Researching Your Civil War AncestryDo you have a distant relative who fought in the Civil War? Would you like to find out if you do? This is the discussion for you!
First thing to do is trace your families back to 1860 -- by the time you get there, you'll find many sets of ggggrandfathers and uncles and cousins. Where did they live in 1860? How old were they?
Better still, take your name, Beeman. Ask your greatgrandfather questions. Failing that, your grandfather.
If you can find out where that one Beeman lived you can look up the census for that county to verify that the memory was correct. Contact that county's historical society to find if a company or regiment was raised in that area.
Many people on this board are far more experienced as they actually had relatives in the war, quite a few on both sides. Someone will give you links to look up information, but you must know the name of the possible soldier and where he was when he reached military age.
Welcome aboard. There are also quite a few geneaology sites that will help you trace your family back, but having some information will make your search much easier.
Remember you are looking for ancestors born between 1830 and 1845 to have been active in the civil war. As Ole said, the census records are a big help back to that time after you have exhausted family information. Remember everything is recorded by COUNTY so that is a big deal. The regiments were made up of men from particular counties usually no more than say three counties at a time, at least in the southern states. Many regimental rosters are available online, but you must first isolate the correct regiment. Let me/us know when you are zeroed in on a county and we will try to accelerate your research. Good hunting. History is about to come alive for you and is an exciting trip!
Remember also that death certificates usually list the names of parents. You can find those at your local state health department, bureau of vital statistics (usually) for about 5-10 bucks a shot. They usually are on file for deaths back to about 1910 or so. Many civil war soldiers lived into the 1920s. Gramps may be able to save you the trouble. Good luck with your search.
__________________ "If I ever disown, repudiate, or apologize for the Cause for which Lee fought and Jackson died, let the lightnings of Heaven rend me, and the scorn of all good men and true women be my portion. Sun, Moon, Stars, all fall on me when I cease to love the Confederacy. 'Tis the cause, not the fate of the Cause, that is glorious!" - Maj. R.E. Wilson, CSA
Thanks for posting the National Park Service webpage. One of it's shortcomings is a fairly insensitive nature unless information is entered exactly. I've been able to find a couple of my ancestors listed that I already knew about, but only after repeated tries. You almost need enough information to find them that foregoes the necessity for the search! Yes, any information is far better than none. The ultimate goal is still to get one's paws on the copies of the original documents when possible. For Confederates, the folks in Richmond are pretty good. Just depends on the soldier's length of service and whether his records found a save haven.
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