Civil War Pensions and More at NARA

If you want to order a federal Civil War pension packet (confederate civil war pensions are not held by NARA), you will need to know the following information:

1. Soldier’s Name 

2. The Union state from which he served 

3. His unit and company Where can you find his unit and company?

1. Sometimes the veteran's obituary will have the information.

2. Sometimes the veteran's tombstone will have the information. 

3. Ancestry's Pension Index (subscription required) 

4. Footnote's Civil War Pension Index (currently only 60% complete) See my Blog “New Website for Genealogy and History Buffs” for information on their 7-day free access proposition. 

5. County history books will sometimes mention this information. The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library contains many county histories as well as Civil War information. To search the library's catalog go to this link: http://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/catalog/. (This will explain where the online catalog is housed.) 

6. Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/index.html The site contains a searchable database for both union and confederate soldiers and gives regimental histories. The best part? Access is free! 

There is a comment section on the order form to give more information. For example, in the military records of my great-great-grandfather Edward Jacobus, he is sometimes known as Edward Jacobs thanks to transcription errors. Adding pertinent information like this can save you from paying $37 ($75 plus after Oct. 1) for the wrong man's file.

If you are interested in finding where Confederate Pensions are kept, go to this link on NARA: http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/military/civil-war/confederate/pension.html 

To find more information about compiled military service records available at NARA, go to this link: http://www.archives.gov/research/order/vets-records.html

For a general discussion on all military records and resources at NARA, go to this link: http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/military/ See yesterday's blog for more specific information on how to order. 

Until Next Time — Happy Ancestral Digging! Note this post first published online, September 26, 2007, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

©26 Sept 2007, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder