Nebraska in the Civil War

United States     U.S. Military      Nebraska      Nebraska Military      Nebraska in the Civil War

Introduction
The Nebraska Territory was strongly against secession. When the regular army left Nebraska to fight further East, concerns about Indian hostilities increased. Eventually 3,157 men from Nebraska fought in the Union army. No Civil War battles were fought in Nebraska.

For additional information about Nebraska in this war, see the Wikipedia article, Nebraska in the American Civil War.

For statistics about Nebraska in the Civil War, see The American Civil War web site (accessed 18 March 2011)..

Regiments

 * 1st Nebraska Infantry Organized at Omaha June 11 to July 21, 1861 at St. Louis, Missouri, till November. Regiment ordered mounted October 11, 1863, and designation changed to 1st Nebraska Cavalry November 6, 1863.


 * 1st Regiment, Nebraska Cavalry Organized from 1st Nebraska Infantry October 11, 1863. Expedition to Platt and Mojave Rivers Nebraska, June 12-July 5 (Detachment). Mustered out July 1, 1866.


 * 1st Battalion, Nebraska Cavalry  Organized at Omaha January to August, 1864 Fort Laramie until July. Consolidated with 1st Nebraska Veteran Cavalry July 10, 1865.


 * 2nd Regiment, Nebraska Cavalry Organized at Omaha October 23, 1862. Mustered out December 23, 1863.


 * Omaha Scouts, Nebraska Cavalry Organized at Omaha May 3, 1865. Mustered out July 16, 1866


 * Pawnee Scouts, Nebraska Cavalry Organized at Columbus, Nebraska., January 13, 1865. Mustered out April 1, 1866.

Records and Resources
Indexes to service and pension records for about 3,000 soldiers are at the Family History Library. The service and pension records have not been filmed and are only at the National Archives. Published rosters usually give the soldier's name, rank, regiment, age, and residence. These include:

Rosters


 * Dudley, Edgar S. Roster of Nebraska Volunteers from 1861 to 1869. Hasting, Nebraska: Wigton and Evans, 1888..


 * Roster of Nebraska Soldiers, (Omaha, Nebraska: Klopp, Bartlett and Company, 1888).

Burial Records


 * Burial records of Civil War veterans of the Department of Nebraska, Grand Army of the Republic, are also available in alphabetical order . The records provide the veteran's military unit, date and place of death, cemetery, and sometimes date and place of birth.

Pension Index


 * Civil War Pension Index Cards - A free Internet index to pension applications of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917 is available on FamilySearch Record Search. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information. Other wars, of that time period, may be included.

General Databases


 * The Nebraska State Historical Society maintains an online database of Nebraska Civil War Veterans compiled to help researchers locate individuals referenced in the Civil War Vereants Indexes. It is not a complete index.


 * NEGenWeb, Nebraska Civil War Veterans, (accessed 18 March 2011), has a master list of both Union and Confederateveterans, as well as links to several other Internet sites with information about Nebraska veterans.