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Step- by-Step Civil War Research
Have you been anxious to know if your ancestor fought in the Civil War, or where they fought, but just don't know how to go about looking? Read on for some useful information.
The Civil War armies together were rather large with about 3 million men serving on both sides and 1.5 million of those for 3 years of service. Many people assume that if their ancestors were in the Civil War that they probably fought in the famous battles of Gettysburg or Antietam. I mention that first because it is a popular question to ask. The truth is that only a few armies fought in these battles and your ancestor may not have been in one of those armies. So you will first have to find what regiment, militia or unit your ancestor was in and then research to see if that group was at one of those battles. There is not a comprehensive list anywhere of individuals who fought in those battles.
Always rely on written information when doing a search for your Civil War ancestor. Having heard oral stories of your ancestors is a good place to start but do not rely on them. They are filled with inaccuracies much of the time. With the increase in the number of records on the internet, you should, if you have it, begin your search there. Sometimes a search on the name you are researching is enough to find Civil War records.
If you subscribe to Ancestry.com or Footnote.com you have a whole plethora of data to search. When using Ancestry.com do a search in their "Military Collection." It may take some analytical work, sorting out duplicate names, but you may find what you are looking for there.
Use what you may have around the house. Any old letters, journals, tax records or census records may give you a clue as to what unit your ancestor was in. It wasn't uncommon for soldiers to serve time in one unit, and then reenlist into another, although most had had enough after their first term. You may already have a copy of a military record or pension record that you forgot you had.
When searching records, you should keep in mind the variations that could have taken place in the name. Use the full name when searching and not just the last, if possible. Some states, such as Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware, where soldiers may have fought on either the Union or Confederate side can get confusing. Keep that in mind when searching, also.
With your ancestors name in hand, try to find out where he was living at the beginning of the Civil War. The 1860 census is a good place to start, although the 1860 census seems to have missed a lot of people (from my experience). Tax records are a good source of that information also. Any clue as to where they might have lived is a good beginning.
During the Civil War, a soldier going into service was assigned a company and regiment. If they were assigned into a unit of the U.S. Army they were most likely in a regiment of the U.S. Regulars. However, most soldiers were in volunteer regiments from their state, or area. You will see many men listed as being in a "Volunteer Infantry", "Calvary" "Artillery" or "Battery", such as the 60th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. If your ancestor was African American they would have been in a regiment ending in U.S.C.T. (United States Colored Troops). Caucasians were also in those black regiments, although usually as officers.
Soldiers who were assigned into artillery regiments were assigned to Batteries usually, such as "Battery F, 43rd Pennsylvania Regiment," or they were assigned to light artillery such as "43rd Pennsylvania Regiment, 1st Light Artillery." Calvary soldiers would have shown up in Regiments such as "44th Pennsylvania Regiment, 1st Calvary." Other soldiers were in the Engineer Regiments or Heavy Artillery.
Your ancestor could have been in any of these regiments as well as other branches of the service such as the Navy or Marines. Once you have your ancestor's full name, and where they lived and might have served you will have to start looking on the internet and in books for roster lists. Pennsylvania and Michigan have good comprehensive lists, and there are a lot in Ohio also. Most states are making an active effort to complete the lists. You can check out your local library or state library for the lists in book form or microfilm, if you can't find them online. Local historical or genealogical societies should also have the state's lists available in some format.
There are two huge references for which you should be able to find your ancestor if you only know what state he lived in prior to the Civil War. They are comprehensive. Perhaps your state library, archive or historical society will have copies. They are:
1. The Roster of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865- A 33-volume set. It is a cumulative index of all Union soldiers as transcribed from the 1,200 plus microfilm reels at the National Archives. The Roster provides name, rank, regiment, company and state. Included are all Union soldiers by state from all branches from all states. Also included are guidelines and tables for further researching and identifying Union soldiers and units. If you want to buy it, it will set you back $3000.
2. The Roster of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865- A 16-volume set. It is a cumulative index of all Confederate soldiers as transcribed from the 535 microfilm rolls entitled "Consolidated Index to All Confederate Soldiers." The Roster provides name, rank, regiment, company and state. Included are all Confederate soldiers from all branches from all Confederate states. Also included will be guidelines and tables for further researching and identifying Confederate soldiers and units. It is $1500.
Let's say you finally identified the Regiment that your ancestor was in. Now you would like to know what battles he fought in. Check out your local library, state library, archive or historical society to see if they have books on battles fought by certain regiments. Some states have better local libraries than others. You can also research on the internet to find out the battles for various regiments during certain time periods.
If you need to find some good books on the subjects, check out A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, by Frederick L. Dyer. You can also look at The War of the Rebellion: The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, which contains action reports for the entire war by year and theater of war. It is a multi-volume set available on cd-rom as well.
If you find nothing in the libraries or genealogy societies try your state archives which may hold personal papers of officers, hospital records or burial records. It could be a time consuming task to find your ancestor in Civil War records so be patient. Luckily, every year more and more records are put on microfilm or the internet.
If all else fails, or you are simply curious, you may want to take a trip to the NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) in Washington D.C. There you can find all of the muster and pension records for civil war soldiers.
Only Union soldiers received federal pensions, keep in mind. You can get the NARA to do a search for you after you submit form NATF 86. The fee in 2009 is $25. You can download a copy of the form below, or go to the site and proceed to submit the form online, at the same web address.
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/pre-ww-1-records.html
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