United States Civil War 1861 to 1865, Part 1

United States U.S. Military  US Civil War 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.

Best Sources

 * United States Civil War 1861 to 1865, Part 2 describes and explains the best sources for Civil War genealogical research.

Getting Started with Civil War Research

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research
 * Getting started with Union records
 * Getting started with Confederate records
 * Civil War Genealogical Research 46 min. video
 * Military Records: Civil War 35 min. video

Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System of the National Park Service is a free Internet index of both Union and Confederate service records.

The database contains approximately 6.3 million names (some names are duplicated because of spelling variations and multiple enlistments) covering 3.5 million soldiers. The database tells whether the soldier was Union or Confederate and gives regiment and rank.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System index was compiled in cooperation with the National Archives, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Genealogical Society of Utah. Numerous volunteers worked together to make a computerized index to Union and Confederate soldiers.

Research Tools

 * 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.


 * The American Civil War Homepage has links to many sites with information about the Civil War.


 * 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. It's Index of Civil War Information Available on the Internet has links to many interesting web sites.


 * New York Public Library, "USSC Civil War Soldiers Inquiry Database" on the U.S. Sanitary Commission collection of records of over 9,000 sick, wounded, or missing Union servicemen to answer inquiries from their relatives.

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:


 * United States, Records of Confederate Prisioners of War (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States, Service Records of Union Soldiers Who Served in United States Colored Troops (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States Civil War Soldiers Index (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States Unifiled Papers and Slips Belonging in Confederate Compiled Service Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States, Civil War Widows and Other Dependents Pension Files (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States Civil War Pension Index (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Utah, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * West Virginia, Civil War Service Record of Union Soldiers, 1861-1965 (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Ethnic Groups

 * African Americans, see United States Colored Troops in the Civil War
 * American Indians in the Civil War
 * Canadians in the Civil War
 * Danes in the Civil War A great article with stories of a few Danish men serving in the American Civil War.
 * Hispanics in the Civil War
 * Hungarians in the Civil War
 * Norwegians in the Civil War

Major Sites with Digitized Records
Many Civil War records have been digitized and indexed on various Internet sites. Check the lists showing many of the digitized records on FamilySearch, Ancestry, and Fold3.

Battles
For lists and descriptions of the various Civil War battles, click the following links: