John Moncure Daniel (October 24, 1825 – March 30, 1865) was the US minister to the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

in 1854-1861. However, he is best known for his role as the executive editor of the ''

Richmond Examiner The ''Richmond Examiner'', a newspaper which was published before and during the American Civil War under the masthead of ''Daily Richmond Examiner'', was one of the newspapers published in the Confederate capital of Richmond. Its editors viewe ...

'', one of the chief newspapers of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. Editorials written by Daniel and his editorial board have served as source materials for historians of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Early life

Daniel was born in

Stafford County, Virginia Stafford County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb outside of Washington D.C. It is approximately south of D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest growing, and highest- ...

on October 24, 1825. He was the son of physician Dr. John M. Daniel and Eliza Mitchell Daniel. The young John discovered a talent for journalism and moved south within his native state to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. In 1847, he became one of the first writers for a weekly paper, the ''Richmond Examiner''. Soon, he became a leading writer for the paper. Then, as its editor, he became a patron of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

and published several of Poe's poems.

Diplomat

Daniel, as an editor aligned with the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, was appointed in 1853 by the administration of President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

as the United States diplomat to the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1853, Sardinia was a nation within Italy with its capital at

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. Daniel was titled the chargé d'affaires for the first year of his time in Turin; in 1854, his title was advanced to minister. He was thus present in Italy during the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

, when Italian patriots united to secede from the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

and create a new country of their own. For Daniel, this was an inspiring sight. His diplomatic stint ended in January 1861.

Civil War editor

Back home in Richmond, Daniel re-established his editorial control over the ''

,'' which had become a daily periodical. He and many other leading white citizens of Richmond were strong supporters of Southern secession from the United States, and their enthusiasm grew when the new Confederate States of America (CSA) chose Richmond as the fledgling nation's capital city. Daniel looked forward to his paper becoming a leading organ of the new slaveholding republic. To Daniel's dismay, however, the young country had selected

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

as its president. Daniel's editorials were less than enthusiastic about Davis from almost the start of his challenged presidency and were even more hostile as the war continued. The Davis administration made various changes to its cabinet and to its ranks of senior generals who were granted field commands, and to the ''Examiner'', every Confederate policy change was wrong and every personnel shift was misguided. John Daniel's passionate advocacy has helped maintain the historical status and legacy of Confederate generals who might otherwise not have been remembered so well, such as

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia secede ...

. Daniel's status and hostility to the administration grew to the point that he came to be seen by some as an informal leader of the Confederate opposition. In 1864, after at least one editorial in the ''Examiner'' had made hostile insinuations about the

insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...

of the Confederacy and the love of CSA treasurer Edward C. Elmore for gambling at faro, the enraged treasurer challenged Daniel to a pistol

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

.Washington, D.C. "Daily National Republican", August 16, 1864, p. 1, col 7; Washington, D.C. "Evening Star", August 27, 1864, p. 4, col. 1 It was true that the Confederate treasury was empty of gold and silver, but Elmore succeeded in putting some lead into Daniel's leg. In the wake of the dueling wound, Daniel's health rapidly declined. His editorials became despondent and he became a prophet of the defeat of the Confederacy. He died in Richmond on March 30, 1865, at age 39. The CSA and the ''Richmond Examiner'' both did not long survive him.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, John Moncure 1825 births 1865 deaths 19th-century American newspaper editors American duellists People from Stafford County, Virginia 19th-century American diplomats