Caldwell County, Missouri Home Guard (Union)

Brief History
Fifty-six men in Caldwell County organized as a Home Guard unit to protect their homes and families with Moses Levy James as their Captain. In 1861, they were assigned to also protect the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad. By September 1861, they were organized into the 5th Battalion. They were to continue guarding the railroad as well as the four counties of Caldwell, Daviess, Clinton, and DeKalb. When their time expired in May 1862, most musted in to the 6th Regiment of the Missouri State Militia as Companies A, B, C, and D.

"Compendium of the War of the Rebellion" by Frederick H. Dyer contains no history for this unit.

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

Independent Company - Captain Moses Levy (M.L.) James - most men from Caldwell County

Regimental roster

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier or sailor. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in 'Missouri in the Civil War' and 'United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865' (see below).


 * National Park Service, The 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.


 * Missouri in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Missouri, and how to find them. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.