User:MarkhamMJ/Sandbox:Beginning

Beginning Your United States Civil War Research
Many records are available to help you find information about your Civil War ancestor. The following are good steps to start:

Step 1. Identify an ancestor you wish to find in Civil War military records

Step 2. Decide what you want to learn, such as the soldier's regiment and company, age, death date and place, pension, service record.

Step 3. Search the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database to find a regiment and company.Also on Ancestry.com as U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865

'''Step 4. '''Check sources listed on the following Wiki pages:


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865
 * [state] in the Civil War page for the state where your ancestor lived before and after the war
 * The regiment page for the regiment of your soldier
 * The county page for the county where your soldier lived before and after the war.

Step 4. Search the 1890 U.S. Veterans Schedules.


 * a. Part of the states were destroyed. The census still exists for the states alphabetically from Kentucky through Wyoming. Half of Kentucky was also destroyed.
 * b. The census lists veterans or the widows of veterans.
 * c. The census gives a veteran's name, rank, company, regiment...

Step 3. American Civil War records on Ancestry.com

a. American Civil War Soldiers

b. U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles

c. U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006

d. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

e. Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934

f. U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914

g. U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865

h. New York, Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900

i. Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865

j. U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865

k. Alabama, Confederate Pension and Service Records, 1862-1947

l. Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-1999

m. U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938

n. New York, Town Clerks' Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War, ca 1861-1865

o. U.S. Pensioners, 1818-1872

p. U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1861-1865

q. Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, 1879-1903

r. U.S. Military and Naval Academies, Cadet Records and Applications, 1805-1908

s. Official records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1861-1865

t. U.S. Navy Pensions Index, 1861-1910

u. Alabama Civil War Muster Rolls, 1861-1865

v. Andersonville Prisoners of War

w. Minnesota Civil War Soldiers

x. Tennessee, Civil War Confederate Pension Applications Index

y. Georgia, Confederate Pension Applications, 1879-1960

z. Confederate Service Records, 1861-1865

aa. U.S., Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958

bb. Iowa Civil War Soldier Burial Records

cc. Kansas Civil War Soldiers

dd. Arkansas, Confederate Pension Records, 1891-1935

ee. Shiloh, Tennessee, Shiloh National Cemetery, 1866-2010

ff, Salisbury, North Carolina, Salisbury National Cemetery, 1863-2010

gg. Richmond, Virginia, Richmond National Cemetery, 1867-2010

hh. Mechanicsville, Virginia, Cold Harbor National Cemetery, 1866-2008

ii. Hopewell, Virginia, City Point National Cemetery, 1866-2010

jj. Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria National Cemetery, 1862-2010

kk. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia National Cemetery, 1862-2010

ll. Petersburg, Virginia, Poplar Grove National Cemetery, 1866-1973

mm. New York Civil War Records (1861-65)

nn. Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Stones River National Cemetery, 1864-2010

oo. Missouri Confederate Death Records

pp. Negroes in Michigan during the Civil War

qq. Vicksburg, Mississippi, Vicksburg National Cemetery, 1866-2010

rr. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Gettysburg National Cemetery, 1863-2009

ss. Michigan men in the Civil War

'''Step 4. '''Civil War records on Footnote.com

'''Step 5. '''Once you have an idea of the regiment, search the FamilySearch Research Wiki.


 * a. United States in the Civil War.
 * b. The state where your soldier lived.
 * c. The regiment of your soldier and the company of your soldier.
 * e. The county where your soldier lived.

'''Step 6. '''The Research Wiki will eventually have information about each regiment including links to many Internet sites, lists of books, pictures, etc. If the Research Wiki does not yet have information about your ancestor's regiment, once you know the regiment and hopefully the company:


 * a. Search the Internet for the regiment or company using Google or another search engine.
 * b. Look for regiment histories using:


 * 1. Internet Archives
 * 2. Google Books
 * 3. Family Hisotry Library Catalog
 * A. Digital books
 * B. If the book you find in the catalog is not yet digital, try Interlibrary Loan through your public library.