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.