By: Daniel H. Reigle. First published in Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal, Originally published in Volume IX, #4, 2005. Revised March 2008. All rights reserved.

TO RESEARCH INDIVIDUAL SOLDIERS:

  Websites:

Note: For brevity, NARA is used in this document to indicate the National Archives and Records Administration.

  (1) American Civil War Research Database. Duxbury, MA: Historical Data Systems, Inc.  Subscription database containing 4,261,499 soldier records as of February 2008, along with regimental rosters and histories.   Transcribed primarily from each state Adjutant General's reports, supplemented with other histories.   Includes 299,727 entries for soldiers from Ohio units, based on the Ohio AG's Official Rosters (see # 13).

(2) Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service.   Free database containing 6,270,639 entries (including an estimated two million duplicate individuals for multiple enlistments or units). No Navy data included. Based on the General Index Cards of the NARA's Compiled Military Service Records (see # 5, 7, 8). The Ohio portion of this database, 464,270 records, is also on the OGS website.

(3) Civil War Pension Index.  

(A) Alphabetical index: Provo, UT: Ancestry.com.   Subscription database.   Alphabetical index with images of index cards from NARA's General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, T288.

(b) Organizational: Lindon UT: Footnote.com. Subscription database. Images of index cards from NARA's Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900, T289. (See # 5, 9, 10.)

(4) Civil War Service Records. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com. Subscription database included in U.S. Records Collection subscriptions. Based on the NARA's Microfilmed Indexes and Compiled Service Records for Union Army Volunteers and Microfilmed Indexes and Compiled Service Records for Confederate Army Volunteers (see # 5, 7, 8).

(5) National Archives Research Room. Washington, D.C.: NARA.   Free access.   Contains background information on types of records available, and now provides online ordering for Compiled Military Service Records or pension files.   Alternatively, orders may still be submitted by paper through US Mail (order CMSR on NARA Form 86 or pension files on NARA Form 85, both available from NARA by mail or from the website).   Identifying the correct veteran in the appropriate index is not required before submitting an order form, but it will increase the likelihood of success of obtaining the correct file from NARA, due to different spelling of surnames, multiple veterans with the same surname, etc. Instructions for online ordering are available from OCWGJ.

(6) Broadfoot Publishing Company.   Offers a research service for pension and service records on a rapid turnaround basis, at prices significantly above NARA's fees.

National Archives' Microfilm Publications (available at NARA or major genealogy libraries):Items # 7-10 below are described in NARA's catalog: Military Service Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, D.C.: National Archives Trust Fund Board, National Archives and Service Administration, 1985. Page references listed below.

(7) Microfilmed Indexes and Compiled Service Records for Union Army Volunteers.   Pp. 42-75.

(8) Microfilmed Indexes and Compiled Service Records for Confederate Army Volunteers. Pp. 84-163.

(9) General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934.   T288. 544 rolls.   Pages 258-262. These records are for Union veterans only, since Confederate pensions were given only by states.   Available in some major libraries and online at Ancestry.com.

(10) Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900. T289. 765 rolls. Pages 263-276. Available online at Footnote.com.

(11) Censuses of the United States, First (1790)-Fifteenth (1930), Federal Population Schedules. Washington DC: NARA.   Also available at major libraries and online at Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest.

Printed Sources:

  (12) Hewett, Janet B., editor. Roster of Confederate Soldiers (16 volumes by state) and Roster of Union Soldiers (42 volumes by state). Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company.

(13) Official Roster of Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866.   Twelve volumes.   Akron, OH: Werner Company, 1886-1895.   These rosters are organized by unit, so they are difficult to use for searching for an individual if the unit is not known.   For that purpose, the Work Projects Administration created an alphabetical index to the Rosters that is available in major Ohio libraries. Each volume has a Roll of Honor for the units in that volume, which should not be confused with the US Quartermaster General's Office Roll of Honor (see #15.) Each volume is available on CD sold on Ebay,  and is transcribed on the American Civil War Research Database (see #1.)

(14) Reid, Whitelaw. Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Generals and Soldiers.   Cincinnati: The Robert Clarke Company, 1895.   Reprinted by Bergman Books, Columbus, Ohio.   Primarily useful for state-wide history and unit histories, Reid does include a roster of officers for most units.

(15) Roll of Honor. Originally published by the US Quartermaster General's Office, 1869-1871, to record burials in national cemeteries. Reprinted: Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1994-1996, as Roll of Honor Volumes I-XXVII, Index to the Roll of Honor, and Unpublished Roll of Honor.   Also available on CD from Family Tree Maker, #351. Available online: American Civil War Research Database is entering names from the Roll of Honor.

(16) Hardesty's Military History of Ohio.  This can be an extremely valuable resource if an edition was published for the county in which information is needed on veterans, units, and GAR posts. A complete inventory of the 59 known county editions (out of the 88 Ohio counties) was published in OCWGJ, Vol. X (2006), #4, and is available from OCWGJ.

Other Government Records:

  (17) State, county, township, and city records: may include discharge records, veterans grave registration files, militia and draft records, state muster rolls, county infirmary and poor house records, township and county relief activities, etc.   These may be found in county offices, in local historical and genealogical societies or libraries, and in the State Archives at the Ohio Historical Society.

TO RESEARCH A MILITARY UNIT:

Websites:

(18) American Civil War Research Database (see # 1) contains histories, assignments, and casualty summaries for most units, drawn primarily from Dyer's Compendium (see # 25).

(19) Ohio in the Civil War, by Larry Stevens.   Includes unit histories and bibliographies for each Ohio infantry, cavalry, and artillery unit.

(20) U.S. Army Military History.   Includes unit histories and bibliographies for all Union and Confederate units.

(21) Ohio in the Civil War Archive. This new site is just being constructed at this writing. It will provide user-submitted primary and sourced documents, grave images, soldier images, and roster transcriptions.  

National Archives' Microfilm Publications:

(22) Records of Movements and Activities of Volunteer Union Organizations. NARA Microfilm Series M594, with index by roll in Military Service Records, pp. 75-83.   Records of Confederate Movements and Activities. NARA Microfilm Series M861, with index by roll in Military Service Records, pp. 163-164.   These records are reprinted in the Official Records Supplement (# 24d below).

Printed Sources:

(23) Reid's Ohio in the War (# 14) includes histories for each Ohio infantry, cavalry, and artillery unit.

(24) Official Records (OR):

(a) United States. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 70 volumes in 128 parts.   Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901. Also available on CD from Broadfoot Publishing and Oliver Computing LLC, and online at the Making of America site at Cornell University.

(b) United States. Naval War Records Office. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. 31 volumes. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1894-1927. Also available on CD and online as noted above.

(c) U.S. War Department. Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.   Maj. George B. Davis, Leslie J. Perry, and Joseph W. Kirkley. Compiled by Calvin D. Cowles, issued in 35 numbered and 2 unnumbered parts and in bound editions in two volumes or three volumes. Washington, D.C.: 1891-1895. Reprinted in one volume by Barnes and Noble Publishing, 1983. Available on CD from Oliver Computing LLC.

(d) Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 100 volumes. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1995-2001.

(25) Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion: From Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Reports of the Adjutant Generals of the Several States, the Army Registers, and Other Reliable Documents and Sources. Dyer Publishing Co., 1908.

(26) Harper, Robert S. Ohio Handbook of the Civil War. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio Historical Society for the Ohio Civil War Centennial Commission, 1961.

(27) Many county histories written in the 1880's include detailed information about the county's participation in the war, including the units that were recruited primarily in that county, and in some cases, lists of names of residents who served in the military.

(28) Many histories and studies of regiments, batteries, higher commands, specific battles, and major campaigns have been written, starting with personal memoirs written by participants up to recent studies by current historians. The existence of these studies for subjects of interest can be identified using the Bibliographic Sources listed below. Their citations and bibliographies are often helpful for locating further sources on a specific subject, especially those that are unpublished.

(29) Newspapers are a valuable source of local information on people, events, and organizations, often including letters from soldiers in the field. Newspapers reprinted stories   from other newspapers, broadening the possible sources of information that may have been considered newsworthy in other cities or areas. Ohio Historical Society has the most comprehensive collection of Ohio newspapers, but other libraries often have Civil War-era newspapers on microfilm. Online services such as Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest are building online collections of historic newspapers, such as the New York Times.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC SOURCES:

(30) Dornbusch, C. E. Military Bibliography of the Civil War. 3 volumes.   New York: New York Public Library, 1967-1971. There is also an excerpt of that publication, Regimental Publications and Personal Narratives of the Civil War:   A Checklist, Volume One, Northern States, Part V:   Indiana and Ohio.   New York:   The New York Public Library, 1962.  

(31) Felton, Silas. Military Bibliography of the Civil War, Volume Four.   Dayton, OH:   Morningside House, Inc., 2003. 1061 pages.   This source updates the three Dornbusch volumes.

(32) Ryan, Daniel J. The Civil War Literature of Ohio: A Bibliography with Explanatory and Historical Notes. Columbus, OH: 1911. Reprinted 1994.

(33) Bowman, Mary L. Some Ohio Civil War Manuscripts: A Finding Tool. Mansfield, OH: The Ohio Genealogical Society, 1997.

(34) Hydrick, Blair.   A Guide to the Microfiche edition of Civil War Unit Histories: regimental histories and personal narratives. Bethesda MD: University Publications of America, 1992-1996.   Five volumes of indexes in book form, for 6700 microfiches.

(35) Regimental Histories of the American Civil War: A Guide to the Microfiche Collection.   Ann Arbor MI: UMI, 1991-1993.   Six volumes of indexes in book form for 8167 microfiches.

(36) The National Union Catalogue of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) is the primary cataloging system for manuscript sources held in major libraries and historical collections.   The NUCMC website  contains background information on the catalog and searching suggestions, and is the site from which NUCMC can be searched.

(37) Major libraries and manuscript collections for Ohio should be searched, including Ohio Historical Society, Hayes Presidential Center, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cincinnati Historical Society, and the archival collections at Bowling Green State University, Ohio University, and Wright State University.   Some of these collections can be searched online, either through their own websites or through WorldCat, the world's largest network of library content and services.

(38)   Local historical societies, genealogical societies, and libraries may have collections of local manuscripts.   These are often a good source for information on post-war veterans' reunions and articles about them.   This can be focused by searching in the geographic area from which the unit was recruited, using OGS Chapter websites and publications, Cyndi's List, et al.

(39) The local historians, genealogists, and librarians in the individual's home area or the unit's home area may have suggestions and resources for sources.   In many cases, local experts are the only source for finding individuals who have private collections or family collections that may include documents of interest.   

GENERAL CIVIL WAR REFERENCES:

(40) NARA:

(a) Beers, Henry Putney.   The Confederacy:   A Guide to the Archives of the Government of the Confederate States of America.   Washington, D.C.:   National Archives and Records Administration, 1986.

(b) Munden, Kenneth W., and Beers, Henry Putney.   The Union:   A Guide to Federal Archives Relating to the Civil War.   Washington, D.C.:   National Archives and Records Administration, 1986. An extremely valuable guide to understanding and locating records at NARA.

(41) Boatner, Mark M., III.   The Civil War Dictionary.   New York:   David McKay Company, Inc., 1988 (Revised edition).  

(42) Long, E. B., with Long, Barbara.   The Civil War Day by Day:   An Almanac, 1861-1865.   New York:   Da Capo Press, Inc., 1971.  

(43) Warner, Ezra J.   

(a) Generals in Blue:   Lives of the Union Commanders.   Baton Rouge:   Louisiana State University Press, 1964, 1992.

(b) Generals in Gray:   Lives of the Confederate Commanders.   Baton Rouge:   Louisiana State University Press, 1959, 1987.  

(44) Faust, Patricia L., (Editor).   Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War.   New York:   Historical Times, Inc., 1986.

(45) Wagner, Margaret E., Gallagher, Gary W., and Finkelman, Paul (Editors).   The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference.   New York:   Simon & Schuster, 2002.  

(46) Livermore, Thomas L.   Numbers and Losses in   the Civil War in America, 1861-65.   Reprint by Morningside, Dayton, OH, 1986.   Originally published 1900.  

(47) Heidler, David S. and Jeanne T. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History. Five volumes. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2000. Also published in one volume by W. W. Norton & Company, New York.

(48) Welcher, Frank J. The Union Army, 1861-1865, Organization and Operations. Volume I: Eastern Theater. Volume II: Western Theater. Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press, 1989 (Vol. I), 1993 (Vol. II).  Detailed information on the Union's command structure, military divisions, geographic departments, field armies, army corps, and miscellaneous organizations.