"Continuing to fly a Confederate Battle flag over a State building
is simply begging to repeat History. Put the flag where it belongs, in a
place that HONORS the people who fought that war." --CAMURRAY
Did you have ancestors in this country during the
last half of the 1800s? If so, there is a very good chance that you have a
Civil War veteran in your family tree. Any of your "able-bodied"
male ancestors during that time period could have been in one of the services.
In fact, you may find that more then one ancestor served - I found seven so
far. Here are some tips on finding if they served, about their
experiences, and preserving the information.
1. Start with your library's local history or genealogy section. Many
states and counties compiled lists of those who served from that area. The
National Archives has alphabetical lists of pension records on microfilm
which may help you determine if your ancestor served. See Microfilm
Publication T288 General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 (more about this can
be found at http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/t288.html).
2. The state's Adjutant General's office (could be called the Office of Military
Affairs in some states) maintains historical records. Contact them to see if
they have a record of your ancestor's service. For example, Ohio's office
web site can be found at http://www.oh-tagnet.com/.
3. Once you ascertain that you have a veteran, get their military and pension
records from the National Archives. Paper copies of these records can be ordered
by mail using one NATF Form 80 for each soldier and each type of file. You
can obtain the Form 80 by providing your name and mailing address to inquire@nara.gov.
Be sure to specify "Form 80" and the number of forms you need.
These records contain a plethora of information, so by all means, send away for
them. The military file will have the enlistment form and service record
while the pension file contains family and health information. Note that
pension records for Confederate veterans must be obtained from the state from
which they served as pensions for Confederates were granted by state
governments, not federal.
4. Get information about your ancestor's regiment by checking out "The War
of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies". This is a 69 volume set that you'll have to
review at a library. It contains the official letters and reports from the
war.
5. Once you have information on your veteran, you might want to create a special
section of your heritage album about his service, or maybe an entire album if
you have several veterans. Include a title page that identifies the Civil
War theme and use classic, soft colors for your paper, such as moss, hunter
green, cream or black. Special patterned paper for black and white photos
would also look nice. Be sure to preserve and protect photos or documents
you may have.
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