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

By Ron Coddington

Jan. 1, 2008

"An artist is as good as his best reference," declared one of my professors during my sophomore year in art school. A meticulous portraitist, he encouraged me to fully explore my subject, and make sketches and studies before executing the final work. He placed a high value on careful planning and organization, which he considered a distinct and separate part of the creative process.

I applied the thinking behind my professor's statement during my undergraduate days and, later, as a professional artist and visual journalist, and also as the author of Faces of War, a regularly appearing column in the Civil War News, and Faces of the Civil War: An Album of Union Soldiers and Their Stories.

As a non-fiction author, I developed a research method that takes a holistic view of a soldier: To better understand and appreciate his 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. This approach requires investigation of genealogical and local history resources in addition to army records.

This method is arranged in eleven steps, and each begins on the Internet. 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:

• Historical records. Three indexes in the Military section are of special interest:
• U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 notes the company and regiment in which a soldier served, as well as their rank on enlistment and upon mustering out.
• American Civil War Soldiers provides additional detail about their service.
• Civil War Pension Index lists those veterans (or their widows) who filed for benefits due to disability or death. These records can be a wealth of personal information.

• NOTE: These indexes verify that your subject served in the military, and if a pension file exists for him. To see the full military service record and pension file, see Step 4.

• Census & Voter lists. These indexes can be helpful in tracking a subject's residence, occupation, and family.

• Stories & Publications. The Stories, Memories & Histories section includes a large number of digitized genealogical and local history books. The entries here can include biographical sketches and other texts.

• Family Trees. Entries are submitted by family historians, and vary in accuracy and level of detail. Look for entries that include references to books and other published and unpublished material. Then, track these sources through Internet searches, local and state historical societies, and interlibrary loans.

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, journals, and other personal and public documents referencing the life and military service of Henry Howard Huse (1839-1890). Born in Vermont and raised in New Hampshire, he served as major in the Eighth New Hampshire Infantry during the Civil War. After receiving a discharge for disability in 1864, he returned to the practice of law. He later became a politician, and served as speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Any and all information appreciated.

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 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 and pension file, 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, including:

• Court martial records.
• Miscellaneous letters received by the Adjutant General's Office (Record Group H1353). Files in this group vary greatly in scope and contents, and usually contain documents related to personnel issues and other matters. These files are available for only a small number of soldiers, and generally those who ranked as an officer.

Step 5. 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 6. 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:

henry howard huse

h.h. huse

henry h. huse

huse, henry

maj. huse

eighth new hampshire infantry

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

• Manuscript collections. Searches can reveal collections of letters, diaries, photographs, and other personal documents owned by public and private libraries, universities, museums, and historical societies. In many cases, inventories have been made of these collections, and descriptive guides published online. Once a collection is found, contact the institution for information on how to receive copies or arrange for microfilm. In many cases, your local public library interlibrary loan program can help. In the event that the collection is not available in these formats, you may need to make a trip to the institution to examine the collection in person.
• Genealogical and historical societies. If the hometown of the soldier is known, find the closest genealogical and historical society. In almost every case, a society is available on the local, county, or regional level. These societies vary greatly in organization, resources, and ability to help. Generally, results have been hit or miss. Hits usually yield an abundance of personal and family information. In this category more than any other, these groups have lagged behind in adopting Internet technology. Oftentimes, the only available listing is a mailing address or addresses.
• General references. This can include a variety of textual and visual records related to the soldier and his comrades, regiment, and civilian life. Examples include an unpublished journal kept by a soldier who served in the same company and regiment as your subject, or a portrait of the soldier owned by a private collector.

Step 7. 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 8. 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 9. 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 10. 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.

Step 11. 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.