This was the weekly _Army and Navy Gazette_, and its editor, W.H.Russell, in 1861 war correspondent in America of the _Times_, but recalled shortly after his famous letter on the battle of Bull Run, consistently maintained after the war had ended that he had always asserted the ultimate victory of the North and was, indeed, so pro-Northern in sentiment that this was the real cause of his recall[1218].

He even claimed to have believed in Northern victory to the extent of re-union.

These protestations after the event are not borne out by the columns of the _Gazette_, for that journal was not far behind the _Times_ in its delineation of incidents unfavourable to the North and in its all-wise prophecies of Northern disaster.

The _Gazette_ had no wide circulation except among those in the service, but its _dicta_, owing to the established reputation of Russell and to the specialist nature of the paper, were naturally quite readily accepted and repeated in the ordinary press.

Based on a correct appreciation of man power and resources the _Gazette_ did from time to time proclaim its faith in Northern victory[1219], but always in such terms as to render possible a hedge on expressed opinion and always with the assertion that victory would not result in reunion.