Indexing the Marysville Tribune

I recently completed work indexing the Marysville Tribune, a Republican newspaper printed in the county seat of Union County in the center of the state. Edited throughout the war by J.H. Shearer, the Tribune,, calling itself a "family newspapers devoted to politics, literature, the arts, sciences, and interests of Union County," took a pro-Lincoln Administration stance from pillar to post and as such welcomed soldiers letters in its pages. 

    As per usual, the goal of indexing one of these newspapers is to identify all of the soldiers’ letters that reside within and lay those discoveries out in such a fashion that they can easily be retrieved and used by fellow researchers and historians. To accomplish that, I’ve reviewed each edition published from mid-April 1861 to the end of May 1865. The hunt was certainly worth the effort.




The wartime Marysville Tribune featured a total of 297 letters and articles with the preponderance of the letters written by soldiers serving in units raised locally. The 96th Ohio which served at Vicksburg and later in the operations along the Gulf Coast led the pack with 46 letters, Corporal George Butler of Co. K writing 24 of those 46 letters. The 13th Ohio, considered a quintessential regiment of the Army of the Cumberland, came in second with 42 letters. The 66th Ohio which served in both eastern and western theaters had 38 letters in the Tribune while the hard-fighting 121st Ohio which saw heavy action at Perryville and Chickamauga had 34. Other infantry regiments that had letters published included the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 10th, 21st, 26th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 40th, 42nd, 54th, 62nd, 82nd, 88th, 95th, 110th, 136th, and 174th Ohio regiments.

Regimental historian William L. Curry of the 1st Ohio Cavalry hailed from Union County and he provided five letters to the Tribune (the 1st Ohio had 11 overall), followed by a few each from the 3rd and 10th Ohio cavalry regiments. Artillery batteries were far and few between, however, the Tribune only carrying a letter each from the ill-starred 13th Ohio Battery and the 16th Ohio Battery.

Adjutant Lewis H. Mitchell, 96th O.V.I.

One nice surprise was 17 letters written by Sergeant William T. Colwell of the U.S. Signal Corps covering the entirety of the war in the west. I only wish his letters, filled with army news, would have delved more deeply into the day-to-day life in the Signal Corps. Another surprise was a few letters from local soldiers serving in out-of-state regiments including a pair of letters from Hamilton Bruce Southwick of the 8th Illinois Cavalry and Arthur K. Ewing of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry.

As far as battle content, the Marysville Tribune presents a rich tableaux of action from both eastern and western theaters with accounts about Middle Creek, Mill Springs, Shiloh, Corinth, McDowell, Cross Keys, Port Republic, Tazewell, Harper’s Ferry, South Mountain, Antietam, Perryville, Stones River, Arkansas Post, Chancellorsville, Vicksburg, Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Grand Coteau, Lookout Mountain, Resaca, the Atlanta campaign, Kennesaw Mountain, the Cedars, Nashville, Bentonville, and Spanish Fort.

The Marysville Tribune can be viewed online through a paid subscription to newspapers.com. To view the index of the Marysville Tribune, click on the link below. It will take you to a lengthy list of Excel spreadsheets featuring indexed from throughout the state of Ohio. The Marysville Tribune is at the bottom of the list.

Index to Civil War Soldiers' Correspondence in Ohio Newspapers. 


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