Civil War Records

The American Civil War (1861–1865), also known as the War Between the States (among other names), was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America, also known as "the Confederacy." Led by Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy fought against the United States (the Union), which was supported by all the free states (where slavery had been abolished) and by five slave states that became known as the border states.

Hostilities began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for a volunteer army from each state to recapture federal property. This led to declarations of secession by four more slave states. Both sides raised armies as the Union assumed control of the border states early in the war and established a naval blockade. In September 1862, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation made ending slavery in the South a war goal, and dissuaded the British from intervening.

1861-1865

Records for the Civil War

• Civil War Pension Index Files, 1861-1900 database, FamilySearch; from the National Archives. "Organization index to pension files of veterans who served between 1861 and 1900-[1917]." National Archives, Washington, D.C. FHL microfilm, 765 reels

• Microfilm at the National Archives

• Discovering the Civil War (hosted at National Archives)

  • ARC Civil War Gallery (A Varity of Topics)

  • ARC Guide for Genealogists and Family Historians

  • Research in Military Records

    • Civil War

    • Researching Confederate Marines in the Civil War

• Civil War Mailing Lists

• Civil War Cemeteries

• Civil War Battlefield Maps

• Databases

• Records by State

Civil War Cemeteries

• US Military National Cemeteries

• Burial Search

• US Military State Cemeteries

Civil War Battlefield Maps

Alabama Arkansas Colorado Florida Georgia Idaho Indiana Kansas Kentucky

Louisiana Maryland Minnesota Mississippi Missouri New Mexico North Carolina North Dakota

Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia

Civil War Databases

• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (hosted at the National Park Service)
  • Search for Soldiers
  • Search for Sailors
  • Search by Regiment
  • Battlefields
  • Prisoner Search
    • Andersonville - Union
    • Ft. McHenry - Confederate
  • Medal of Honor Recipients
• Ancestry.com
  • American Civil War Battle Summaries
  • American Civil War General Officers
  • American Civil War Pension Index
  • American Civil War Regiments
  • American Civil War Service Records
  • American Civil War Soldiers
  • Confederate Research Sources
  • Confederate States Field Officers

Records by State

All States

• National and State Archives

• USGenWeb Project (click on State)

• USGenWeb Civil War Pensions (click on State)

• USGenWeb Archives (click on State, then County)

• National and State Archives

• American History and Genealogy Project (Click on Topics or State)

• American Local History Network (Click on Topics or State)

• Cyndi's List - Civil War

• Brant New York, 1865 - Officers and Soldiers

Civil War Subscription Databases

• Alabama Civil War Muster Rolls, 1861-1865
• Georgia, Confederate Pension Applications, 1879-1960
• Muscatine County, Iowa Civil War Soldiers
• Kansas Civil War Soldiers
• Kentucky Civil War Union Volunteers, 1861-1866
• Kentucky Confederate Volunteers, 1861-1866
• Louisiana Confederate Soldiers
• Maryland Soldiers in the Civil War, Vol. 1
• Maryland Soldiers in the Civil War, Vol. 2
• Civil War Burials in Baltimore's Loudon Park Cemetery
• History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers, War of 1861-1865, Vols. 1-2
• Minnesota Civil War Soldiers
• Missouri Confederate Death Records
• Missouri Confederate Volunteers
• Nevada Civil War Volunteers
• New York Civil War Records (1861-65)
• Tennessee Civil War Regimental Histories
• Tennessee, Civil War Confederate Pension Applications Index
• Union and Confederate Soldiers and Sympathizers of Barbour County, West Virginia
• American Civil War Battle Summaries
• American Civil War General Officers
• American Civil War Regiments
• American Civil War Soldiers
• Andersonville Prisoners of War
• Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934
• Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865
• Confederate Applications for Presidential Pardons, 1865-1867
• Confederate Service Records, 1861-1865
• Confederate States Field Officers
• Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, 1879-1903
• U.S. Civil War Jewish-American Veterans, 1861-1865
• U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles
• U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
• Official records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1861-1865
• Official Army register of the volunteer force of the United States Army, 1861-1865, Parts 1-8
• My diary in America in the midst of war, Vols. 1-2
• My diary, North and South, Vols. 1-2
• A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion

Suggested Reading

Fields of Honor: Pivotal Battles of the Civil War - Bearss presents the story of the Civil War as he has in the battlefield tours he has conducted for many years. A former chief historian of the National Parks Service, he chronicles 14 crucial battles, including Fort Sumter, Shiloh, Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Sherman's march through the Carolinas, and Appomattox, the battles ranging between 1861 and 1865; included is an introductory chapter describing John Brown's raid in October 1859.

The Complete Civil War Road Trip Guide - The book outlines ten suggested itineraries for short road trips that cover every major battle of the war that will enable a traveler to experience this definitive period of American history. For those who can’t resist trying to see it all, the book contains complete information on and reviews of almost 450 historical sites across the United States related to the Civil War, including all 384 of the principal battlefields listed by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission, as well as lodging and other travel information.