New Hampshire, Civil War Service and Pension Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States New Hampshire



What is in the Collection?
This collection contains Civil War enlistment papers, muster in and out rolls of New Hampshire Regiments and pension records acquired from the New Hampshire State Archives. The pension records are arranged by town with indexes arranged by name and town. The enlistment papers are arranged by military unit, volume and year range. The muster rolls are arranged by unit name and folder number. This collection includes records from 1861 to 1866.

Collection Contents
The following information is usually found in these records:


 * Name
 * Birthplace
 * Age
 * Occupation
 * Enlistment date
 * Name of officiator
 * Physical description

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * Name
 * Birthplace
 * Age
 * Residence
 * Military Unit

Search the Collection
To search the collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "Record Category" category ⇒ Select the "Record Description and Year Range" category which will take you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details such as a title, an occupation, or land ownership. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors.


 * Use the residence to search for census records.
 * Use the spouse's name to search for marriage records.
 * Use the name and service information to obtain all military records.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, Now What?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also search for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

Related Websites

 * Civil War Links
 * National Graves Registration Database
 * Cornell University Library
 * Online Civil War Indexes, Records and Rosters
 * Ordering Civil War Pension Records

Related Wiki Articles

 * New Hampshire Genealogy
 * United States

Citing this Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually. Collection Citation

Image Citation