UPDATE on 20 June 2022 THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES HAVE REOPENED! I've reactivated the ability to order directly through the website

Civil War Records Blog

  • Why are there so many names on this Civil War pension card?

    by Brian Rhinehart
    Why are there all these names on this pension card, and how are the men connected?   This is a question I get quite often. The short answer is, ...

  • Records for War of 1812 Soldiers

    by Brian Rhinehart
    What records are available for War of 1812 soldiers at the National Archives? There are four main record groups:1. Compiled military service record...

  • Three month enlistments

    by Brian Rhinehart
    Today, April 12th, is the 160th anniversary of the first shots fired during the Civil War. After South Carolina seceded from the Union, the US Arm...

  • The 54th Massachusetts Infantry

    by Brian Rhinehart
    Have you seen the movie Glory? The movie focused on the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of the first regiments in the Civil War made up of African...

  • Where do I find a photo of my Civil War soldier?

    by Brian Rhinehart
    Do you have a photo of your Civil War ancestor in uniform? If so, consider yourself very lucky. Photos of soldiers weren’t taken very often. When ...

  • Civil War injuries

    by Brian Rhinehart
    Was your ancestor seriously injured during the Civil War? There may be a clue on his pension index card that could indicate that.   Look at the ...

  • Civil War aliases

    by Brian Rhinehart
    Why does he have an alias? Occasionally you may find two names on a Civil War pension card, with one listed as an alias. Why is that?   It’s har...

  • Multiple pension index cards for the same soldier

    by Brian Rhinehart
    Did you know there are multiple versions of the same pension index cards out there? Ancestry has one version in their database, and Fold3 has anoth...

  • What do all those red numbers mean?

    by Brian Rhinehart
    What do all those red numbers mean? The short answer is that they are serial numbers. And while the numbers do have meaning behind them, they reall...

  • Civil War draft registrations

    by Brian Rhinehart
    Let’s talk about Civil War draft registration records. These can be great resources, but they can also be one of the most misused sources when it ...

  • Where are the discharge papers?

    by Brian Rhinehart
    You may be surprised to hear that there is no record group at the National Archives that contains the Civil War discharge papers. These discharges...

  • What is a Civil War pension file?

    by Brian Rhinehart
    Most Civil War soldiers were eligible to apply for pension benefits after the war. In some cases they were immediately eligible, but in most cases...