33rd Massachusetts Muster rolls

Papa Frinkle

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Jun 26, 2018
Hey does anyone know where to find muster rolls for the 33rd Massachusetts? I’ve looked on Family Search and, conveniently enough, found muster rolls for what should have been all of the Massachusetts regiments, but the 33rd and a handful of others were missing. An early war roll, a late war roll, and a June or July of 1863 roll would be most helpful. Thanks!
 
I doubt you will find them online anywhere. Originals, of course, are in the National Archives in Washington. The Mass. AG copies are in the Mass. National Guard Museum and Archives, in Concord. Both repositories are still closed due to covid-19.

The carded service records available at fold3.com were, in part, extracted from those rolls, and you can find if a specific soldier was present on any particular roll. But getting a full muster roll for any one date probably means waiting for one of those archives to open.
 
If Family Search has a collection of muster rolls from MA that has most regiments but not all it may be that they do not exist. I hope I'm wrong for your sake but that's the most common explanation for gaps in a series.
 
I have something very close to it. In about the 1890s, the Mass state congress declared that books should be made listing every soldier, sailor, and Marine from the Bay State and that every library in Massachusetts should be given a copy. The title (I think) is Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Civil War. You can find it online, but it's 9 volumes long. My guess is that the 33 is probably in Volume 3. Are you looking for anyone in particular?

https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/50883

Clickable links to the different volumes are on the left.
 
http://civilwardata.com/ is a subscription site--but the fee is nominal ($25/yr). It has a full roster and complete description.
Thanks a lot for the response! I actually have the soldier im looking for- a James Kelly from Fall River MA- of Company B (possibly moved to company K at some point), a 21 year old at the time of his enlistment. What I’m looking for now are the monthly muster rolls for the regiment to see what campaigns/ battles he was present for, and also to verify if he was ever in K company.
 
Thanks a lot for the response! I actually have the soldier im looking for- a James Kelly from Fall River MA- of Company B (possibly moved to company K at some point), a 21 year old at the time of his enlistment. What I’m looking for now are the monthly muster rolls for the regiment to see what campaigns/ battles he was present for, and also to verify if he was ever in K company.
Oh, my mother lives up the Road in Middleboro. There's also a Civil War Roundtable in neighboring New Bedford. Let me go for a dig and see if I can come up with his service records.
 
Thanks a lot for the response! I actually have the soldier im looking for- a James Kelly from Fall River MA- of Company B (possibly moved to company K at some point), a 21 year old at the time of his enlistment. What I’m looking for now are the monthly muster rolls for the regiment to see what campaigns/ battles he was present for, and also to verify if he was ever in K company.
Pvt Kelly/Kelley's record seems to be somewhat scrambled. As James Kelly of Fall River, he enlisted in 33B Massachusetts at 23 years on 6/15/1861; he deserted on 9/5/1862 at Chain Bridge. HOWEVER, 33-B Massachusetts also lists James Kelley of Fall River who enlisted at 21 on 6/14/1862; Pvt. Kelley remained with the unit until 1865 when he was mustered out.

The 33rd saw a great deal of action--both in the east and in TN & TX. I don't know if the two men are the same--seems likely--or if he/they had any absences because of illness (etc). But the unit was at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wauhatchie (TN), Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Resaca (TX), and Kenesau Mountain.

Perhaps with his service records you can get a clearer picture.
 
This isn't looking good...,.

1623192603169.png
 
If I do this right, here's your man's Compiled Military Service Record. I'm wondering if he was somehow the victim of identity theft and the guy above who deserted claimed that he was Kelley. Monthly muster rolls are in the attached pdf.
 

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  • Kelley, James (21).pdf
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This isn't looking good...,.

View attachment 404054
This is a mixed detachment of stragglers and deserters, along with men legitimately not with their units (exchanged prisoners, etc). Most likely they were en-route back to those units. Possibly this James Kelly, having 'deserted' (whatever that may have entailed), nonetheless returned to duty and was mustered out with his regiment.
 
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If I do this right, here's your man's Compiled Military Service Record. I'm wondering if he was somehow the victim of identity theft and the guy above who deserted claimed that he was Kelley. Monthly muster rolls are in the attached pdf.
Wow thank you so much! That’s exactly what I was looking for. The reason I’m researching this man is because I acquired this musket (https://www.horsesoldier.com/products/identified-items/firearms/35880) just a couple months ago. As you can see it served with the 33rd and has the initials J Kelly scratched into the butt. The confounding information here is that the rifle appears to be marked Company K. Neither James nor John Kelly, the only J Kelly’s in the regiment, appear to have served in company K. However, the rifle is dated 1862 so it was likely issued when the regiment was mustered in. John Kelly enlisted in July of ‘64, meaning my rifle most likely belonged to James. Could the ‘K’s on the rifle mean Kelly instead of a company designation? I can only wonder. Any thoughts or evidence would be much appreciated.
 
Wow thank you so much! That’s exactly what I was looking for. The reason I’m researching this man is because I acquired this musket (https://www.horsesoldier.com/products/identified-items/firearms/35880) just a couple months ago. As you can see it served with the 33rd and has the initials J Kelly scratched into the butt. The confounding information here is that the rifle appears to be marked Company K. Neither James nor John Kelly, the only J Kelly’s in the regiment, appear to have served in company K. However, the rifle is dated 1862 so it was likely issued when the regiment was mustered in. John Kelly enlisted in July of ‘64, meaning my rifle most likely belonged to James. Could the ‘K’s on the rifle mean Kelly instead of a company designation? I can only wonder. Any thoughts or evidence would be much appreciated.
Have you tried posting pictures to the Small Arms forum? The guys there are awesome at identifying marks -

https://civilwartalk.com/forums/small-arms-edged-weapons.93/
 
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