Civil War Records

As the United States marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, people who had ancestors involved in the conflict can access millions of historical records recently published on the familysearch.org website. Millions more are coming, as volunteers enlist (www.familysearch.org/civilwar) in an online campaign over the next five years to provide access to the historic documents. The collections include service records for both the Confederate and Union armies, pension records, and more. Some of these records have been available for some time, but are now being added to familysearch.org/civilwar as part of this project. Many records are specific to the war itself, such as enlistment or pension records. These documents can provide key family data, including age, place of birth, or the name of a spouse. Other collections, such as census records, tell the story of ordinary civilians who lived during that turbulent time. About ten million of FamilySearch's Civil War records are indexed; however, there are many more that need to be indexed, and that's where the volunteers come in. This growing collection will be one that will serve the needs of numerous descendants of the participants on both sides of the conflict. (Information taken from the Church News, May 14, 2011)