Born in Rootstown, Ohio, Horace Lafayette Reed (1840-1915) taught school until 1862, when he enlisted in the United States Army’s 104th Ohio Infantry, rising to the rank of first lieutenant and commander of Company I of the 104th. During the Civil War, he fought in numerous battles and sieges, including Knoxville and Franklin, Tennessee; Atlanta, Georgia; and Fort Anderson, North Carolina, where he was wounded. Following the war, Reed moved to Mansfield, Ohio, where he married Jane M. “Jennie” Wasson, with whom he had four children. He joined the Grand Army of the Republic in 1886 and became a deacon and board member of the First Congregational Church, retiring after 37 years shortly before his death in 1915.
Composed of correspondence, memoirs, personal and biographical material, military records, newspaper clippings, and photographs, the Horace Lafayette Reed Papers, 1860-1939, primarily document the military career of Reed. Correspondence from Reed to his family and his memoirs discuss Reed’s life in the U.S. Army’s 104th Ohio Infantry during the Civil War, including his participation in the sieges of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia; the battle of Franklin, Tennessee; and his wounding at Ft. Anderson, North Carolina. Military records consist of Reed’s enlistment and discharge papers, his commission from Governor David Tod of Ohio, military orders, muster rolls, and official letters between Reed and other army officials. Personal and biographical material contains Reed’s marriage license, a school report card, photographs of the Reed family, a memorium from the Grand Army of the Republic, and newspaper clippings about his family and other topics.
This collection is open for research use.
Horace Lafayette Reed Papers, 1860-1939, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s