United States, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in This Collection?
The collection consists of Confederate service records of soldiers who served in organizations raised by the Confederate Government for the years 1861 to 1865. The records include abstracts of entries relating to the soldier as found in the following original records:


 * Muster rolls
 * Returns
 * Rosters
 * Payrolls
 * Appointment books
 * Hospital registers
 * Union prison registers and rolls
 * Parole rolls
 * Inspection reports

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 M258. Index courtesy of Fold3 (previously known as Footnote.com).

Collection Content
The records are in individual files and 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

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
The index to these records contains the following:


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

How Do I Search This Collection?
To begin your search you need to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The age of your ancestor
 * The military unit in which your ancestor served

Search the Index
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
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names
 * 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

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.

What Do I Do Next?
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.

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

 * 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 other relatives
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * You may need to compare the information of more than one family or person to make this determination
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur

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

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor

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

"United States, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2017. Citing "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations Raised Directly by the Confederate Government." Fold3.com. http://www.fold3.com.
 * Collection Citation:

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