The National Tribune, the fore runner of The Stars and Stripes, was a newspaper started by the Grand Army of the Republic to provide a medium for the comrades to keep in touch with each other. And they did. You can read individual recollections (and arguments) about individual battles, raids, skirmishes, etc. The newspaper also carried announcements of reunions, requests for individual soldier to contact another, and ask quesions about the fate of former comrades.