How to Research the Life and Military Service of a Confederate Soldier

By Ron Coddington

Jan. 2, 2008

Revised Jan. 9, 2008

 

      Soon after the release of Faces of the Civil War: An Album of Union Soldiers and Their Stories, my editor at The Johns Hopkins University Press suggested a companion volume on Confederate soldiers. I eagerly began to work on the project, and realized that the research method used for Northern volunteers would have to be modified.

      My basic approach has not changed — To better understand and appreciate a soldier's service, it is necessary to consider his war years in context to his entire life, the community in which he resided, and to the generation and culture in which he lived. However, some of the primary sources used to research a Southern soldier are different.

      This method is arranged in fourteen steps. As details are discovered, I add them to an electronic file of notes. This document (Microsoft Word) is arranged in three categories: Military service, pension, and personal. Additional categories are added as needed. A hard copy is stored in a file folder, along with various printouts gathered during the course of my research.

      Following through on the steps, and pursuing all of the leads, takes time. Most subjects require one to three months. Some have taken a year or more. A key variable is how long it takes individuals and organizations to respond to your queries. I consider each file active regardless of whether the soldier's profile has been published, as new online material is added, and as my network of connections grows.

 

The method, step by step:

 

Step 1. Get basic facts of subject's life and military service.

Start here: Ancestry.com (paid subscription); http://www.ancestry.com/

Details: The four record groups listed below usually provide key details about a soldier's life and military service, and information about family members who may also have served. I search them in this order:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTE: After completing the first step, I normally have enough information to write a one-paragraph summary of the soldier. It will be posted to the sites listed in steps two and three. This example was written entirely from facts gathered on Ancestry.com:

Searching for letters, journal entries, and/or other personal documents relating to Capt. Frederick Beall (1837-1929). He served in the 10th Mississippi Cavalry and the 17th Battalion Tennessee Cavalry. According to one source (unverified) he "was specially commissioned as a guard to protect President Jefferson Davis." After the war, he became a successful lawyer in Washington, D.C., and was very active in Confederate veterans' affairs. His wife was named Chattie MacEachin Beall, and daughter Zoe.

Thanks, Ron

 

 

Step 2. Network with genealogists familiar with your subject and his family.

Start here: Genforum.com (free, registration required); http://genforum.genealogy.com/

Details: Post the summary under the appropriate surname of this popular genealogy site. Responses to your post can provide a variety of information, including photographs.

 

 

Step 3. Network with individuals familiar with your subject's regiment.

Start here: Civil War Discussion Forum (free, no registration); http://history-sites.com/

Details: Post the summary under the appropriate state or subject category. This is an excellent opportunity to make contact with knowledgeable individuals focused on particular state organizations, general fields of Civil War study, and special interest areas.

 

 

Step 4. Get details about your subject's regiment.

Start here: Compendium of The Confederate Armies by Stewart Sifakis

Details: This multi-volume set, organized by state (some states are combined), is a good source for summaries of military organizations, their staffs, and company commanders. These books are particularly helpful in tracking changing name designations for many units on the local, state, and national levels. My public library possesses the full series in its reference section. Check with your local library to learn if they own a set, or can tell you where the nearest available set is located.

 

NOTE: Depending on the state from which your subject served, you may find additional sources with greater detail. The Confederate Regimental History Links Page (http://www.tarleton.edu/~kjones/confeds.html) is a good place to find alternatives.

 

Step 5. Get details of your subject's military history.

Start here: Southern Historical Society Papers and Confederate Veteran Magazine

Details: The 52-volume set of the Southern Historical Society Papers, published between 1876 and 1959, includes details that range from general sketches of military organizations to individual wartime letters and personal anecdotes. The 40-volume Confederate Veteran Magazine, published between 1893-1932, includes memorial sketches and death notices of deceased veterans, wartime anecdotes, and various items of interest to those involved in this veteran's organization. Both sets include modern indexes. The rare book and manuscript section of my public library includes Confederate Veteran Magazine, and I found the Southern Historial Society Papers at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Check with your local library to learn if they own these sets, or can tell you where the nearest available sets are located.

 

 

Step 6. Get full details of subject's military service record.

Start here: National Archives (free, no registration); http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/pre-ww-1-records.html

Details: To see a soldier's full military service record, use this link to request copies (payment required). You may also visit the National Archives building in Washington, D.C., to view these records, and access other information.

 

 

Step 7. Determine if your subject or his widow filed for a state pension.

Start here: National Archives Confederate Pension Records index (free, no registration); http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/military/civil-war/confederate/pension.html

Details: The former Confederate states provided pensions for veterans, and the National Archives Web site provides a full index with links to the various state government agencies and organizations that maintain these records. The files vary in scope and content, and each state has its own system (electronic or regular mail) for requests. Refer to your subject's state for details.

 

 

Step 8. Get additional information about subject's life.

Start here: Familysearch.org (free, no registration); http://www.familysearch.org/

Details: Maintained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, this site can provide genealogical records not available on Ancestry.com

 

 

Step 9. Find additional genealogical and military sources related to your subject.

Start here: Google (free, no registration); http://www.google.com/

Details: This powerful search engine serves several purposes. Keywords are extremely important. In the example used in the summary paragraph above, combinations include:

 

frederick beall

f. beall

beall, frederick
capt. beall

tenth mississippi cavalry
seventeenth battalion tennessee cavalry

 

These keywords and others are used to hunt for information in four categories:

 

 

Step 10. Determine if your subject is mentioned in a battle report or other military communication.

Start here: Official Records (free, no registration); http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html

Details: Cornell University digitized the entire four-series, multi-volume set of The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Known as the Official Records, or OR, it is the foremost collection of battle reports, staff communications, selected orders, and other first-hand accounts of the Civil War. Cornell made the volumes keyword searchable — scroll to the very bottom of the link provided above, and click on Volume IV, 1901. This is the general index. Use it to find out if your soldier is included.

 

 

Step 11. Determine if your subject is mentioned in a regimental history book.

Start here: Library of Congress (free, no registration); http://www.loc.gov/rr/main/uscivilwar/ (Listing of Civil War regimental histories), http://catalog.loc.gov/ (General search)

Details: The first address links to a page of all regimental history books and related volumes in possession of the Library of Congress. The second address links to the Library of Congress' searchable database. Both can be used to find these publications, which began to appear shortly after the war and continued through the early twentieth century. They can include first-hand accounts, biographical sketches, and other information available nowhere else. The quality of these volumes varies. Some are little more than a rehash of reports from the Official Records and other well-known sources, while others are a treasure-trove of details. Use this page to find out if your soldier's regiment is represented. If a publication exists for your subject, you will need to make arrangements to see a copy. This may require a visit to the Library, located in Washington, D.C. Your public library's interlibrary loan program may be able to locate a copy. Some of the books have been reprinted and may be purchased through Amazon and other booksellers. You may also find that the book has been digitally scanned and searchable on Google Books (see below).

 

 

Step 12. Find digital versions of selected books.

Start here: Google Books (free, no registration); http://books.google.com/

Details: A growing number of rare, hard-to-find books have been scanned and made keyword searchable.

 

 

Step 13. Find additional military-related texts and visuals.

Start here: AHEC collections (free, no registration); http://www.ahco.army.mil/site/index.jsp (Click on the main categories for general searches, or the Old Civil War Photos Database link along the left-hand column)

Details: The Army Heritage & Education Center, which includes the U.S. Army Military History Institute (USAMHI), is located in Carlisle Barracks, Pa. It contains numerous collections of Civil War material. The collection of Confederate images is limited, and many of the photographs show the veterans in later years.

 

 

Step 14. Learn more about a key action in which your subject participated.

Start here: National Park Service (free, no registration); http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm

Details: To better understand a specific battle or other action, a trip to the site is recommended. Walking and studying the ground upon which your subject fought can increase your understanding of events, and contribute to your overall knowledge of military strategy and tactics of the period.