warfare surrounding Waterford. Mosby’s Raiders—also called Mosby’s Rangers—were Confederate cavalrymen commanded by John Singleton Mosby, the officer known as the “Gray Ghost.” Officially the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, they specialized in quick raids behind Union lines, principally in northern Virginia. They attacked supply and communication routes, captured soldiers and horses, and dispersed to evade pursuit. They were an organized Confederate military unit using guerrilla tactics.
Under the heading “ROBBERY,” the editors report that Mosby’s men raided Point of Rocks and intercepted a letter containing $14 in subscriptions sent by soldiers of the 1st Eastern Shore Maryland Infantry. Their response is pointedly sarcastic:
“Now this chivalric son of the South, who wages no war against women, appropriated the money to his own use.” They nevertheless assure the soldiers that each subscriber remains entitled to “the thanks of the Editors.”
Elsewhere, a summary of recent events recounts Mosby’s July raid on Point of Rocks and describes Waterford as having been “surrounded by rebels, with their bragging” and cut off from communication until Union troops returned. The paper also praises telegraph operator W. W. Shock for carrying his telegraphic equipment toward Baltimore in an effort to maintain Union communications while Confederate forces controlled the surrounding routes.
WAR AS EXPERIENCED BY WOMEN:
Perhaps most compelling is the opening editorial, in which the editors describe the arrival of Union soldiers after Waterford had been surrounded by Confederate forces. The townspeople opened their homes and supplied the troops with food and clothing. The women recall:
“Flags and handkerchiefs waved as the soldiers passed by, and the citizens felt joy unspeakable…”
The editorial offers an unusually immediate female-authored account of civilian life in a contested Southern community: soldiers moving through the streets, Confederate forces nearby, shortages, divided loyalties, and local women participating directly in the Union war effort through journalism.
NATIONAL RECEPTION — AND PRESIDENT LINCOLN:
The little newspaper quickly attracted attention well beyond Loudoun County. The present issue itself notes complimentary notices in the Virginia State Journal and the Bucks County Intelligencer. More strikingly, under the heading “REBEL LITERATURE,” the editors reprint a notice from the Baltimore American, which praises The Waterford News and identifies its editors—“Sarah, Lizzie and Lida”—as “three brave, warm-hearted Union girls.”
Its reputation spread still further. According to the Waterford history, Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune praised the paper, while a Maryland regiment forwarded early issues directly to President Lincoln. The accompanying letter reported that by late June the “fair Editresses” had already raised nearly $1,000 for the Sanitary Commission—an amount suggesting substantial circulation for such a locally produced wartime newspaper.
Thus, this was not merely a village newspaper operating in isolation: within weeks of its founding, the work of three young women in Waterford had reached both the national press and the White House.
FROM CIVIL WAR JOURNALISM TO RECONSTRUCTION:
Sarah Steer’s activism continued immediately after the war. She sought funds from the Freedmen’s Bureau, Philadelphia Quakers, and local supporters to establish a school for freed children. Before the schoolhouse itself was completed, she began teaching in her side yard in 1865 and is identified as the “first teacher of black children” in Loudoun County by The Waterford Foundation. The trajectory is remarkable: from editing an underground Union newspaper during the Civil War to educating formerly enslaved children at the beginning of Reconstruction.
RARITY:
Only eight issues of The Waterford News were published, and individual original issues are exceptionally uncommon in commerce. The present issue is particularly compelling for its combination of the dramatic “UNION FOREVER” masthead, explicit Lincoln-Johnson endorsement, eyewitness reports of Mosby’s operations, substantial editorial writing by the three women themselves, contemporary notices documenting the paper’s national reception, and the remarkable fact that earlier issues had already reached President Lincoln.
The Waterford News. Vol. I, No. 4. Waterford, Loudoun Co., Virginia: Published by “Sarah, Lizzie & Lida,” August 20, 1864. One single folding sheet (approximately 15.5x10.75 inches), creating four pages (7.75x10.75 in) when folded. Some foxing and light overall toning; two minor ink blots; short separations at fold intersections without significant text loss; minor marginal handling wear. A remarkable survival.
Price: $9,500 .