Before the days of wire services or news bureaus, newspapers frequently printed letters from local soldiers to provide more in-depth coverage of war news. Since regiments were recruited by geographical regions, most of the men serving in a unit were neighbors, and their families often shared letters with each other. Some soldiers specifically arranged to send reports of company news to their hometown newspapers. This index, prepared by Dan Masters, records all soldiers' correspondence printed in the Defiance Democrat newspapers during the Civil War. Researchers should be aware that these indexes do not necessarily represent the holdings of the Center for Archival Collections. Those wishing to review the news articles or editorials cited here should consult the Guide to Newspaper Holdings.

Correspondents to the Defiance Democrat
Other Civil War Resources: NW Ohio in the Civil War | CAC Manuscripts | Resources on the WWW | Newspaper Index List

1861

April 27, 1861
Article about the Defiance Guards (Company D, 14th Ohio Infantry) going off to war, p.2

May 11, 1861
Captain Sidney S. Sprague, Co. D, 14th Ohio Infantry, Camp Taylor, Cleveland, Ohio, May 6, 1861, p.2

May 18, 1861
Captain Samuel A. Strong, Co. K, 21st Ohio Infantry, Camp Taylor, Cleveland, Ohio, May 15, 1861, p.2

May 25, 1861
Captain Sidney S. Sprague, Co. D, 14th Ohio Infantry, Camp Taylor, Cleveland, Ohio, May 21, 1861, p.2

June 13, 1861
Captain Sidney S. Sprague, Co. D, 14th Ohio Infantry, Clarksburg, Harrison Co., Virginia, June 5, 1861, p.2
John W. Wilson, Co. ? , 14th Ohio Infantry, Headquarters 14th Regt. O.V.M., Philippi, Virginia, June 5, 1861, p.2

June 29, 1861
Sergeant William N. Rogers, Co. D, 14th Ohio Infantry, Clarksburg, Virginia, June 19, 1861, p.2
Sergeant Elijah Karnes, Co. D, 14th Ohio Infantry, Philippi, Barbour Co., Virginia, June 11, 1861, p.2

October 12, 1861
First Lieutenant Ransom P. Osborn, Co. G, 38th Ohio Infantry, Nicholasville, Kentucky, October 6, 1861, p.2

October 26, 1861
Captain John W. Wilson, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Camp Dick Robinson, Kentucky, October 27, 1861, p.2
Second Lieutenant Samuel F. Cheney, Co. E, 21st Ohio Infantry, Lexington, Kentucky, October 17, 1861, p.2

November 9, 1861
First Lieutenant Ransom P. Osborn, Co. G, 38th Ohio Infantry, Camp Wild Cat, Kentucky, October 27, 1861, p.2
Captain John W. Wilson, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Camp Lorain, Laurel Co., Kentucky, October 26, 1861, p.2

November 16, 1861
Captain John W. Wilson, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Camp Calvary, Laurel Co., Kentucky, November 3, 1861, p.2

December 21, 1861
Captain John W. Wilson, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Lebanon, Kentucky, December 6, 1861, p.2
Captain Virgil H. Moats, Co. F, 48th Ohio Infantry, Camp Dennison, Ohio, December 16, 1861, p.2

1862

January 25, 1862
First Lieutenant Lewis E. Brewster, Co. E, 21st Ohio Infantry, Kentucky, January 5, 1862, p.4
Captain John W. Wilson, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Camp at Campbellville, Taylor Co., Kentucky, January 7, 1862, p.4
Private Hiram Conkle, Co. E, 19th Indiana Infantry, Headquarters 19th Indiana Regt., Co. E, Fort Craig, near Washington, D.C., December 12 and 19, 1861, p.4

February 8, 1862
Captain John W. Wilson, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Beech Grove, Wayne Co., Kentucky, January 24, 1862, p.2

February 15, 1862
Private Henry C. Bouton, Co. E, 38th Ohio Infantry, Somerset, Kentucky, January 23, 1862, p.2

March 1, 1862
Sergeant Wallace Moats, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Lebanon, Kentucky, February 20, 1862, p.2

April 12, 1862
First Lieutenant Lewis E. Brewster, Co. E, 21st Ohio Infantry, Camp Van Buren, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, March 29, 1862, p.2

April 26, 1862
"P." 38th Ohio Infantry, Seminary Hospital, Columbia, Tennessee, April 4, 1862, p.2
Captain Virgil H. Moats, Co. F, 48th Ohio Infantry, Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee, April 9, 1862, p.2
"Sixty Eighth Regiment," 68th Ohio Infantry, Up Tennessee River, April 4, 1862, p.4

May 3, 1862
Captain Virgil H. Moats, Co. F, 48th Ohio Infantry, Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee, April 12, 1862, p.2

June 7, 1862
Captain Lewis E. Brewster, Co. E, 21st Ohio Infantry, no date, no place, p.2

June 21, 1862
Captain Virgil H. Moats, Co. F, 48th Ohio Infantry, Chanalla, Tennessee, June 9, 1862, p.2

August 2, 1862
Captain John W. Wilson, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Tuscumbia, Alabama, July 2, 1862, p.2

August 9, 1862
Captain John W. Wilson, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Tuscumbia, Alabama, July 18, 1862, p.2

September 13, 1862
Song of Company D, 111th Ohio Infantry (sung to the tune of Dixie), p.4

September 20, 1862
Muster rolls of Co. D, 100th Ohio Infantry and Co. D, 111th Ohio Infantry, p.2

November 1, 1862
Captain Sidney S. Sprague, Co. B, 68th Ohio Infantry, Camp Bolivar, Tennessee, October 14, 1862, p.2

December 13, 1862
Colonel John C. Groom, 100th Ohio Infantry, Headquarters 100th Regt. O.V.I., Lexington, Kentucky, December 2, 1862, p.2

December 27, 1862
Captain John W. Wilson, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Gallatin, Tennessee, December 15, 1862, p.2
Assistant Surgeon Chauncey Coston, 67th Ohio Infantry, no place, no date, p.2

1863

January 10, 1863
Assistant Surgeon Chauncey Coston, 67th Ohio Infantry, Camp Suffolk, Virginia, December 20, 1862, p.4

January 17, 1863
Captain Lewis E. Brewster, Co. E, 21st Ohio Infantry, Nashville, Tennessee, January 9, 1863, p.2

March 7, 1863
Major John W. Wilson, 14th Ohio Infantry, Lavergne, Rutherford Co., Tennessee, February 24, 1863, p.2

March 14, 1863
Captain Benjamin Miller, Co. D, 38th Ohio Infantry, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, February 23, 1863, p.2 (Resolution in favor of continuing the war)

March 21, 1863
"W.G." Co. B, 44th Indiana Infantry, no place, no date, p.1
Major John W. Wilson, 14th Ohio Infantry, Lavergne, Tennessee, March 5, 1863, p.2
Corporal John E. Hayes, Co. F, 111th Ohio Infantry, Bowling Green, Kentucky, March 1863, p.2

March 28, 1863
Sergeant Wallace Moats, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Lavergne, Tennessee, March 21, 1863, p.2

April 25, 1863
Private Oliver Durham, Co. A, 38th Ohio Infantry, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, March 8, 1863, p.4

May 9, 1863
Captain David A. Gleason, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Lavergne, Tennessee, April 27, 1863, p.2
P.H. Hughes, Camp near Falmouth, Virginia, April 20, 1863, p.2
Corporal Demetrius L. Bell, Co. F, 48th Ohio Infantry, Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, April 14, 1863, p.2

May 23, 1863
Colonel Edward H. Phelps, 38th Ohio Infantry, Headquarters 38th Ohio Vols., Triune, Tennessee, May 7, 1863, p.2
Musician John Roedel, Co. K, 107th Ohio Infantry, Brook's Station, Virginia, May 10, 1863, p.2

May 30, 1863
Private Phillip M. Rath, Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry, Lavergne, Tennessee, May 16, 1863, p.2

June 13, 1863
Musician Henry O. Zeigler, Co. D, 100th Ohio Infantry, Mount Vernon, Kentucky, April 9, 1863, p.2

July 4, 1863
"D." Co. E, 21st Ohio Infantry, Nashville, Tennessee, June 1863, p.2
Resolution of 68th Ohio Infantry, p.4

August 1, 1863
First Lieutenant George W. Kniss, Co. C, 68th Ohio Infantry, Rear of Vicksburg, Mississippi, June 13, 1863, p.4

August 15, 1863
Sergeant Edwin O. Burt, Co. E, 19th Indiana Infantry, Hagerstown, Maryland, July 13, 1863, p.2

October 10, 1863
Casualties in Co. E, 14th Ohio Infantry at the Battle of Chickamauga, p.2

1864

May 7, 1864
Lieutenant Colonel Edwin L. Hayes, 100th Ohio Infantry, Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia, April 15, 1864, p.4

May 28, 1864
Casualties in the 100th and 111th Ohio Infantry regiments at the Battle of Resaca, p.2

June 18, 1864
R.B. Morrow, Co. G, 163rd Ohio Infantry, Fort Reno, Washington, D.C., May 29, 1864, p.2
Surgeon N. Henry Thurston, 38th Ohio Infantry, no place, no date, p.4

August 6, 1864
Casualties in the 68th Ohio Infantry at the Battle of Atlanta, p.2

September 24, 1864
Casualties in Companies F and G, 38th Ohio Infantry at the Battle of Jonesboro, p.2