Joe Campbell has pointed out that, according to one scholar, some
writers put their names on newspaper stories as early as the mid-1830s.
In my own reading of newspapers of that era, I have not seen writer's
names on stories, but I trust that is the case. So to say that the the byline was
"born" during the Civil War is not accurate.
It is worth
noting, I believe, that during the Civil War no reporters put their names on
stories for various reasons until General Joseph Hooker's order. The reason for the
order--that writers should be held responsible for what they wrote--is
what I would argue is significant about the event.
In any case, I apologize for being misleading in my account and want to set the record straight.