The Source

The National Tribune Civil War Index

By Michael K. Shaffer · Originally published March 2018 · pp. 12–13

A reviewer stated, in 1881, “The Tribune will be a power for its cause.” This praise centered on The National Tribune, which began as a monthly publication in October 1877. In August 1881, the publisher changed to a weekly format, and the newspaper, emboldened with the phrase “To Care For Him Who Has Borne the Battle, and For His Widow and Orphans” beneath the masthead, continued to serve as the official publication for Union veterans. Submissions started slowly, but over time, many veterans penned articles for the newspaper. From frontline privates to higher ranking officers— including several notables—the men provided accounts of their various actions during the Civil War. Many of these stories never appeared elsewhere, making this

Sample page of Vol. 1 index.

The National Tribune Civil War Index, Vol. 1-3 a valuable source of information for researchers. While most of the accounts came from former Federals, a few Confederates submitted articles as well. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Richard A. Sauers, and the publishing team at Savas Beatie, researchers now have access to an invaluable index of the various issues of the National Tribune. Sauers spent many years going through microfilm copies of the newspaper at the Library of Congress and other repositories. His three-volume set includes not only the National Tribune—which published Civil War accounts under varying titles 1877–1943—but also captures entries from The National Tribune Scrapbook and The National Tribune Repository; both of these sources contain original articles not found in the newspaper. Volume one provides, in chronological order by publication date, the various entries found in each issue of the newspaper, 1877 through 1903. The same methodology applies to the second volume covering 1904– 1943; volume two also contains listings from the Scrapbook and Repository. The final volume, one where many researchers may prefer to begin their search, consists of four sections with the following listed in alphabetical and chronological order. An ‘author’ index, a ‘subject’ index, a ‘military unit’ index, and lastly, a ‘units as sources’ index. This final section lists accounts of various corps, divisions, brigades, and regiments written by soldiers who did not serve in the subject unit.

Sample page of Vol. 3 index.

Although research tactics will vary, this writer offers the following steps on how one might best use the indices. Beginning the search in volume three, I selected the ‘Gettysburg Campaign’ heading, and ‘Boonsboro, MD. 1898, September 15’, as my topic. As shown in the sample page from Vol. 3, one sees Boonsboro, 1898 (the publication year), and September 15 (the issue containing this article). Next, after consulting volume one of Sauers’s set (this volume contains articles from 1898), the listing for the September 15 edition reveals 7:5. S.B. Jenkins (1st US Cav), “A Cavalry Encounter.” [7/8/63, Boonsboro]. (Please see the sample page from Vol. 1 shown.) First, the number ‘7’ indicates the article resides on page seven of the September

15, 1898, issue; the ‘5’ signifies the article rests in column five on page seven. S.B. Jenkins serves as the author; he served in the 1st U.S. Cav.; the title of his story, “A Cavalry Encounter;” and the actual date and location of the engagement in question—July 8, 1863, Boonsboro, MD. Now, we have the information needed to locate this particular article. Thanks to the internet and digitization of many newspapers from the period, researchers can access a large number of the National Tribune editions online. One can consult the Library of Congress ‘Chronicling America’ site at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016187 for free, or the subscription site, Newspapers.com at https://www. newspapers.com/title_1345/the_ national_tribune. The LOC site contains issues from 1877–1917, and Newspapers.com archives

Jenkins’s September 1898, article.

1877 through 1911. Users can also locate the National Tribune Scrapbook at https://archive.org/ details/nationaltribunes00wash, and the National Tribune Repository at https://archive.org/stream/ nationaltribuner00nati#page/n0/ mode/2up. Both websites archiving the National Tribune offer multiple methods of searching, saving, and printing finds. For this example, the writer used Newspapers.com. Once on the site, I selected 1898, then September, and moved to page seven. In column five, just as Sauers’s index indicated, one sees Jenkins’s article. (See section shown.) Savas Beatie has printed a limited number of the three-volume sets, available for purchase at http://www.savasbeatie.com/ books.htm. This source, used in conjunction with the websites, will assist researchers in locating stories of significant battles and minor skirmishes not found elsewhere. Continued good luck in researching the Civil War! Michael K. Shaffer is a Civil War historian, author, lecturer, and instructor, who remains a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, and the Georgia Association of Historians. Readers may contact him at [email protected], or to request speaking engagements via his website www.civilwarhistorian.net. Follow Michael on Facebook www.facebook.com/ michael.k.shaffer and Twitter @ michaelkshaffer