United States Civil War 1861 to 1865, Part 1

United States U.S. Military  US Civil War

The American Civil War began on 12 April 1861 when troops in South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Also called the "War between the States" and the "War of Secession", the Civil War lasted until 1865. Approximately 3.5 million soldiers fought in the war resulting in almost 600,000 deaths.

Best Sources

 * United States Civil War 1861 to 1865, Part 2 describes and explains the best sources for Civil War genealogical research.

Getting Started with Civil War Research

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research
 * Getting started with Union records
 * Getting started with Confederate records
 * Civil War Genealogical Research 46 min. video
 * Military Records: Civil War 35 min. video

Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System of the National Park Service is a free Internet index of both Union and Confederate service records. Images and an index of these service records are also available at Fold3.com ($), a subscription Internet site, also available at some libraries.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System index was compiled in cooperation with the National Archives, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Genealogical Society of Utah. Numerous volunteers worked together to make a computerized index to Union and Confederate soldiers. The index is available at National Park Service's website. The database contains approximately 6.3 million names (some names are duplicated because of spelling variations and multiple enlistments) covering 3.5 million soldiers. The database tells whether the soldier was Union or Confederate and gives regiment and rank.

This site contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, identifications and descriptions of 384 significant battles, references that identify the sources of the information in the database, and suggestions for where to find additional information.

Research Tools

 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * United States Civil War 1861 to 1865, Part 2 describes and explains the best sources for Civil War genealogical research.


 * The American Civil War Homepage has links to many sites with information about the Civil War.


 * LSU United States Civil War Center at the Louisiana State University focuses on Civil War records and research. LSU has many Civil War related books and manuscripts. It's Index of Civil War Information Available on the Internet has links to many interesting web sites.


 * New York Public Library, "USSC Civil War Soldiers Inquiry Database" on the U.S. Sanitary Commission collection of records of over 9,000 sick, wounded, or missing Union servicemen to answer inquiries from their relatives.

Record Types
Union Records


 * Service Records
 * Pension Records
 * Unit Histories
 * Union Regular Army in the Civil War
 * Union Volunteers in the Civil War
 * Veteran Reserve Corps in the Civil War

Confederate Records


 * Service Records
 * Pension Records
 * Unit Histories
 * Confederate Regular Troops in the Civil War

Photocopies of Union and Confederate service files and Union pension files are available from the National Archives through Order Online! See more...

Ethnic Groups

 * African Americans, see United States Colored Troops in the Civil War
 * American Indians in the Civil War
 * Hungarians in the Civil War
 * Norwegians in the Civil War
 * Danes in the Civil War A great article describing the contributions and stories of a few Danish men serving in the American Civil War.

Did you know?
Wiki articles descibing these collections with links to the databases are found at:


 * United States, Civil War Confederate Applications for Pardons (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States, Civil War Confederate Paper of Citizens or Businesses (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States Unifiled Papers and Slips Belonging to Confederate Compiled Service Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States War Pension Index (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * South Carolina Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers (FamilySearch Historical Records)

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