IRVIN MCDOWELL
His use of the word “character” was not meant in the general sense of a reporter’s behavior and demeanor as a human being, but rather the journalists character relative to the battle—he does not wish to kill or injure anyone but wants to communicate the events to the public. This was the “purity” to which the General referred. Actually, a number of journalists and photographers followed the suggestion and wore a white—what looks today as a full-length lab coat. See http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/cwp/4a{40000}/4a{40900}/4a{40924}r.jpg for a photo of the uniform that photographer Mathew Brady wore.
Irvin McDowell was a career American army officer. He is best known for his defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War. In 1862, he was given command of the I Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He fought unsuccessfully against P.G.T. Beauregard's troops during the Valley Campaign of 1862, and was blamed for contributing to the defeat of United States troops at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August.
