Which Civil War Files are Already Online?
Which Civil War Files are Already Online?
Over the years, some records related to Civil War soldiers have been digitized by the National Archives and made available online. However, these represent only a small portion of all available records. Most files remain accessible only at the National Archives, not online.
So, what’s already online? The three main types of records for Civil War soldiers are pensions, service records, and carded medical records. Let’s go through each group.
Pensions
- Confederate Pensions: Confederate pension records are stored in state archives rather than the National Archives. Some are online, but availability varies by state. You can find more details here.
- Union Pensions: Most Navy pensions are online, along with the first 148,100 Union widow's, minor's, and parent's pensions. While this seems like a lot, this is only a small fraction of the two million total Union pensions at the National Archives.. You can access these files on Fold3.com or through the National Archives online catalog. Check the pension index card. If the certificate number is below 148,100, there’s a good chance it’s online. These digitized files primarily represent soldiers who died in the war or shortly after.
Important Notes on Pensions:
- The magic number is 148,100 when determing what's online.
- A widow's, minor's, or parent's pension with certificate number below 148,100 will likely be online.
- An invalid pension certificate number below 148,100 won’t be online because only widow's, minor's, and parent's pensions were digitized.
- In cases where both a widow’s and a minor’s pension were filed, they will have different certificate numbers. Often, these files are cataloged under the higher certificate number and might not be online. However, exceptions exist, so double-check to be sure.
- Special cases may arise if a widow remarried another soldier. Both pensions are often combined into one packet.
- There are exceptions to almost all of these rules, so it's always worth double checking!
This pension index card above shows a minor's pension with certificate number 119,899, which is below 148,100, so this one should be online.
This pension index card above shows a mother's pension with certificate number 117,465, which is below 148,100, so this one should be online.
This pension index card above shows a widow's pension with certificate number 15,070, which is below 148,100, so this one should be online.
This one above is tricky! The certificate number is below 148,100, so it appears that this one should be online. However, it’s an invalid pension. Invalid pensions were not digitized, so this one is NOT among those that are online.
This one above has two certificate numbers. One is below 148,100, and one is above. Typically, these kinds of pensions have all of the papework filed under the higher number. Since the higher number is above 148,100, it is probably not online, though it’s worth double-checking.
This is a Navy pension. We know this because the ship name is included instead of a regiment number, and it’s noted as "Naval Service." Most Navy pensions are online, regardless of the certificate numbers.
Compiled Military Service Records
- Confederate Service Records: All Confederate service records are fully digitized and available online on Fold3.com and the National Archives catalog.
- Union Service Records: Some soldiers have their service records digitized in their entirety, depending on which state they served from. Currently, digitized records include those for Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Dakota Territory, Delaware, DC, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and the US Colored Troops.
Note: For states not listed, service records have not been digitized. You may find entries for soldiers from these states online, but these are often only one page, an index card, and not the full records. The full packets are kept at the National Archives. See the image below.
Example image of a service record index card. This is only an index card though, so the original records can be ordered through our website.
Carded Medical Records
- Confederate Medical Cards: These cards are consolidated within the Confederate service records. Since the service records are digitized, Confederate medical cards are also available online.
- Union Medical Cards: Union medical records are stored separately and have not been digitized. You’ll need to request these directly from the National Archives (or order them through our website).
If you need help retrieving records from the National Archives, we’re here to assist! We’re onsite regularly and can access any of these files for you. Let us help you get your ancestor's records in your hands!