8301 Parkland Road
Columbia, SC 29223
Telephone: 803-896-6100
CONFEDERATE SERVICE RECORDS AT NARA
The National Archives has many records concerning the Confederate States
of America. They include compiled military service records; records relating
to naval and marine personnel; citizens files; amnesty and pardon records;
and cotton bills of sale. Each kind of record is described separately below.
COMPILED MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS
The records. -The compiled military service records consist of 3-1/4"
x 8" cards on which the U. S. War Department, between 1903 and 1927, abstracted
information on officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted men from
Union prison and parole records and from captured and other surviving Confederate
records, such as muster rolls, returns, rosters, payrolls, appointment books,
and hospital registers. All the cards relating to the same soldier are filed
together in one jacket-envelope. Filed in this envelope are also originals
of any papers that relate solely to the particular soldier.
The abstracts made from the original records were verified by a separate
operation of comparison, and every conceivable precaution was taken to ensure
that the abstracts were accurate.
Most of the compiled military service records are arranged alphabetically
by name of State; thereunder by branch of service such as cavalry, artillery,
or infantry; thereunder by organization; and there under by personal name.
There are also, however, two other series. One consists of jacket-envelopes
for men who served in military units raised directly by the Confederate
Government (such as the 1st Confederate Infantry, Morgan's Calvary, and the
Cherokee Mounted Rifles), arranged by organization and thereunder alphabetically
by personal name. The other series consists of jacket-envelopes known as
the General and Staff Officers' Papers, which include, records not only for
officers occupying staff positions but also for noncommissioned officers
and enlisted men performing staff services; these records are arranged
alphabetically by personal name.
All the compiled service records that are arranged by State or Territory
have been microfilmed. The States are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia; and the Territory of Arizona.
The other two series have also been microfilmed.
Indexes to the records. - -The indexes are on 3-1/4" x 8" cards, ar
ranged alphabetically by name of soldier and showing the unit in which he
served. One is a consolidated index, which refers both to the records for
the individual States and the records in the two other series. This index
has been microfilmed. There is also a separate index to the compiled serv
belonging to units from each of the following States: Alabama, Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia; and the Territory
of Arizona. They have all been microfilmed.
Unless the unit in which a soldier served is already known, his compiled
service record can be readily located only through the use of one of these
indexes.
Information in the records. --A jacket-envelope shows the name of
the soldier, the name of the State from which he served, the name of his
company and regiment, and his rank. The cards and papers in the envelope
show other information, such as the dates of changes in the soldier's rank,
the date and place of his enlistment and discharge, his occupation, and his
personal description. If the soldier was captured, they may show the date
of his death, if it occurred in camp, or the date of his release and parole.
References to the original records are included on the cards.
Research aids. - -Some Confederate soldiers are named in War Department,
The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union
and Confederate Armies (Washington, 1880-1901). The last volume is a general
index. This voluminous publication, including the index, has been microfilmed.
Information about the confirmation of appointments of Confederate officers
is given in Confederate States of America, Congress, Journal of the Congress
of the Confederate States of America, 1861-65 (58th Cong., 2d sess., S. Doc.
234; serials 4610-4616). A general index is in the last volume.
Perhaps the most genealogically useful printed roster of soldiers of a
Confederate State is the following indexed publication: Louisiana, Commissioner
of Military Records, Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers and Louisiana
Confederate Commands. . . Compiled by Andrew B. Booth, Commissioner, Louisiana
Military Records (New Orleans, 1920).
RECORDS RELATING TO NAVAL AND MARINE PERSONNEL
The records relating to naval and marine personnel of the Confederate States
of America in the National Archives include compiled hospital and prison
records, reference cards and papers, shipping articles, and muster rolls.
Each type of record is described below.
Compiled Hospital and Prison Records
The records. - -These records consist of cards on which the U. S.
War Department, when it was compiling the military service records, abstracted
information on naval and marine personnel from Union and Confederate hospital
registers, prescription books, and other records and from Union prison and
parole rolls. Filed with these are the originals of papers, primarily from
prison records, relating to the individual. The records are arranged
alphabetically by name of sailor or marine. They have been microfilmed.
Information in the records. - - The cards and papers show the name
of the person and his ship or station and such other information as the date
and place of capture, release, or parole, and place of confinement; and the
date, place, and cause of admission to a hospital and the date of discharge.
References to the original records are included on the cards.
Reference Cards and Papers
The records. --These records, which are known to be incomplete, consist
of cards prepared by the U. S. War Department, probably in the latter part
of the 19th century, showing references to vessel papers, payrolls, muster
rolls, and other documents relating to service in the Confederate Navy and
Marine Corps. Filed with them sometimes are original documents relating solely
to the particular person. The records are in two series, one for naval personnel
and one for marine personnel, and they are arranged alphabetically by surname
in each series. They have been microfilmed.
Information in the records. - - The records show the name and rank
of the sailor or marine and are a possible means of finding other information
about his service.
Shipping Articles
The records. - -The National Archives has a few shipping articles
for enlisted men in the Confederate States Navy, 1861-65. They are bound
in one volume, which contains a typed index.
Information in the records. - -An entry on the shipping articles shows
the name of the enlisted man, his rating, his signature, and the date of
his enlistment.
Muster Rolls and Payrolls
The records. - -The National Archives has some muster rolls and payrolls
of vessels and marine detachments of the Confederate States Navy. They are
sheets and booklets in wrappers labeled by name of vessel or marine detachment.
They are unindexed.
Information in the records. - -An entry in the rolls shows the name
and rank of the naval serviceman or marine.
Research aids. - -For identification of Confederate naval officers
consult Office of Naval Records and Library, Register of Officers of the
Confederate States Navy, 1861-65 (Washington, 1931). Names in it are arranged
alphabetically.
Some Confederate naval servicemen and marines are named in Navy Department,
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion,
General Index (69th Cong., 1st sess., H. Doc. 113; serial 8603). This consists
in part of a personal name index to 30 volumes of transcripts of official
and other records.
CITIZENS FILES
The citizens files relate chiefly to civilians of the Southern States during
and shortly after the Civil War. They consist of the Confederate citizens
file and the Union citizens file. Each is described below.
Confederate "Citizens File"
The records. - - The Confederate citizens file, 1861-65, comprises
papers of the Confederate States of America relating to many thousands of
citizens. Typical documents are receipted bills and vouchers for serv ice
and supplies requisitioned from individuals by the Confederate Government
and papers relating to claims against the Government for damages. The file
also includes cross-references to pages of bound volumes of Confederate records.
Documents are arranged alphabetically by name of person or firm. These records
have been microfilmed.
Information in the records. --A document shows such information as
the name of a citizen, the place of his residence, and the date and nature
of his transaction with the Confederate Government.
"Union Provost Marshal Citizens File"
The records. --This file, 1861-67, consists of a miscellany of
correspondence, reports, affidavits, loyalty oaths, lists, and other papers
of Union provost marshals relating to civilians suspected of anti-Union
sentiments or activities, those violating military orders, those claiming
pay for property used or taken by the Union military authorities or for supplies
or services furnished the Army, civilian prisoners and some military prisoners,
and persons authorized to travel in or enter the Confederate States. Most
of the postwar papers concern freedmen and whites in the Southern States.
Many documents dated 1861-66 are arranged alphabetically by name of person.
Other documents of the same dates are arranged numerically because they contain
the names of more than one person, but cross- references have been prepared
in the alphabetically arranged file. These records have been microfilmed.
The documents for 1867 are in a separate group.
Information in the records. - - The records show such information
as the name and place of residence of a person, together with a varying amount
of information depending upon the circumstances in the case.
AMNESTY AND PARDON RECORDS
The amnesty and pardon records, 1863-67, are based upon proclamations authorized
under section 13 of an act of Congress approved July 17, 1862 (12 Stat. 592).
They include amnesty oaths and amnesty papers. Each kind of record is described
below.
Amnesty Oaths
The records. --The series of amnesty oaths, 1863-67, relate to a vast
number of Southern people who wished to gain or regain U. S. citizenship.
Usually the oath, a single document, is all that relates to one person. Filed
with the oaths, in appropriate instances, are acknowledgments of warrants
of Presidential pardons and agreements to accept conditions of pardon. Documents
relating to one person are arranged by name of State, thereunder usually
alphabetically to the first two letters of the surname. Documents relating
to more than one person are arranged numeric ally, usually under the name
of State. Some of the latter are in a miscellaneous group. Names on documents
relating to more than one person are cross-referenced in the series of documents
relating to one person.
Information in the records. - -An oath shows the name of the person;
the place the oath was taken, which was often the place of his residence;
the date the oath was taken; and usually the signature of the person taking
the oath. Some oaths give the ages and personal descriptions of persons taking
the oaths and, in appropriate instances, the identifications of their Confederate
military organizations.
Use of the records. - -As many of the oaths show places of residence
and as, for many persons, the places of residence were the same in 1860 and
1870, an effective search of the amnesty oaths may serve to direct a search
in the population census schedules to those for the proper county.
Amnesty Papers
The records. --The series of amnesty papers, chiefly 1865-67, consists
of applications for Presidential pardons on the part of persons belonging
to classes listed in the proclamation of May 29, 1865 (13 Stat. 758). Among
these classes were former high Confederate officials and persons owning $20,000
worth of property or more. The application files, which include supporting
documents, are arranged by name of State, thereunder alphabetically by name
of applicant.
Information in the records. --An application file gives the name,
age, occupation, and place of residence of the applicant, together with
autobiographical data.
COTTON SALE RECORDS
The records. --Cotton bills of sale, vouchers, and registers and lists
of cotton sales, 1862-65, show transactions between individual cotton sellers
and the Confederate States of America. They are arranged by State. Discrete
series of cotton bills of sale are available for Alabama and Mississippi
only; these are arranged numerically and by county, respectively.
Indexes to the records. - -There are various indexes in volume form
to these records.
Information in the records. - - Each entry shows the name of the cotton
seller, the name of the county or parish in the State where the sale occurred,
the number of bales of cotton sold, the value in Confederate currency or
bonds, and the date of sale.
Research aid. - - The information in the records is transcribed in
Treasury Department, Cotton Sold to the Confederate States (62d Cong., 3d
sess., S. Doc. 987; serial 6348). The entries are arranged by name of seller
in two alphabetical sequences, one for sellers in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina, and one for sellers
who sold through the Texas Cotton Bureau at Houston.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
Related Records
For information about pensions applied for on the basis of Confederate military,
naval, or marine service, address the appropriate archival or other depository
at the State capital of the State for which service was rendered or in which
the veteran resided after service.
Record Groups
The records are in Record Group 109, War Department Collection of Confederate
Records, except that the navy shipping articles and the muster rolls and
payrolls are in Record Group 45, Naval Records Collection of the Office of
Naval Records and Library; amnesty oaths are in Record Group 59, General
Records of the Department of State; amnesty papers are in Record Group 94,
Records of the Adjutant General's Office; and cotton bills of sale are in
Record Group 56; General Records of the Department of the Treasury.
The information above on Confederate records contained at the National Archives is
quoted from:
Guide to Genealogical Records in the National Archives.
M.B. Colket, Jr. & F.E. Bridges, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, 022-002-00016-3, 1964
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Last revised 14 June 2005.
Copyright © 1997-2005 Victoria Proctor. All rights reserved.
Researching Your Confederate Ancestor