Researching Civil War Soldiers and Regiments:
A Resource Guide
Service Records:
National Archives and Records Administration
For Union army soldiers, there are three major records in the National Archives
and Records Administration (NARA) that provide information on military service:
(1) compiled military service record (CMSR); (2) pension application file; and
(3) records reproduced in microfilm publication M594, Compiled Records Showing
Service of Military Units in Volunteer Union Organizations (225 rolls). For a
search of Federal military service and pension files prior to 1902 and land bounty
warrant files prior to 1855, request search form NATF-80 from: National Archives,
Textual Reference Branch (NNR1), 7th & Pennsylvania Avenues NW, Washington,
DC 20408.
New York State Archives
The most important record series in their collection is the Civil War Muster roll
abstracts of New York State Volunteers…1861-1865. The Archives has a service
record request form available on the internet to obtain information from these
records. This form may be copied, filled in and mailed to the Archives.
http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_mi_warsvc_form.shtml
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Printed Works:
Clark, Rufus W. The Heroes of Albany. Albany : S.R. Gray, 1866.
Biographical sketches of men from the city and country of Albany who died during
the Civil War. Includes some portraits.
County Histories
An excellent source of brief regimental histories and biographical sketches of
officers.
Dornbusch, Charles E. Military Bibliography of the Civil War. 4 vol's.
New York: New York Public Library, 1971-87. A guide to published Union and Confederate
unit histories.
Holzer, Harold, editor. The Union Preserved : A Guide to Civil War Records
in the New York State Archives. NY : New York State Partnership Trust, 1999.
Hunt, Roger D. & Jack R. Brown. Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue.
Gaithersburg, MD : Olde Soldier Books, 1990.
Munden, Kenneth W., and Henry Putney Beers. The Union: A Guide to Federal
Archives Relating to the Civil War. National Archives and Records Administration.
1962. Reprint, 1986
National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. multiple volumes. NY
: James T. White & Co. ca. 1890’s.
An excellent source for prominent New Yorkers from around the turn of the Century.
New York. Adjutant General. [Register of New York Regiments in the War
of the Rebellion]. 43 vol's. Albany : 1894-1906.
Lists the officers and enlisted men in each New York State volunteer regiment
and battery during the Civil War. Includes a sketch of their service with the
unit.
New York at Gettysburg. 3 vol's. Albany : J.B. Lyon Co., various
dates.
Includes regimental histories of the numerous New York State units that fought
at Gettysburg.
Phisterer, Frederick, compiler. New York in the War of the Rebellion, 1861
to 1865. 6 vol's. Albany : J.B. Lyon, various editions.
Provides a brief service history for each New York State volunteer and militia
unit that served in the Civil War. Includes a list of battles and casualties.
Lists the officers for each regiment with a sketch of their service in the regiment.
U.S. War Department. War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 128 vol's. Washington, DC: Government
Printing Office, 1880-1900. Reprint, Gettysburg, PA: National Historical Society,
1971-72.
Includes battle reports and correspondence of Union and Confederate regiments.
U.S. Naval War Records Office. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation
of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies. 30 vol's. Washington,
DC: Government Printing Office, 1874-1922. Reprint, Gettysburg, PA: National Historical
Society, 1971.
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue : Lives of the Union Commanders.
Baton Rouge : LSU Press, various dates.
Biographical sketches and photographs of Union general officers. The standard
source.
Electronic Sources:
1. New York State and the Civil War
An excellent site with a number of links maintained by Sue Greenhagen. Information
on this site includes:
Phisterer’s list of where regiments were raised by counties
Unit synonyms, nicknames of NYS units
New York State G.A.R. posts, lists of posts by counties, etc.
Regional Civil War resources in New York State, a group of links
Links to Civil War regimental web sites, arranged by unit number
Index of New York Images in Regimental Histories and Other Sources, arranged by
unit designation
http://library.morrisville.edu/local_history/sites/[Link will open new window.]
2. The New York GenWeb Site of the Civil War
This site is contains Civil War information, research and items created exclusively
for this site by NY GenWeb's coordinators, county site volunteers, Civil War historians
and researchers, and other enthusiastic and generous people who want to help others.
It is also the home on line for Betty Auten, former Seneca County N.Y. Historian,
who offers a Civil War search in her personal database. Information on this site
includes:
Soldiers Killed and Died From Wounds, Glens Falls, Warren County, NY,
Patriot Fund 1861, Glens Falls, Warren County, NY,
Survivors of the 22nd NY Vol's. Attending a Reunion in Glens Falls, Warren County,
NY, 1888,
Members of G.A.R. Post #587, Sandy Hill, Washington County, NY, 1888,
www.rootsweb.com/~nycivilw/
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3. Civil War Rosters – New York Links
Over 130 links to rosters of New York Civil War regiments.
www.geocities.com/Area51/Lair/3680/cw/cw-ny.html
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4. The Civil War Archive Union Regimental Index – New York
Concise histories of New York State Civil War regiments.
www.civilwararchive.com/unionny.htm
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5. National Archives and Records Administration
A very good source for information on searching Civil War records. The site’s
table of contents include: Part 1: Introduction to basic research sources: Union
records, Confederate records, publications; discussion of basic records, compiled
military service records, pension records, record of events; Part 2: Compiling
a soldier's history; Part 3: Where to find these records; Part 4: Civil War photographs
and maps; Part 5: Other records, and Part 6: Grand Army of the Republic
www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/military/civil_war_records.html
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6. U.S. Army Military History Institute
An excellent source of Civil War regimental bibliographies and photographs of
individual Civil War soldiers.
carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/
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7. U.S. War Department. War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 128 vol's.
http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/records/
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Compiled by M. Aikey, 1/2002
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New York State Division of Military and
Naval Affairs: Military History
Last modified: July 5, 2012
URL: http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/research/civilResearch.htm
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