United States Civil War, 1861-1865

Getting Started with Civil War Research

 * American Civil War Research Tips and Strategies

Online Databases

 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1861 - 1865 - United States, Records Of Confederate Prisoners Of War, 1861-1865 at FindMyPast - Index
 * 1861 - 1865 - U.S., Civil War Roll of Honor, 1861-1865 ($), Index and images.
 * 1861 - 1866 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1864 - 1866 - at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1862 - 1874 - at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1879 - 1903 - at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.
 * LSU United States Civil War Center at the Louisiana State University focuses on Civil War records and research. LSU has many Civil War related books and manuscripts. Its Index of Civil War Information Available on the Internet has links to many interesting websites.
 * The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. No serious study of the American Civil War is complete without consulting the Official Records. Affectionately known as the "OR", the 128 volumes of the Official Records provide the most comprehensive, authoritative, and voluminous reference on Civil War operations.

History
The American Civil War began on 12 April 1861 when troops in South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Also called the "War between the States" and the "War of Secession", the Civil War lasted until 1865. Approximately 3.5 million soldiers fought in the war resulting in almost 600,000 deaths.

Resources

 * See Civil War sidebar (above) for topic pages.
 * List of American Civil War Battles, 1861-1865

Maps
Library of Congress, American Memory, Civil War maps, can be browsed or searched.

Information and sample articles on "Topics in Chronicling America - Civil War Maps in the New York Daily Tribune" provide access to a sampling of articles from historic newspapers that can be found in the "Chronicling America: American Historic Newspapers digital collection" of newspapers from the Library of Congress. Example: New-York daily tribune., July 07, 1863, Image 1
 * Confederate Maps, 1861-1876. NARA Record Group 109 War Department Collection of Confederate Records, NAID 305847

Photographs

 * Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War- Era Personalities and Scenes, 1860-1865. NAID 524418; digital images
 * Stereographs of the Civil War, 1861-1865. NAID 559265; digital images