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.

Indiana Units | Ohio Units || Defiance Democrat by Date
Other Civil War Resources: NW Ohio in the Civil War | CAC Manuscripts | Resources on the WWW | Newspaper Index List

Indiana Units

19th Indiana Infantry

Sergeant Edwin O. Burt, Company E
Letter: 8/15/1863

Private Hiram Conkle, Company E
Letter: 1/25/1862

44th Indiana Infantry

"W.G." Company B
Letter: 3/21/1863

Ohio Units

Unknown Ohio Unit

Patrick H. Hughes (might be 17th Ohio Infantry)
Letter: 5/9/1863

14th Ohio Infantry (3 months and 3 years)

Articles:
4/27/1861, 10/10/1863

Captain Sidney S. Sprague, Company D
Letters: 5/11/1861, 5/25/1861, 6/13/1861

Sergeant Elijah Karnes, Company D
Letter: 6/29/1861

Sergeant William N. Rogers, Company D
Letter: 6/29/1861

Captain (Major) John W. Wilson, Company D and E
Letters: 6/13/1861, 10/26/1861, 11/9/1861, 11/16/1861, 12/21/1861, 1/25/1862, 2/8/1862, 8/2/1862, 8/9/1862, 12/27/1862, 3/7/1863, 3/21/1863

Captain David A. Gleason, Company E
Letter: 5/9/1863

Sergeant Wallace Moats, Company E
Letters: 3/1/1862, 3/28/1863

Private Phillip M. Rath, Company E
Letter: 5/30/1863

21st Ohio Infantry

Captain Lewis E. Brewster, Company E
Letters: 1/25/1862, 4/12/1862, 6/7/1862, 1/17/1863

Second Lieutenant Samuel F. Cheney, Company E
Letter: 10/26/1861

"D." Company E
Letter: 7/4/1863

Captain Samuel A. Strong, Company K
Letter: 5/18/1861

38th Ohio Infantry

Articles:
9/24/1864

Colonel Edward H. Phelps
Letter: 5/23/1863

Private Oliver Durham, Company A
Letter: 4/25/1863

Captain Benjamin Miller, Company D
Letter: 3/14/1863

Private Henry C. Bouton, Company E
Letter: 2/15/1862

Surgeon N. Henry Thurston, Company F
Letter: 6/18/1864

First Lieutenant Ransom P. Osborn, Company G
Letters: 10/12/1861, 11/9/1861

"P."
Letter: 4/26/1862

48th Ohio Infantry

Captain Virgil H. Moats, Company F
Letters: 12/21/1861, 4/26/1862, 5/3/1862, 6/21/1862

Corporal Demetrius L. Bell, Company F
Letter: 5/9/1863

67th Ohio Infantry

Assistant Surgeon Chauncey Coston
Letters: 12/27/1862, 1/10/1863

68th Ohio Infantry

Articles:
7/4/1863, 8/6/1864

"Sixty-Eighth Regiment"
Letter: 4/26/1862

Captain Sidney S. Sprague, Company B
Letter: 11/1/1862

First Lieutenant George W. Kniss, Company C
Letter: 8/1/1863

100th Ohio Infantry

Articles:
9/20/1862, 5/28/1864

Colonel John C. Groom
Letter: 12/13/1862

Lieutenant Colonel Edwin L. Hayes
Letter: 5/7/1864

Musician Henry O. Zeigler, Company D
Letter: 6/13/1863

107th Ohio Infantry

Musician John Roedel, Company K
Letter: 5/23/1863

111th Ohio Infantry

Articles:
9/13/1862, 9/20/1862, 5/28/1864

Corporal John E. Hayes, Company F
Letter: 3/21/1863

163rd Ohio Infantry

R.B. Morrow, Company G (no record in state roster)
Letter: 6/18/1864