South Carolina Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
This is an index to records for the years 1861 to 1865.

Record Description
This is an index to the compiled Civil War service records for approximately 50,000 soldiers who served in organizations from South Carolina. The records indexed are from the National Archives and Records Administration, publication M267.

Record Content
Most Confederate service record index entries contain the following information:


 * Full name
 * NARA publication number, title, and roll number
 * Military unit served in
 * Year of the service card
 * Estimated year of birth

How to Use the Record
Use the locator information found in the index (such as roll number and the unit served in) to locate your ancestors in the service records. Compare the information in the records to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination. Keep in mind that 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.

When you have located your ancestor’s service record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:


 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date.
 * Use the age and location of the military unit to find the soldier’s family in census, church and land records.
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have served in the same unit or a nearby unit.

When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Search the records of nearby military units.

Record History
Most Civil War service records were created by the state as the Confederacy had no provision for a unified military force.

Why this Record Was Created
This index was created to provide a rapid access to the Confederate service records.

Record Reliability
The information in the index is accurate.

Related Web Sites
South Carolina Department of Archives and History

Related Wiki Articles
South Carolina Military Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. 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.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection
"South Carolina, Civil War Confederate Service Records, 1861-1865." index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed April 7, 2011). entry for Samuel F. Lee, Capt Kelly's Co, Light Artillery (Chesterfield Artillery), NARA roll number 101; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

Sources of Information for This Collection
South Carolina, Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, Index, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/); from National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. M267. Digital copies from Footnote.com