Samuel Chester Reid Jr., was a dedicated reporter, showing the Southern side of the Civil War with great conviction and care. He is not a widely known figure in journalism history, nor is his work, and this alone could serve as reason enough for a glance at his many dispatches and articles. However, it is the content of his work and his determination to provide for his reader that is more notable.
Reid corresponded for seven different Southern newspapers during the course of the war, an uncommon practice among journalists of the era. His reports were not always completely accurate, nor unbiased, but they were accounts that clearly gave definition to the Southern voice in newspapers. His body of work consisted mainly of detailed battles accounts, but it showed much more than troop casualties or successes. Because he spoke directly to his reader, whether that reader was a wife waiting at home or a soldier on the battlefield, his words provided comfort and courage as well as information.
His eloquent style of writing gave a strong voice to Southern ideals and beliefs, providing a solid example of Southern journalism and also Southern attitudes during this time period. He tried in his writing to both inform the Southern reader and to quell their growing fears by reminding them why they were fighting the War. Like most journalists, he angered some and pleased others. Yet his work helped to pave the way for later journalists and war correspondents by showing what one reporter could do both for his own success and for those who read his works, during a time of war and atrocity, thus making a solid contribution to the field of journalism history.
Last updated: November 24, 1997
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