The Index, “A Weekly Journal of Politics, Literature and News,” was published in London from May 1, 1862 through August 12, 1865.  Its editor was Henry Hotze.

What makes The Index so important for this collection is its status as the unofficial voice of the Confederacy.  Its main function was to collect and disseminate southern news and interpretations, so as to influence English and French opinion to support the Confederacy, and perhaps even to intervene in the conflict. 

Unlike periodicals published in the South, there were no shortages of paper or ink in London, and newsroom help was not subject to conscription.  Consequently, the 172  issues of The Index offer the only uninterrupted look at southern news and opinion over almost 40 months.  Each issue contained 16 pages, two of which were for advertising.

Hotze got his news from 20 different papers, including those in Charleston, Mobile, Nashville, New Orleans and Richmond, when they made it through the blockade.  Northern Democratic papers included the New York Herald and Daily News, Boston Courier, Hartford Times and the Cincinnati Inquirer.  In addition, he used native English writers and news from foreign correspondents, and wrote many editorials himself.  Hotze was a strong defender of slavery. 

The circulation of The Index apparently never exceeded 2250, according to Charles P. Cullop who wrote about it in his 1969 book Confederate Propaganda in Europe: 1861-1865 (U. of Miami Press).  Of  this number, Cullop says that 400 copies were received in the northern states and about 150 in France.  According to Cullop, Hotze was on salary, and The Index expenses were paid through him, with money received directly from the Confederate treasury.

HarpWeek is grateful to The Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, which made its copy of The Index available for this collection.