Georgia Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
Confederate service records of soldiers who served in organizations from Georgia. The records include a jacket-envelope for each soldier, labeled with his name, his rank, and the unit in which he served. The jacket-envelope typically contains card abstracts of entries relating to the soldier as found in original muster rolls, returns, rosters, payrolls, appointment books, hospital registers, Union prison registers and rolls, parole rolls, inspection reports; and the originals of any papers relating solely to the particular soldier. 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 109, War Department Collection of Confederate Records and is National Archive Microfilm Publication M266. Index courtesy of Fold3.

Service records were kept for each Confederate 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.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
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, Union prison registers and rolls, parole rolls, and inspection reports
 * The originals of any papers relating only to the particular soldier

The index to these records contains the following:


 * Jacket name
 * Soldier’s full name
 * Year(s) served
 * Estimated age
 * Military unit served in
 * Type of records in file
 * NARA publication number, title, and roll number

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The date of the event or the name of a parent

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. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the locator information found in the index (such as roll number and the unit served in) to locate your ancestors in the service records
 * Use the age to calculate a birth date and to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records
 * Use the information to find additional family members. Witnesses or bondsmen were usually relatives

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Georgia.
 * Georgia Guided Research
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying you sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:"Georgia Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. From "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Georgia." Database. Fold3.com. http://www.fold3.com : n.d. Citing NARA microfilm publication M266. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.