About

E. H. Pughe published the first issue of the Daily Press on January 3, 1866 in Augusta, Georgia. The Daily Press was loosely considered a Republican newspaper, but the paper was much more conservative in its tone than John Emory Bryant’s Loyal Georgian. Pughe resisted the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, supported Andrew Johnson’s reconstruction program, and opposed suffrage for African Americans, but his anti-slavery stances and general support for federal reconstruction aligned the editor and proprietor with Georgia Republicans. Pughe’s paper struggled to find a place between the Loyal Georgian and Augusta’s two Democratic dailies, which resulted in financial instability. Pughe was able to publish the Press independently until the summer of 1867 but faced imminent closure before the end of the year. Republican sheets in Georgia heavily relied on state and federal patronage support, and the Daily Press was no exception. Rufus Bullock-led Augusta Republicans, realizing the need for Republican newspapers, formed the Georgia Print Company in late 1867 and saved both the Daily Press and its rival, the Loyal Georgian, by purchasing the titles. The Georgia Print Company changed the Press’ masthead to the National Republican on July 28, 1867, and the company appointed D. G. Cotting as editor. Cotting promised to be a more fervent supporter of the Republican Party and shared federal patronage with the Loyal Georgian. The National Republican printed under that title until December 31, 1868, when Pughe announced he was purchasing full financial interest in the newspaper. Pughe reverted the title back to the Daily Press, politically shifted to the Democratic Party, and openly criticized the now Governor Rufus Bullock. Augusta publisher and Editor C. R. Hanleiter joined Pughe, which allowed him to introduce a weekly edition of the Press titled the Augusta Weekly Press. The Press’ earlier association with the Republican administration, however, made recovering financial support difficult and both editions of the paper folded in April 1869.