United States Civil War 1861 to 1865, Part 1

{| class="FCK__ShowTableBorders" cellspacing="10" cellpadding="5" width="100%" The American Civil War began on 12 April 1861 when troops in South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The Civil War, also called the War between the States and the War of Secession, lasted until 1865.
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Getting started with United States Civil War research
Getting started with Union records Getting started with Confederate records Civil War Genealogical Research 46 min. video Military Records: Civil War 35 min. video

Research Tools
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System The American Civil War Hompage LSU United States Civil War Center United States Civil War 1861 to 1865, Part 2


 * New York Public Library, "USSC Civil War Soldiers Inquiry Database" on the U.S. Sanitary Commission collection of records of over 9,000 sick, wounded, or missing Union servicemen to answer inquiries from their relatives.

Record Types
Union Records


 * Service Records
 * Pension Records
 * Unit Histories
 * Union Regular Army in the Civil War
 * Union Volunteers in the Civil War
 * Veteran Reserve Corps in the Civil War

Confederate Records


 * Service Records
 * Pension Records
 * Unit Histories
 * Confederate Regular Troops in the Civil War

Photocopies of Union and Confederate service files and Union pension files are available from the National Archives through Order Online! See more...

Ethnic Groups

 * African Americans, see United States Colored Troops in the Civil War
 * American Indians in the Civil War
 * Hungarians in the Civil War
 * Norwegians in the Civil War
 * Danes in the Civil War A great article describing the contributions and stories of a few Danish men serving in the American Civil War.

Did you know?
The Pennsylvania State Archives: Archives and Records Information Access Systems (ARIAS) houses a Pennsylvania Civil War Veterans' Card File, 1861-1866. This card file indexes Samuel Penninman Bates' History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865 and additional information gathered from Civil War Muster rolls. You may expect to find dates and places of enrollment and discharge, age and place of birth, physical description, and other service-related information such as capture or desertion.


 * United States, Civil War Confederate Applications for Pardons (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States, Civil War Confederate Paper of Citizens or Businesses (FamilySearch Historical Records)

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Category: Wars involving the United States|United States