The so-called “grapevine dispatch” was a common way the soldier-in-the-field heard the news of the day, reliable or less than.

The easiest way for me to maintain and accurate list of Civil War related activities and events for Franklin and Williamson County is to use the Facebook event application.  Check out our event calendar here.

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James A. Wright, a sergeant in Company F, 1st Minnesota, describes what grapevine dispatches are:

 

“One thing surprised me then – and I have wondered at it since — how some of the boys managed to get so much information as to what was being done and what it was planned to do. Every day had its story of what was to be done on the morrow, but when tomorrow came it failed to materialize. Many fanciful stories were current in camp for the week preceding the march for Bull Run. Of course, they soon failed to pass current and were referred to as ‘grapevine dispatches.’”