New York in the Civil War

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Introduction
New York contributed about 465,000 soldiers to Union armed forces, more than any other state. Over 50,000 of them died.

This was over 20% of all the men in the state and over 50% of men under the age of 30. More than 130,000 were foreign-born, including about 20,000 from Canada, 51,000 from Ireland, and 37,000 from Germany.

New York eventually provided 27 cavalry regiments, 15 artillery regiments, 8 regiments of engineers, and 248 infantry regiments.

4,125 free blacks from New York served in the Union Army. Three infantry regiments of United States Colored Troops were raised in New York-- 20th Regiment, 26th Regiment, and 31st Regiment.

New York Military Units
Most units were numbered, however, some were named. See the table below for lists of the regiments, battalions, batteries, and unassigned companies.

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

New York Units by Number or by Name Union Units 1st-5th 6th- 12th 13th- 22nd 23rd- 37th 38th- 68th 69th- 102nd 103rd- 150th 151st- 194th A to Z

New York Units by Type of Unit Union Units Infantry Cavalry Artillery National Guard Militia <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 60px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(204,255,255); text-align: center">Engineers <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: left; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 4px; width: 65px; padding-top: 5px; height: 40px; background-color: rgb(204,255,255); text-align: center">Other

Service Records

 * A helpful index to New York Civil War soldiers is United States, Adjutant General's Office, Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers. New York, New York. (Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1964; Family History Library films ;). Gives regiment, company, and rank. This information can help locate pension records.

The Family History Library has indexes to federal service and pension records of Union Army soldiers. They are listed in the Family History Library Catalog Place Search under UNITED STATES - MILITARY RECORDS.

The federal service and pension records themselves have not been filmed and are available only at the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/. They are described in more detail in the United States Military Records Wiki article.

Muster Rolls
During the 1870s and 1880s, New York began making abstracts of various War Department records. These are available only at the state archives and include:


 * Abstracts of Civil War Muster Rolls for New York State Volunteers, 1,231 Volumes. These are printed forms arranged by unit number and then alphabetically by the names of officers and enlisted men (excluding naval personnel). The abstracts were published as New York Adjutant General, Registers of New York Regiments in the War of the Rebellion (supplemental volumes to the Annual Report of the Adjutant-General of the State of New York, 1893–1905) Serial number 1–43 (Albany, New York: James B. Lyon, 1894–1906; 1897 and 1901 in Family History Library book ).

The series is arranged by regiment and then alphabetically by soldiers' names. There is a seventeen-volume name index (not at Family History Library). The books have most but not all of the information found in the original abstracts. The Library only has volumes for the 15th and 16th Artillery and 81st to 87th Artillery. May show name, age, date, and place of enlistment, unit, or death or discharge date or place.


 * Abstracts of Muster Rolls for New York State Militia Units Mustered into Federal Service During the Civil War, 1861–1865. 92 Volumes. These are arranged by unit and then alphabetically by name. The archives has a separate index to them.


 * Abstracts of Muster Rolls for Men Who Served in the United States Navy During the Civil War, 1861–1865. 96 Volumes. These are arranged by U.S. Regular officers, volunteer officers, and enlisted men.

Unit Histories
Many published histories of the individual regiments with unit rosters exist, and some are on microfilm at the Family History Library.


 * Military sketches of regimental officers and organizations are available in Frederick Phisterer, compiler, New York in the War of the Rebellion, 1861 to 1865, Third Edition, six volumes. (Albany, New York: Lyon, 1912; Family History Library book, except Volumes 3 and 4 which the library does not have; films ). Volume one (pp. 72–77) has a listing of the units raised in particular counties.


 * A similar listing arranged by county and town is C. E. Dornbusch, compiler, The Communities of New York and the Civil War: The Recruiting Areas of the New York Civil War Regiments(New York, New York: The New York Public Library, 1962; Family History Library book no. 308).

Compilations at the State Archives

 * Town Clerks' Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War, ca. 1865–1867. Albany, New York: New York State Archives and records Administration, 1991. (Family History Library films .) These registers, arranged by county and town, give the individual's full name, residence, birth date and place, rank, length of enlistment, place of enlistment, race, amount of bounty paid, marital status, previous occupation, parents' names (including mother's maiden name), and promotion dates. Not all the elements are filled in. Birth date and parents' names are usually missing. The registers for New York City, Troy, and other cities are missing.


 * Return of Officers and Enlisted Men Who are Now in the Military or Naval Service. Three Volumes. 1865. They are arranged by county and then alphabetically by town and include such genealogical information as name, age, color, place of birth, marital status, occupation, and status as voter or alien.


 * Return of Officers and Enlisted Men Who Have Been in the Military or Naval Service, 1865. Similar in content and arrangement to the first-mentioned volumes.


 * Deaths of Officers and Enlisted Men, Which Have Occurred While in the Military or Naval Services, 1865. One Volume.

New York 1865 State Census

 * The 1865 census contains detailed information on Civil War soldiers, both living and deceased. The census is available on film at the Family History Library. It is listed in the Family History Library Catalog Place Search under NEW YORK, [COUNTY] - CENSUS.

US 1890 Veterans Census

 * The 1890 federal census of Union Civil War lists veterans and their widows and gives the soldiers' regiments and companies. (Family History Library films ; index in book 1890).

Soldier Homes
For records of national old soldier homes, including the homes in Bath and Oxford, New York, see:


 * United States. Veterans Administration. , 1866–1937. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (On 282 Family History Library films.) Includes general indexes for each of the twelve homes, but some volumes are indexed separately.

These Historical Registers may list the soldier's name, date and place of enlistment, rank, military unit, length of service, date and place of discharge, place of birth, age, physical description, religion, occupation, previous residence, marital status, nearest relative, pension, soldier home admission and discharge dates, disability, death date, or cause of death.

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.