USS ALASKA
Captain
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2016
Century-old documents of over 22,000 missing Civil War soldiers
The digitized documents are now more accessible than ever
By: Jasmine Pelaez
FREDERICK, Md - For more than 2 years, historians at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick have been digitizing information on missing Civil War soldiers based on the century-old work of Clara Barton.
"She jumps into action helping with wounded soldiers, she gets the nickname 'Angel of the Battlefield' at Antietam as a result of going on to the field and assisting wounded soldiers, nursing them," explained National Civil War Medicine Program Coordinator, Jake Wynn.
After the end of the war in 1865, thousands of soldiers were unidentified, leaving many families wondering what happened to their loved ones.
"We think of World War I, World War II, the government would actually send a telegram or send someone to say 'Your loved one is missing in action,' or unfortunately in many cases, ‘killed in action’. In the Civil War there's no one to do that," Wynn said.
That was until Barton established the Missing Soldiers office, and with the help of staff, was able to compile five paper rolls of information on over 22,000 union soldiers.
"We have a volunteer effort to go through and take all of those names, put it into a spread sheet, take all of the regiments put them into a spreadsheet. All of that data is connected," Wynn explained.
Barton's rolls of missing men has been uploaded on the museum's website as more than 6,000 entries.
"Maybe it can help get the name of those soldiers out there and even help families today trace back to their ancestors and see what happened to some of them,” said visitor to the museum, Joanna Colgan.
Even though Barton’s rolls are published in their entirety, the museum still isn't done searching and is now accepting digital volunteers to help continue the search for the Civil War's missing men.
"If we can engage visitors, and engage the community to actually come in and help us, it means we can accomplish so much more together,” Wynn said.
You can find more information about the Clara Barton’s Rolls of Missing Soldiers Database on the museum’s webs
http://www.localdvm.com/news/i-270/...r-22000-missing-civil-war-soldiers/1026906755
Cheers,
USS ALASKA
The digitized documents are now more accessible than ever
By: Jasmine Pelaez
FREDERICK, Md - For more than 2 years, historians at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick have been digitizing information on missing Civil War soldiers based on the century-old work of Clara Barton.
"She jumps into action helping with wounded soldiers, she gets the nickname 'Angel of the Battlefield' at Antietam as a result of going on to the field and assisting wounded soldiers, nursing them," explained National Civil War Medicine Program Coordinator, Jake Wynn.
After the end of the war in 1865, thousands of soldiers were unidentified, leaving many families wondering what happened to their loved ones.
"We think of World War I, World War II, the government would actually send a telegram or send someone to say 'Your loved one is missing in action,' or unfortunately in many cases, ‘killed in action’. In the Civil War there's no one to do that," Wynn said.
That was until Barton established the Missing Soldiers office, and with the help of staff, was able to compile five paper rolls of information on over 22,000 union soldiers.
"We have a volunteer effort to go through and take all of those names, put it into a spread sheet, take all of the regiments put them into a spreadsheet. All of that data is connected," Wynn explained.
Barton's rolls of missing men has been uploaded on the museum's website as more than 6,000 entries.
"Maybe it can help get the name of those soldiers out there and even help families today trace back to their ancestors and see what happened to some of them,” said visitor to the museum, Joanna Colgan.
Even though Barton’s rolls are published in their entirety, the museum still isn't done searching and is now accepting digital volunteers to help continue the search for the Civil War's missing men.
"If we can engage visitors, and engage the community to actually come in and help us, it means we can accomplish so much more together,” Wynn said.
You can find more information about the Clara Barton’s Rolls of Missing Soldiers Database on the museum’s webs
http://www.localdvm.com/news/i-270/...r-22000-missing-civil-war-soldiers/1026906755
Cheers,
USS ALASKA