CIVIL WAR SOLDIER RESEARCH CHECKLIST, PART VII

XX. Civil War Soldier & Regiments Research: Some Basic Reference Titles for Civil War Buffs (or Small Public Libraries)

Note: Most titles are available for loan by St. Louis Public Library.

1. Coggins, Jack. Arms and Equipment of the Civil War. NY: Barnes & Noble, [1962]1999. ISBN-0-7807-1387-1.
2. Graf, John F. Warman's Civil War Collectibles Identification & Price Guide. Cincinnatti: KP Books, 2005. ISBN-0896893642.
3. Geer, Walter. Campaigns of the Civil War. Old Saybrook, CT: Konecky, 1926. ISBN-1-56852-268-1.
4. Groene, Bertram Hawthorne. Tracing Your Civil War Ancestor. NY: Ballantine Bks, 1989. ISBN-0-3453-6192-X.
5. Katcher, Philip. The Civil War Source Book. NY: Checkmark Bks, 1998. ISBN-0-8160-3833-3.
6. Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2002. ISBN-0-6848-6350-2. Out-of-print.
7. Lord, Francis A. Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia: Arms, Equipment, and Uniforms of the Union and Confederacy. Dover, 2004. ISBN-0-4864-3660-8.
8. McDonald, John. Great Battles of the Civil War. NY: MacMillan, 1988. ISBN-0-0203-4554-2. Out-of-print.
9. McManus, Stephen, Donald Thompson, and Thomas Churchill. Civil War Research Guide: a Guide for Researching Your Civil War Ancestor. Stackpole, 2003. ISBN-0-8117-2643-6.
10. McPherson, James M. Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: the Civil War Era. NY: Oxford University Press, 1988. ISBN-0-1951-5901-2. Out-of-print.
11. Military Service Records: a Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington, DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, 1985. ISBN-0-911333-07-X.
12. Nosworthy, Brent. The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War. NY: Carroll & Graf, 2003. ISBN-0-7867-1147-7.
13. Official Military Atlas of the Civil War. NY: Barnes & Noble, 2003. ISBN-0-7067-5044-0.
14. Phisterer, Frederick. Statistical Record of the Armies of the United States. Edison, NJ: Castle Books, 2002. ISBN-0-7858-1585-6.
15. Pritchard, Russ A. Civil War Weapons and Equipment. Lyons Press, 2003. ISBN-158574493X.
16. Wilbur, C. Keith. Civil War Medicine, 1861-1865. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 1998. ISBN-0-7627-0341-5.
17. Wiley, Bell Irvin. The Life of Billy Yank: the Common Soldier of the Union. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1979. ISBN-0-8071-0476-0.
18. Wiley, Bell Irvin. The Life of Johnny Reb: the Common Soldier of the Confederacy. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1979. ISBN-0-8071-0475-2.
19. Wooster, Robert. The Civil War Bookshelf: 50 Must-Read Books About the War Between the States. NY: Kensington Publishing Group, 2001. ISBN-0-8065-2188-0.

CIVIL WAR SOLDIER RESEARCH CHECKLIST, PART VI

XV. Burials
1. U.S. Roll of Honor
2. State rolls of honor
3. State archives veteran burials lists
4. State home/hospital records
5. DAR cemetery lists
6. Headstone records
7. NCA Nationwide Gravesite Locator
8. SUVCW Nationwide Graves Registration Database
9. Local cemetery records

XVI. Photographs
1. U.S. Army Military History Institute in Carlisle Barracks, PA
2. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library at Springfield, IL
3. Library of Congress- American Memory

XVII. Correspondence
1. County historical societies
A. State archives
B. University special collections departments
C. WHMC at Columbia, MO
2. Letters to local newspaper from soldier
A. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library at Springfield, IL
B. State Historical Society of Missouri at Columbia, MO
3. Letters to Adjutant-General/Secretary of War asking about status of soldier
[National Archives- RG 94, Series M725, Index to Letters Received, 1846, 1861-1889, 9 rolls]
4. Letters to and from Pension Board and soldier [National Archives- RG 94, Series M686, Index to General Correspondence of Records & Pension Office, 1889-1920, 385 rolls]
5. Letters to/from spouses/parents about dead/badly wounded/captured soldier (State Archives)

XVIII. Newspapers as Sources of Civil War Information
1. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library at Springfield, IL
2. State Historical Society of Missouri at Columbia, MO

XIX. Periodical Articles as Sources of Civil War Information
1. Confederate Veteran
2. Journal of Southern History
3. Popular current Civil War magazines:
A. America's Civil War
B. Blue & Gray
C. Camp Chase Gazette
D. Civil War Times Illustrated
E. North & South
4. County historical & genealogical society publications
5. State historical & genealogical society publications

CIVIL WAR SOLDIER RESEARCH CHECKLIST, PART V

XI. Discharge Records

1. Listing in Adjutant-General report
2. Discharge recorded in county Recorder of Deeds office
A. Recorder of Deeds (or County Clerk) offices
B. MO State Archives or IRAD
C. Discharge papers of regular army & navy men sometimes in homestead land/pension files

XII. Disability Claims

1. Listing in files maintained by National & State Archives
2. Listing in 1883 Pension Roll of United States
3. Request for artificial limbs/eyes to State Adjutant-General or War Department
A. National Archives- RG 94, Series M725, Index to Letters Received, 1846, 1861-1889, 9 rolls
B. National Archives- RG 94, Series M686, Index to General Correspondence of Records & Pension Office, 1889-1920 (385 rolls)
4. List of rejected disability claims

XIII. Pension Records
1. Federal- NARA (Union soldiers)
2. State- State Archives (Confederate soldiers)
3. Pension recipient questionaires (AL,AR,LA,TN,US)

XIV. Deaths

1. Account in regimental reports to commanding generals (O.R.)
2. Account in regimental reports to state Adjutant-General (state archives)
3. Local newspaper lists of local casualties
A. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library at Springfield, IL
B. State Historical Society of Missouri at Columbia, MO
4. Probate/will record
A. Probate Judge
B. Clerk of the Circuit Court
C. MO State Archives Local Records Inventory Database or IRAD (IL)
5. Patriotic society annual reports
A. GAR/SUVCW
B. UCV/UDC
C. MOLLUS
D. Society of the Army of the Cumberland/other army societies
E. Regimental society annual reports/reunion booklets

CIVIL WAR SOLDIER RESEARCH CHECKLIST, PART IV

VIII. Medical Records

1. Mention of wounds in muster roll
2. Mention of wounded in regimental reports to commanding generals (O.R.)
3. Mention of woundings in reports of state Adjutant-General
4. Hospital records
A. National Archives- RG 94, Series M1828, Index to Surgeons' Reports in File A & Bound Manuscripts of Adjutant General's Office, 1861-1865 (1 roll)
B. Medical & Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion
5. Mention of wounded in letters to local newspaper from men in regiment
6. Mention of local wounded in newspaper accounts of particular battles
A. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library at Springfield, IL
B. State Historical Society of Missouri in Columbia, MO
C. Requests for artificial limbs/eyes to State Adjutant-General/War Department

IX. Courts-Martial

1. General Orders of Specific Department of the Army
2. Execution orders/sentence subject to commutation by commanding general or the President
A. National Archives- RG 94, Series M1523, Proceedings of the U.S. Army Courts-Martial and Military Commissions Against Union Soldiers Executed by U.S. Military Authorities

X. Prisoner-of-War Records

1. Death rolls maintained by prison camps
2. National Archives- RG 92, Series M918, Register of Confederate Soldiers, Sailors, & Civilians Who Died in Federal Prisons & Military Hospitals in the North (1 roll)
3. Mention of men captured in regimental reports to commanding generals
4. Mention of men captured in regimental reports to State Adjutant-General
5. Mention of men captured in CMSRs
6. Mention of men captured in letters home from men in regiment
A. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library at Springfield, IL
B. State Historical Society of Missouri at Columbia, MO
7. Letters of inquiry from parents/spouses to State Adjutant-General
A. Illinois State Archives
8. Mentions in after-the-war disability claims
A. Pension list of 1883

CIVIL WAR SOLDIER RESEARCH CHECKLIST, PART III

IV. Militia & Civil War Muster Rolls & Service Records

1. Militia service records, pre-war and post-war
2. Compiled military service records (CMSRs), volunteers
A. Confederate
B. Union
3. U.S. Army or Navy enlistment records

V. Bounty Payments to Enlisting Soldiers

1. In CMSRs
A. Record of bounties paid in county courthouses
B. Bounty land for disabled Confederate soldiers (TX)
C. Homestead lands

VI. Military Census & Militia Enrollment Lists

1. Lists of men liable for conscription (GA, IL, NARA)
2. Militia enrollment lists (FL, GA, KY, LA, MO, NC, TN)
3. State census (1855, 1865- IL)
4. Post-war censuses of veterans (AL, AR, IA, LA, NB, TN)
5. 1890 Federal (former Union soldiers, sailors, & widows)

VII. Equipment & Weapon Issue Records

1. State Adjutant-General Reports
2. State Quartermaster-General Reports
3. Regimental histories

UPCOMING GENEALOGY/HISTORY CLASSES

Classes listed below are sponsored or co-sponsored by St. Louis Public Library, and are free and open to the public. Please note that locations for classes vary.

Weds October 20 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Hoe! Hoe! Hoe! Researching Farmers & Other Rural Ancestors. Join us as we discuss various ways that genealogists can find books, microfilms, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, and Internet sites that offer information about ancestors who owned / worked farms or other agricultural ventures. Hayner Public Library, 326 Belle Street, Alton, IL 62002. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.

Sat October 30 10 a.m.-Noon. A Perfect Storm: the Witches of Salem Village. Join us as we discuss witchcraft and witch trials in Europe and North America; the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692; and ways to research ancestors who were accused as witches. Buder Branch. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.

Thurs November 4 7:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Thirteen Dollars a Month: Recruiting, Enlistment, Conscription, & Desertion in the American Civil War. Join us at this monthly meeting of the St. Clair County Genealogical Society as we discuss how they joined the army during the Civil War; what they got paid for doing so; and how some of them took the money and ran. St. Luke’s Parish Hall, 301 N. Church Street, Belleville, IL 62220. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.

Thurs November 18 10 a.m.-Noon. Research at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Join us as we discuss the wealth of resources for the genealogist and historian available at this Springfield, Illinois institution. Buder Branch. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.

Sat November 20 Meeting starts 10 a.m.; talk at 10:30 a.m. Hoe! Hoe! Hoe! Researching Farmers & Other Rural Ancestors. Join us at this monthly meeting of the St. Louis Genealogical Society as we discuss various ways that genealogists can find books, microfilms, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, and Internet sites that offer information about ancestors who owned / worked farms or other agricultural ventures. St. Louis County Library, 1640 S. Lindbergh, St. Louis, MO 63131. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.

Buder Branch Library
4401 Hampton Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63109

Pre-registration is recommended but not required. To register or for more information, please email me at tpearson@slpl.org. Parking on the Buder Branch lot is always free. It’s easy to add you to my programs notification list. Just email me at tpearson@slpl.org and use NOTIFY in the subject line- that’s all you need to do!

CIVIL WAR SOLDIER RESEARCH CHECKLIST, PART II

3. Web Sites of Special Interest

Great sites to check if you're researching Missouri or Illinois Civil War ancestors:

A. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library (extensive collection of maps, photographs,
newspapers, and county histories)
B. Alton in the Civil War: Alton Prison (info about this Illinois prison for Confederate soldiers and sympathizers)
C. The American Civil War (extensive links page divided by subject categories)
D. The Civil War Archive- Regimental Index (digital version of Dyer's Compendium- information about Union regiments)
E. Civil War Regimental Histories in the Library of Congress
F. Confederate Regimental History Links Page
G. Cyndi’s List of Civil War/ War for Southern Independence Links
H. Dakota State University Civil War Site- Links Page
I. Database of 1929 Illinois Roll of Honor
J. Find-It Illinois Catalog (online joint catalog of more than 600 Illinois public, academic, and special libraries)
K. Library of Congress- American Memory Project- Selected Civil War Photographs
L. Merlin Catalog (catalog of the University of Missouri libraries)
M. National Cemetery Administration (click on the Nationwide Gravesite Locator)
N. National Archives and Records Administration- Military Service Records
O. Sons of Union Veterans National Graves Registration System
P. U.S. Army Military History Institute Photographs Database (extensive collection of Civil War photographs)
Q. United States Civil War Center: Battlefield, Cemetery, Fort, and Historic Site Web Site Links
R. United States Colored Troops in the Civil War (extensive list of links on this subject)
S. War of the Rebellion (searchable online version of the book set- search page includes a synopsis of the contents of each volume in this multi-volume book set- click War of the Rebellion: the Official Records of the Union & Confederate Armies)
T. Western Historical Manuscripts Collection

CIVIL WAR SOLDIER RESEARCH CHECKLIST, PART I

PART I

1. Starting Points
A. Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
B. Ancestry.com Civil War Service Records & Civil War Pension Index
C. Missouri State Archives Soldiers Database
D. Illinois Descriptive Rosters & Muster Rolls

2. Standard Reference Works
A. Dyer's Compendium
B. Compendium of the Confederate Armies
C. The War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union & Confederate Armies
D. Supplement to the War of the Rebellion
E. The Medical & Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion

KILLED BY THE CURE: CIVIL WAR MEDICINE, PT. IX

XXVII. Records of the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States (RG 112)

The National Archives in Washington, DC holds some records of Civil War medical personnel and support staff:

1. Station Books of Medical Officers, 1857-1902.
2. Registers of Military Service of Hospital Stewards, 1856-1887.
3. List of Volunteer Medical Officers Who Served with the Civil War Army Corps, 1861-1865.
4. Registers of Deaths of Civil War Voluntary Medical Officers, 1863-1896.
5. List of Female Nurses, Cooks, and Laundresses Employed in Army Hospitals During the Civil War.

XXVIII. Books on Civil War Medicine

Adams, George Worthington. Doctors in Blue; The Medical History of the Union Army in the Civil War. New York: H. Schuman, 1952.

Barnes, Joseph K. The Medical and Surgical History of the Civil War. Wilmington, N.C.: Broadfoot Pub. Co, 1990.

Bollet, Alfred J. Civil War Medicine: Challenges and Triumphs. Tucson, Ariz: Galen Press, 2002.

Cunningham, Horace Herndon. Doctors in Gray; The Confederate Medical Service. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1958.

Flannery, Michael A. Civil War Pharmacy: A History of Drugs, Drug Supply and Provision, and Therapeutics for the Union and Confederacy. Pharmaceutical heritage. New York: Pharmaceutical Products Press, 2004.

Freemon, Frank R. Microbes and Minie Balls: An Annotated Bibliography of Civil War Medicine. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1993.

Rutkow, Ira M. Bleeding Blue and Gray: Civil War Surgery and the Evolution of American Medicine. New York: Random House, 2005.

Smith, George Winston. Medicines for the Union Army; The United States Army Laboratories During the Civil War. Madison, Wis: Amer. Institute of the History of Pharmacy, 1962.

XXIX. Websites

Civil War Home- Civil War Medicine

CivilWarPhotos.net

Growing Research Into History of Drugs Used During Civil War

Library of Congress- American Memory -- NOTE: Under Search All Collections, type “Civil War medicine”.

National Museum of Civil War Medicine

Preparing and Dispensing Prescriptions During the Civil War

Society of Civil War Surgeons

Tom Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department
St. Louis Public Library
1415 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63103

KILLED BY THE CURE: CIVIL WAR MEDICINE, PT. VIII

XXII. Amputations

The most commonly employed surgical technique during the Civil War was the amputation. Union Army medical records list 29,980 amputations. When amputations performed early in the war that went unrecorded, and Confederate Army amputation estimates are added to the total, it is reasonable to assume that Union and Confederate Army surgeons performed somewhere between 50,000-55,000 amputations during the war.

XXIII. Amputations- Categories

Amputations were placed in one of three categories, depending on how soon after the injury the procedure was performed:

1. Primary- Within 48 hours of the injury (23.9% mortality rate)
2. Intermediary- Three to thirty days after the injury (34.8% mortality rate)
3. Secondary- Thirty-one or more days after the injury (28.8% mortality rate)

XXIV. Amputations- Bodily Area of Injury

Injuries in the Civil War requiring amputation involved these sites on the body:

1. Hand (26.4% of total)
2. Thigh (21.2%)
3. Lower leg (18.4%)
4. Upper arm (18.4%)
5. Forearm (5.9%)
6. Foot (5.1%)
7. Shoulder (2.9%)
8. Knee (0.7%)
9. Ankle (0.5%)
10. Hip (0.2%)
11. Wrist (0.2%)
12. Elbow (0.1%)

XXV. Amputations- Mortality Rates by Type of Procedure

The fatality rate of amputations increased the closer the procedure was performed to the trunk of the victim. The mortality rate of various procedures was as follows:

1. Hip (88% fatalities)
2. Knee (58%)
3. Mid-Thigh (54%)
4. Lower leg (38%)
5. Shoulder (28%)
6. Ankle (24%)
7. Upper arm (24%)
8. Forearm (14%)
9. Wrist (10%)
10. Elbow (7%)
11. Toes (6%)
12. Foot (5%)
13. Fingers (3%)
14. Hand (2%)

XXVI. Artificial Limbs Furnished to Maimed Soldiers

After the war, the federal government and most Confederate states had programs to pay for (or to reimburse maimed veterans for) the purchase of artificial limbs and eyes. These programs could be very expensive- Mississippi in 1866 spent more than 1/3 of its entire state budget for these items. Some state archives have retained records of these purchases (South Carolina, for example, has published a printed record of such purchases).

Tom Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department
St. Louis Public Library
1301 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63103