Late in the Civil War, mainly in the south when supplies were rare and the need for soldier blankets was great, paper was used for batting. It provided good insulation when cotton and wool were not available. Not many of the quilts survived, however.
I have several string quilt blocks where newspaper was used as a foundation for the block. Usually it was removed before quilting. I also read an article about a quilting project during the depression for orphans where paper batting was used out of necessity.
Quilts were very seldom washed. Even clothing, especially "good" clothing like silk dresses or wool items were not immersed in water but brushed well and hung to air. Our ancestors were pretty creative when it came to using what was available and making do.