Washington in the Civil War

Introduction
In 1861, Washington was part of the Washington Territory. In 1863, the Idaho Territoy was formed, and Washington Territory was reduced to the state's current boundaries. Washington was the furthest place in the United States from the war zone. One regiment was raised from Washington, though most of the men were from California and some from Oregon. The regiment's companies stayed in the northwest keeping the peace in that area.

Washington Military Units
The information below about the Washington Military Unit comes from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors website. That website also can be searched by the name of a soldier.


 * 1st Regiment, Washington Infantry (Union) Companies "A," "B," "C" and "D," organized at Alcartraz Island, San Francisco, California, January to April, 1862. The other companies were organized at other places and dates. Regiment mustered out December 11, 1865.

Records
Service Records - The FamilySearch Library has the index to service records of Union volunteers from Washington Territory (FS Library film ) and the federal index to pension applications. The actual service and pension records are available only at the National Archives. The library also has a copy of a special census taken in 1890 of Union veterans of the Civil War (FS Library film ).

Civil War Pension Index Cards - An of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917 is available on FamilySearch. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information. The majority of the records are of Civil War veterans, but the collection also includes records for veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, the Indian Wars, and World War I. For more information see Union Pension Records.

1890 Census Veterans Schedules - The 1890 Census Veterans Schedules, the "Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890) Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War" (NARA M123) are available online for the state of Washington. The schedules list veterans who served as Union soldiers in the Civil War and widows of Union soldiers. For more information on the 1890 Veterans Schedules see Union Census Records.

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)
Grand Army of the Republic founded in 1866 - 1956, was the largest veteran’s organization in the country after the Civil War. It was a fraternal organization members were veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, Marines and Revenue Cutler Service who served in the American Civil War. The group supported voting rights for black veterans, and lobbied the U.S. Congress to establish veterans' pensions. In 1890 the membership was 490,000.

In 1888 there were 29 posts and 1,060 members in the state of Washington

GAR Posts in the State of Washington

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
With the death of the last member of the Grand Army of the Republic the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was formed.