Helpful Online Research Search Links, O.R.'s, Dyer's, Fox, etc.

M E Wolf

Colonel
Retired Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2008
Location
Virginia
To assist your personal research:

The Official Records of the Rebellion - Links:






 



 





 





 
National Park Service's Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS):
a database containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Other information on the site includes histories of Union and Confederate regiments, links to descriptions of significant battles, and selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records, which will be amended over time.
http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm

Veterans Administration's Nationwide Gravesite Locator:
Search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker.
http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1

National Archives--Compiled Military Service File:
Order compiled records based on military service in the United States Army for regular forces raised by the Federal Government (officers who served before June 30, 1917 and enlisted men who served before October 31, 1912).
https://eservices.archives.gov/orde...SWEHo=eservices.archives.gov&SWETS=1338933157

State websites:
Wisconsin Historical Society--order WI vet service records: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/genealogy/ogrs/recordType.asp?recordType=Civil+War
New York State Military Museum--Civil War unit info:
http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/civil_index.htm
New Jersey State Archives--searchable Civil War database:
https://wwwnet1.state.nj.us/DOS/Admin/ArchivesDBPortal/StrykerCivilWar.aspx
Illinois State Archives--Civil War Muster Rolls database:
http://www.ilsos.gov/isaveterans/civilmustersrch.jsp
Pennsylvania in the Civil War:
http://www.pa-roots.com/pacw/index.html
California Military Museum--lots of links at bottom of page:
http://www.militarymuseum.org/HistoryCW.html

Staff Ride Info--US Army Center of Military History, published material:
http://www.history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/civil_war/cw_published_material.html
 
http://www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp?view=ArchiveIndexes&ArchiveID=17

This is the Civil War veterans card file, for Pennsylvania. Please don't give up if your ancestor's records aren't in it- they're not 'official' as in complete plus tend to not have a full history. Amazing amazing record, someone in PA did awfully well honoring our CW Veterans in this way.

If this link doesn't take you right to an 'abcd...' , try just the digital archives part, easy to find the war archives from there. It SHOULD, I've just noticed it fails sometimes.
 
http://iarchives.nysed.gov/CivilWarWeb/search.jsp

If someone has already listed this please excuse? It's the New York Civil War page, the government run site. It's extremely comprehensive- I've never been let down ONCE looking for someone I absolutely knew was 'there', if you know what I mean. I feel a little silly listing anything after all the fantastic sources above- just have found these little by-name sites extra-easy to follow. After that you're on your own, however- just because someone has the same name doesn't mean he's 'yours'. I keep seeing photos I have on Ancestry, for instance, swiped and used for people who have the same name but are no where near to being related. Silly. No sense in doing this if one isn't going to be accurate-who needs invented relatives?

I have a few I wish were invented, so rats, can't go the other way either and give 'em away.
 
Civil War in Virginia: Walking in Their Footsteps
http://www.virginiacivilwar.org/footsteps_search.php#

The Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission created a site called "Civil War Virginia: Walk in Their Footsteps", which attempts to provide a database listing all the units, Union and Confederate, that fought in Virginia during the war. It provides short regimental histories, a list of battles and their descriptions, and a map function which shows the battle locations.
 
For those who do not know, check to see if you have a local Family Search Center in your city or near by. They have FREE access to Fold3 for all wars. And they only charge $.05 per page to print pages. As a side note, they have also access to a marriage record database that Ancestry does not have. Their hours open are limited, however. Check www.familysearch.org for a location near you.
 
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