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

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes Civil War Confederate Service records from 1861-1865.

This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.

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 Website (previously Footnote.com).

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?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The date of the event or the name of a parent

Search the Index
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page.
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have
 * 2) Click Search to show possible matches

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.

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.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.

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 in an area search.
 * 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. Try searching for these names as well.

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.

"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.
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