South Carolina Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This Collection includes records from 1861 to 1865.

This is an index to the compiled Civil War service records for approximately 50,000 soldiers who served in organizations from South Carolina. The records indexed are from the National Archives and Records Administration, publication M267.

Most Civil War service records were created by the state as the Confederacy had no provision for a unified military force.

This index was created to provide a rapid access to the Confederate service records.

The information in the index is accurate.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

This is an index to records for the years 1861 to 1865.

Record Content
Information found in this collection may include:

Most Confederate service record index entries contain the following information:


 * Name of soldier
 * Soldier's rank, company and regiment in which served
 * Date and place of enlistment
 * Time period of enlistment
 * Reason for detachment
 * NARA publication number, title, and roll number
 * Sometimes, an estimated year of birth

How to Use the Record
To search this collection, it would be helpful to know the following information: To begin your search, it is helpful to know the name and some other identifying information such as the birth place or birth date.

Search the Collection
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

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. Compare the information in the records to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination. Keep in mind that even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

When you have located your ancestor’s service record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:


 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date.
 * Use the age and location of the military unit to find the soldier’s family in census, church and land records.
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have served in the same unit or a nearby unit.

When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Search the records of nearby military units.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Web Sites
South Carolina Department of Archives and History

Related Wiki Articles

 * Confederate Service Records
 * South Carolina Military Records
 * United States Civil War 1861 to 1865, Part 1
 * United States Civil War 1861 to 1865, Part 2

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.