Second Friday Lecture: The Organ of Soldiers: An Intro to Civil War Camp Newspapers

Name: Second Friday Lecture: The Organ of Soldiers: An Intro to Civil War Camp Newspapers
Start: 2026-05-08T12:00:00-05:00
Location: 5400 1st Ave, Kenosha, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53140

Schedule

Fri, 08 May, 2026 at 12:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

5400 1st Ave, Kenosha, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53140 | Kenosha, WI

“Camp newspapers are a feature of the war that is worth attention,” reported a St. Louis newspaper in 1862. “The camp paper is the organ of the soldiers, through which they communicate their condition, wants, enjoyments, and local news to the public, and to their distant friends.” Historians have documented more than 200 camp newspapers printed during the Civil War. The majority of these publications were published by printers in Union regiments using confiscated shops, equipment and materials in occupied southern communities. A few were created using portable printing offices. Mr. Freas’s presentation will introduce you to the printers, technology, and content from some of these camp newspapers which, given the lack of military or government censorship, provide honest and intriguing accounts of the soldier experience. An emphasis will be placed on camp newspapers associated with the Upper Middle West.
Dan Freas recently retired from a 42-year career in program development and administration of historic sites and museums, most recently serving for 12 years as the director of Old World Wisconsin. A native of Western Pennsylvania, Dan’s interest in the Civil War began at a young age during a family trip to Gettysburg. His father worked for his hometown newspaper and one of Dan’s first jobs as a living history interpreter was working in a historic print shop. With a little bit of ink running through his veins, he is now combining interests in printing and the Civil War through research and writing about camp newspapers and field printing during the conflict.