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

United States Texas

What Is in the Collection?
The collection consists of Union 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 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s - 1917 and is National Archive Microfilm Publication M402. Index courtesy of www.fold3.com (previously Footnote.com).

Service records were kept for each 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, 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 usually contains the following:


 * Jacket name
 * Soldier’s name, rank and company where served
 * Where born and age at enlistment
 * Occupation
 * Time period of enlistment
 * Physical description
 * Date and place where mustered-in
 * Type of records in file
 * NARA publication number, title, and roll number

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * The age or dates served as a soldier

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.

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

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 Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later.
 * 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.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who 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.
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Citing This Collection
A citation is a note where you found information. Citations help you keep track of places you hace searched and sources you have found. Using citations allows others to find the same information.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Top of Page