Military Resources: Civil War
NARA Resources
- The Army Civil War Campaign Medal
- Civil War origins of the Medal of Honor are noted and NARA researchers are given guidance on finding records of the recipients.
- The Army Medal of Honor: The First Fifty-five Years
- The Civil War Campaign Medal, established in 1907, recognized living veterans.
- Black Men in Navy Blue during the Civil War
- A history of black participants in the Navy during the Civil War. The article by Joseph P. Reidy was published in the Fall 2001 NARA publication of Prologue Quarterly.
- Civil War and Later Navy Personnel Records at the National Archives, 1861-1924
- This article, by Lee D. Bacon, appeared in NARA's Prologue Quarterly journal in 1995.
- Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
- This NARA site features an online version of an American Originals exhibit.
- Civil War Cat-and-Mouse Game: Researching Blockade-Runners at the National Archives
- This article, by NARA staffer Rebecca Livingston, focuses on Civil War blockade runners. It appeared in the Fall 1999Prologue Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 3.
- Civil War Draft Records: Exemptions and Enrollments
- This article, by Michael T. Meier, appeared in NARA's Prologue Quarterly journal in Winter 1994, vol. 26, no. 4.
- Missouri's Union Provost Marshal Papers, 1861-1866
- The Provost Marshal Papers for the state of Missouri are part of Record Group 109, War Department Collection of Confederate Records in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Although they are records of the Union Army, they were associated with Confederate records in the War Department because they relate, in part, to Confederate citizens and sympathizers. The National Archives refers to this collection as Union Provost Marshals' File of Papers Relating to Individual Citizens. This national collection is three hundred rolls of microfilm documents, 1861-1866. The online database created by the Missouri State Archives is an index of the Missouri portion of the collection.
- Civil War Records
- This NARA site is a guide to researching Union and Confederate soldiers.
- Civil War Records: An Introduction and Invitation
- This article, by Michael P. Musick, appeared in NARA's Prologue Quarterly journal in Summer 1995, vol. 27, no. 2.
- Committees Relating to the Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-73)
- This NARA web site on the Records of the United States House of Representatives is maintained by the Center for Legislative Archives.
- Compiled Service Records for the Civil War
- This guide to microfilm publications is featured on a NARA web site maintained by ALIC: Archives Library Information Center.
- Confederate Medical Personnel
- An article by DeAnne Blanton from the NARA publication Prologue, Spring 1994, vol. 26, no. 1.
- Defunct Strategy
- This article on the U.S. navy's role in the Civil War appeared in the Fall 2001 issue of Prologue, vol. 33, no. 3.
- The Diplomats Who Sank a Fleet: The Confederacy's Undelivered European Fleet and the Union Consular Service
- This article on the fleet ordered from the British by the Confederacy appeared in the Fall 2001 issue of Prologue, vol. 33, no. 3.
- Exploring the Life and History of the "Buffalo Soldiers"
- This article, by NARA staff member Walter Hill, is about the Black troops during the Civil War period.
- Extensive Mathew Brady Collection available on National Archives web site
- This December 18, 1997, NARA news release announces the Brady Collection of Civil War-era photographs.
- The Fight for Equal Rights: Black Soldiers in the Civil War
- Part of NARA's 'Teaching with Documents' series, this lesson correlates to the National History Standards.
- Guides to National Archives Microfilm Publications of the Records of the Civil War Era
- NARA web site maintained by ALIC: Archives Library Information Center.
- Guides to Civil War Records in NARA: Preliminary Inventories in the National Archives Library
- NARA web site maintained by ALIC: Archives Library Information Center.
- Headstones of Union Civil War Veterans
- This article by Claire Prechtel-Kluskens appeared in NARA's March 1998 The Record.
- Income Tax Records of the Civil War Years
- This article by Cynthia G. Fox appeared in NARA's Winter 1986 issue of Prologue, vol. 18, no.4.
- Letters, Telegrams,and Photographs Illustrating Factors that Affected the Civil War
- This NARA Constitutional Connection site features a lesson with documents illustrating the President's role as Commander-in-Chief of the military as specified in Article II, Section II of the U.S. Constitution.
- The Little Regiment: Civil War Units & Commands
- An article from NARA's publication Prologue Quarterly, Summer 1995, vol. 27, no. 2.
- Preserving the Legacy of the United States Colored Troops
- NARA volunteer Budge Weidman compiled this information on the USCT compiled military records.
- Records of the Civil War Special Agencies of the Treasury Department
- NARA guide to Record Group 366.
- Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War)
- NARA guide to Record Group 110.
- Reference Books on the Civil War
- The books on this highly selective list are shelved in ALIC: Archives Library Information Center at NARA's Archives I in downtown Washington.
- Researching African-Americans in the U.S. Army, 1866-1890: Buffalo Soldiers and Black Infantrymen
- This article by Trevor K. Plante appeared in the Spring 2001 Prologue Journal
- Researching Confederate Marines in the Civil War
- Tips for researching an often overlooked group of Civil War servicemen.
- Selected Resources on the Civil War in the Archives I Library
- NARA web site maintained by ALIC: Archives Library Information Center.
- The Shady Side of the Family Tree: Civil War Union Court-Martial Case Files
- This article on court-martial cases during the Civil War, written by Trevor K. Plante, appeared in NARA's Prologue Quarterly in 1998.
- State Adjutant Generals' Reports for the Civil War in the National Archives Library (Archives I)
- NARA web site maintained by ALIC: Archives Library Information Center.
- Symposium: "Chicago and the Midwest in the Civil War Era, A Partnership"
- Reports from the symposium published in the January 1998 NARA publication, The Record.
- A War by Any Other Name
- This NARA webpage sheds light on the development of the controversy about the name of the conflict in North America of 1861-1865. The conflict became known as the "War Between the States" in the Confederacy, the "Great Rebellion", or simply "the rebellion" by Union veterans, and, finally, the "Civil War" by moderates and conciliators.
- War in an Age of Wonders: Civil War Arms & Equipment
- War in an Age of Wonders: Civil War Arms & Equipment, Part 2
- An article, in two parts, by Michael P. Musick, from NARA's publication Prologue Quarterly, in Winter 1995, vol. 27, no. 4.
- Which Henry Cook? A Methodology for Searching Confederate Ancestors
- This article addresses ways to use NARA records to accurately identify Confederate soldiers.
- Women Soldiers of the Civil War, Part I
- This article, by DeAnne Blanton, appeared in NARA's Prologue Quarterly in 1993. It appears on the website in three parts: Part I, Part II, and Part III.
- African American Sailors in the Civil War Union Navy
- This National Park Service site features a database detailing the lives and service of more than 18,000 men and women of African descent who served in the U.S. Navy throughout the Civil War era. Enlistment rolls and muster rolls used for the database are part of NARA Record Group 24.
- American Civil War home page
- Extensive list of resources concerning all aspects of the Civil War, maintained by Dr. George Hoemann at the University of Tennessee.
- Band Music from the Civil War Era
- From the Library of Congress Music Division, this site introduces visitors to the musical scores, recordings, photographs, and essays from both Union and Confederate Armies of the Civil War.
- Bibliographies about Civil War Photography
- This is a Library of Congress bibliography on Civil War photography. Also see individual Civil War photographers: Mathew Brady, George Barnard, Alexander Gardner, Timothy O'Sullivan.
- Black Dispatches: Black American Contributions to Union Intelligence During the Civil War
- This article appeared in the Winter 1998-1999 edition of Studies in Intelligence, a publication of the CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence.
- Civil War and Reconstruction: African-Americans in Military History
- An Air University Library bibliography on African-American activities during the Civil War and Reconstruction.
- Civil War Flags
- National Park Service site on symbols in battle.
- Civil War Maps
- From the Library of Congress's Geography and Map Division, this site includes a selection from the nearly 2,300 Civil War maps and charts in the collection. Most were made during the Civil War, although a few were done afterward to illustrate certain events or battles.
- Civil War Maps
- Air University historical map bibliography.
- Civil War Service Database
- This database is presented by the Alabama Department of Archives and History.
- Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
- The National Park System is developing this computerized database containing very basic facts about servicemen who served on both sides during the Civil War; a list of regiments in both Armies; and, identifications and descriptions of 384 significant battles.
- Civil War at the Smithsonian
- This Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery site gives illustrative insight into the Civil War.
- Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society
- An online cooperative project of the Library of Congress and the New-York Historical Society. Pictorial items in the digitized Civil War collection include: photographs, posters, etchings, and the first and only issue of The Prison Times handwritten by Confederate prisoners.
- The Civil War Years
- This is a link to the Historical New York Times Project. Chapter 2 covers the Civil War Years, 1860-1866.
- Mary Henry: Eyewitnesses to the Civil War in the City of Washington
- Diary of Mary Henry, child of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
- Mathew Brady's Portraits
- Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery site.
- The Papers of Joseph Henry: "Interruptions and Embarrassments": The Smithsonian Institution During the Civil War
- Revised version of a talk given in 1996 by Kathleen W. Dorman, Associate Editor, Joseph Henry Papers, during the Smithsonian sesquicentennial year.
- Records of Officers and Men of New Jersey in The Civil War, 1861-1865
- This new digital version of the classic works by William S. Stryker is presented by the New Jersey State Library.
- Scartoons: Racial Satire and the Civil War
- This University of Virginia site features political cartoons of the Civil War era.
- U.S. Civil War Center
- The Louisiana State University's Center is dedicated to promoting the study of the Civil War from the perspectives of all professions, occupations and academic disciplines; and locating, indexing, and making available all appropriate private and public data on the Internet regarding the Civil War.
- U.S. Civil War Generals
- This website, hosted by the University of Tennessee, is by Kerry Web of Australia. It contains concise indexes to Generals who fought on both sides of the war.
- U.S. Civil War History: Selected Primary and Secondary Sources
- University of Pennsylvania site features an extensive bibliography including internet resources and websites.
- U.S. Civil War Regimental Histories in the Library of Congress
- This finding aid focuses on Civil War regimental histories located in the Library of Congress's general collections and is arranged by Union and Confederate state regiments.
- Washington During the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft
- This Library of Congress webpage presents the diary of an examiner for the U.S. Patent Office who lived in Washington D.C. Of special interest is Taft's description of Lincoln's assasination, including the reports of Taft's son who was an attending physician at Ford's Theater the night Lincoln was shot.