Iowa in the Civil War

United States     U.S. Military     Iowa   Iowa Military   Iowa in the Civil War



Introduction
Iowa provided over 76,000 troops to the Civil War, of which 13,000 died. Iowa troops included 48 infantry regiments, 8 cavalry regiments, 4 artillery regiments, and one unassigned volunteer regiment. For additional information, see the Wikipedia article, Iowa in the American Civil War.

Iowa Military Units
Most units were numbered, however, some were named. See the table below for lists of the regiments, battalions, batteries, and other units.

The information in the lists of Iowa Military Units comes from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors web site. That web site also can be searched by the name of a soldier.

Iowa Units by Number or by Name Union Units 1st-9th 10th-30th 31st-48th A to Z Iowa Units by Type of Unit Union Units Infantry Cavalry Artillery Other

Civil War, 1861–65
Iowa provided over 76,000 troops to the Civil War, of which 13,000 died. An index to the compiled military service records is:


 * Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Iowa This index lists each soldier’s name, company, unit, rank in, and rank out. There are also references to service in other units. The actual service records have not been filmed and are available only at the National Archives.

For lists of the soldiers by regiment, see volumes 1–5 of the following:


 * Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers in the War of the Rebellion: Together with Historical Sketches of Volunteer Organizations, 1861–1866 This book provides each soldier’s name, rank, and often the date and place he was mustered out. The soldiers are listed by company but not alphabetically. Volume 6 has names of soldiers from later wars, as well. An index to the six volumes is found in:
 * Index to Iowa Soldiers
 * For a list of the Civil War soldiers living in Iowa in 1886, see the book, List of Ex-Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, Living in Iowa, mentioned previously. The Civil War soldiers are listed by the state from which they served, then by their regiment and then alphabetically.


 * Civil War Pension Index Cards - A free Internet index to pension applications of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917 is available on FamilySearch Record Search. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information. Other wars, of that time period, may be included.

After the Civil War, veterans formed the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). At its peak in the 1890s, the GAR had posts and members throughout Iowa. Post records give the name, birth date, birthplace (town and state), war record (regiment, enlistment date, date mustered out), wife’s name and sometimes, the names and residences of children and parents. For the index and post records, see:


 * Grand Army of the Republic. Grand Army of the Republic Records, ca. 1800–1962 The index cards generally provide the name of the person, his company and regiment, the state from which he served in the Civil War, and the number and city of the GAR post where he was listed. Often the cards also give the exact birth date, county of birth, exact death date and place, name and location of cemetery, and parents’ names. The forms are on microfilm, are listed by county, and often name the parents, spouse, and children. The original records are at the State Historical Society in Des Moines.

Three guidebooks to Iowa Civil War information are:


 * Discovering Your Iowa Civil War Ancestry
 * Iowa in the Civil War: A Reference Guide This book mentions articles, reports, histories, letters, and diaries that have been published about the different regiments that were in the Civil War.
 * Iowa Colonels and Regiments: Being a History of Iowa Regiments in the War of the Rebellion and Containing a Description of the Battles in Which They Fought'