New River Notes

Since 1998 - Historical and Genealogical Resources
for the Upper New River Valley of North Carolina and Virginia

Civil War Genealogy FAQ

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Welcome to my Civil War Genealogy Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). If you have been doing genealogy for awhile you may not need to read this section, but then again....

I receive from 25-100 requests a week from individuals wanting me to help identify their civil war ancestor or provide information about his service in the Late Unpleasantness. So, it is to our mutual benefit that we both know what we are talking about.

• Identification of your ancestor is not something that I, nor any other Civil War expert can help you with. Letters and notes with requests for all information you have on Smiths from Tennessee or Joneses from Virginia don't help. You need to determine who he was, where he lived, and some basic biographical information before asking someone to help you. The basic information should include a birth year, if not date, even if it is approximate. At a minimum you should know what state he lived in 1860. So, if you ask about John Jones, about age 30, from Virginia, I might be able to provide a list of possible candidates. If you ask about John Jones, born in 1832, from Culpeper County, then the chances are good that I could identify the specific unit the fellow served in.
• Obtaining records and information about an ancestor, once he has been identified. The National Archives is the custodian of the "Rebel Archives" as they termed it, as well as Federal service and pension records for men who served under Mr. Lincoln. NATF 80 is the basic form to obtain records from either side. (The National Archives does not maintain Southern pension applications. Those are housed in the state which granted the pension, usually in the State Library and Archives or equivalent.) Once you have received your blank NATF 80's complete them as best you can, and submit them in accordance with the instructions on the form.
• If you want copies of the pension applications, this needs to be requested separately from the actual service records. Federal pensions can be requested using NATF 80, a letter to the state archivist, or equivalent is necessary for Confederate pensions.
• OK, now you have your records. What do they tell you? (I personally think this is where most of the errors of judgement are made). In the case of muster roll entries, they tell you the status on a particular day, not necessarily for the entire period covered by the muster roll. For example, a unit conducts a muster roll on February 28, 1862 and the next one is not completed until June 30, 1862, four months have gone by. It is possible that a person be listed as present on both, but he could have been AWOL or in the hospital, or any other number of reasons for all of the intervening days. He only was present on February 28 and on June 30. You could infer that he was present on all the intervening days, you might be right, but you could very easily be WRONG.
• The records say that good old grandpa was a deserter, or was AWOL on a certain date, does that mean he was a bad man? Was he liable to be shot? Being AWOL or listed as a deserter did not carry the extreme negative connotations that it does in the present time. But, going AWOL or deserting wasn't laughed off either. Punishment for being AWOL or deserting varied from case to case. Discipline for those who voluntarily returned to duty was generally more lenient than for those who were arrested and forcibly returned to the army. Punishment varied from forfeiture of pay for the period the person was absent, to some rather painful forms of corporal punishment, public humiliation, or capital punishment. I have seen varying estimates of the numbers executed during the war, but I have hard time believing that they are accurate. I think more men were executed than is commonly believed. But Jefferson Davis thought that shooing one of your own was a poor use of manpower. And it was.
• Another item of confusion in the service records is medical records. Folks are always asking me if hospital records for such and such a hospital exist. In most cases, the pertinent data has been abstracted, carded, and the cards inserted into the service record. Looking for hospital records for an individual is usually a poor use of time. Medical terminology also causes quite a lot of confusion. There isn't much information on the World Wide Web about Civil War medicine. I have included some medical terminology in my web sites to help understand these terms in modern language. A large portion of the medical conditions listed are digestive, and the result of poor diets.
• Prisoner of War records also cause confusion. In the case of prisoner of war records, the basic information has been abstracted, carded, and interfiled with the service record. On occasion, however, their might be some additional information in prisoner of war source documents. This is particularly true for Confederates held in Northern prisons, less so for Federal prisoners held in the South. Is it worthwhile to search these records? That's a judgment call on your part. I don't as a rule unless I suspect that the person had family in the north. If this was true, then occasionally one can find some supplication to Federal prison authorities for special treatment, or some record of money sent to assist the inmate.
• Civil War service records usually won't reveal anything about the soldier's family, spouse, or parents. When they do reveal something, it is usually because the soldier died and the next of kin filed a claim for his pay and allowances. Sometimes this was done by an "attorney" and then the chance of obtaining genealogical information is limited.
• After obtaining a soldier's record, you really still don't have the full picture. You need to understand what the unit did, where it went, where it fought, who led it, and the personalities involved. If you can find a unit history for the unit, that will probably give you a good understanding of the dynamics of the unit. First-hand unit histories vary widely in readability, content, and objectivity. Some have become classics, others lapsed into the oblivion of history. If you can locate one about a unit you are researching, read it. If there was no first-hand account, then secondary, or modern regimental or unit histories are your best source of information. There are a lot of them out there, and more being prepared all the time. Order from a reputable bookshop or dealer. Morningside Bookshop in Dayton, Ohio has a comprehensive selection of Civil War Books that are currently inprint. But even the modern unit histories go out of print. They may be hard to find. They may also be expensive--be prepared for "sticker-shock" for out-of-print or first edition Civil War books.
• Capsule Histories are available, they usually consist of 4-5 pages of information and cost $15-20 each. Not a very good buy, in my opinion, but sometimes they might serve a purpose of being relatively available and obtainable quickly. Most of these are not thoroughly researched, and some are out-right deceptive.
• If you still have questions about what you are looking at or where to go for records, there are some more comprehensive books available on researching Civil War ancestors. Check them out.