If you are searching for information on a specific soldier, start with the records of the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC. The National Archives has service records for Union and Confederate soldiers, and pension records for Union soldiers only. These records can be requested by mail using specific forms supplied by the Archives. There is also a set of records for Union soldiers called "Carded Medical Records" which can be requested by mail (there is no special form). More information on these records can be found at www.archives.gov.
If you are looking for information on a soldier wounded during the battles of South Mountain or Antietam, a book just published by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine may be of help. One Vast Hospital: The Civil War Hospital Sites in Frederick, Maryland after Antietam covers the hospital sites in Frederick, Maryland after these battles, and includes a detailed hospital patient list with nearly 10,000 names. Many of the men wounded at Antietam were treated in the Frederick hospitals. The list includes: name, rank, regiment, company, complaint, date of admission, date of release, outcome (returned to unit, discharged, furloughed, transferred, died, deserted) and comments. It is a great source for genealogists and historians. See bibliography below.
A few books can also be helpful in finding information on the wounds and diseases suffered by individual soldiers. The Medical and Surgical History of the Civil War is a twelve volume set originally published after the war detailing surgical cases and diseases. Thousands of soldiers, both Union and Confederate, are listed in this set. The Medical and Surgical History of the Civil War is a very useful resource; check your local libraries for a copy. The Photographic Atlas of Civil War Injuries contains photographs of surgical cases and specimens from the Otis Historical Archives. The Dispensary Museum Store also offers a variety of books containing the letters and personal memoirs of individual soldiers.
If you have a specific question about the medical history of a particular soldier, the NMCWM accepts research requests for an initial fee of $10. The fee covers up to 1 hour of research--if more is necessary, an additional fee will be charged. Please send research requests and payment* to:
NMCWM
Attn: Director of Research
P.O. Box 470
Frederick, MD 21705
*All requests require prepayment. Request fee payments may be made in the form of cash, check (made payable to NMCWM), Visa, MasterCard, or Discover (for credit cards, the following are required: credit card number, expiration date, security code located on the back of the card in the signature line, full name of card holder, billing address and phone number).
Be sure to include your mailing address and email address. The Museum does not accept phone requests. Please do not ask for general information-- there is so much available that we cannot comply with such a request.
Most of the books referenced here, plus many others, may be purchased online or directly through the Dispensary Museum Store of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. Some titles may be currently unavailable if they are out of print. Students working on school projects should use the Student Resources section of the online Dispensary Museum Store. Questions concerning titles may be directed to 301-695-5225 or email store@civilwarmed.org.
1865 Customs of Service for Non-commissioned Officers and Soldiers; August V. Kantz, 1865; reprinted 2001, Stackpole Books
A Seneca in the Union Army: The Civil War Letters of Sergeant Isaac Newton Parker, 1861-1865; Laurence M. Hauptman, 1995
Bivouacs of the Dead: the Story of those who Died at South Mountain and Antietam; Steven R. Stotelmyer, 1992
Black Union Soldiers in the Civil War; Hondon B. Hargrove, 1988
Civil War Soldier: A Photographic Journey; Ray M. Carson, 2000
Confederate Cherokees: John Drew' s Regiment of Mounted Rifles; W. Craig Gaines, 1989
Hardtack and Coffee: the Unwritten Story of Army Life 1861-1865; John D. Billings, 10th Massachusetts Battery, 1996
Medical and Surgical History of the Civil War, prepared by Surgeon General Joseph K. Barnes, 1870 (reprinted 1991; originally titled Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865)
One Vast Hospital: The Civil War Hospital Sites in Frederick, Maryland after Antietam; Terry Reimer, National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Inc., 2001
Photographic Atlas of Civil War Injuries; Edited by Bradley P. Bengtson, M.D., and Julian E. Kuz, M.D., 1996
Soldier’s National Cemetery, Gettysburg; Singerly & Myers, 1865; reprinted 1988
Too Young to Die: Boy Soldiers of the Union Army 1861-1865; Dennis M. Keesee, 2001
Writing and Fighting the Civil War: Soldiers Correspondence to the New York Sunday Mercury; ed. William B. Styple, 2000