Texas, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers - FamilySearch Historical Records

What Is in This Collection?
The collection consists of Confederate service records of soldiers who served in organizations from Texas for the years 1861 to 1865. The records include abstracts of entries relating to the soldier as found in the following original records:
 * Muster rolls
 * Returns
 * Rosters
 * Payrolls
 * Appointment books
 * Hospital registers
 * Union prison registers and rolls
 * Parole rolls
 * Inspection reports

For each military unit, the service records are arranged alphabetically by the soldier's surname. The Military Unit field may also display the surname range (A-G) as found on the microfilm. This collection is a part of RG 109, War Department Collection of Confederate Records and is National Archive Microfilm Publication M323. Index courtesy of Fold3 (previously Footnote.com).

Service records were kept for each Confederate soldier. Those records, or their abstracts, were compiled into individual files. Each envelope/jacket contains information and cross references to original records relating to the soldier. The records are in individual files which usually include the following:


 * A jacket-envelope for each soldier, labeled with his name, rank, and the unit in which he served
 * A card (or cards) with abstracts of entries from original muster rolls, returns, rosters, payrolls, appointment books, hospital registers, Union prison registers and rolls, parole rolls, and inspection reports
 * The originals of any papers relating only to the particular soldier

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The index to these records contains the following:
 * Jacket name
 * Soldier’s name, rank, company and battalion
 * Soldier's age
 * Date and place mustered-in and by whom
 * Length of military service to be served
 * Type of records in file
 * NARA publication number, title, and roll number

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching t*Add any new information to your recordhis collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * The age or date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record, if you can, to verify the information and to find additional information.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your record
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find other church and vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death records
 * Use the information found in the record to find land, probate and immigration records
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in censuses. Witnesses were usually family members
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Texas.
 * US Military Basic Search Strategies
 * Beginning Research in United States Military Records
 * Beginning United States Civil War Research
 * Locating a Confederate Civil War Soldier (1861–1865)
 * Texas Guided Research
 * Texas Record Finder
 * Texas Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Texas Research, 1880-Present

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * J. H. Segars, In search of Confederate ancestors : the guide Madison, Georgia : Southern Lion Books, c2005 FS Library 973 D27seg 2005
 * James C. Neagles, Confederate research sources : a guide to archive collections 2nd ed. Ancestry Publishing, c1997 FS Library 973 A3ne 1997
 * Texas Confederate military service records compiled from muster rolls in the Texas State Archives, 1860-1865
 * Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Texas
 * Unfiled papers and slips belonging in Confederate compiled service records : National Archives microfilm publication, microcopy no. 347
 * James E. Williams, A revised list of Texas Confederate regiments, battalions, field officers, and local designations Cameron, Texas : J.E. Williams, 2007 FS Library 976.4 M2wj
 * Austin, Roster of the residents of the Texas Confederate Old Soldier's Home
 * Comal County, Distribution of funds to Confederate soldiers' families
 * Thomas Lloyd Miller. Texas Confederate scrip grantees(1985). FS Library 976.4 R2mt
 * Linda Mearse, transcribed, Confederate indigent families lists of Texas 1863-1865 San Marcos, Texas : L. Mearse, c1995 FS Library 976.4 M2mL

Pensions
 * Virgil D. White, transcribed, Index to Texas CSA pension files Waynesboro, Tennessee : National Historical Pub. Co., c1989 FS Library 976.4 M22w
 * Texas. Confederate pensions: applications approved and rejected
 * Hardin County, Civil War Pensions, 1899-1940
 * Robertson County, Confederate pension docket, 1909-1920

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * compiled by John M. Kinney ; revised by Peggy Oakley, Index to applications for Texas Confederate pensions 1977.Austin, Texas : Archives Division, Texas State Library, 1977

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.