PILGRIMS, PIONEERS & ALIENS

From time to time, I would like to take you on a "field trip" to use special resources or facilities. This month we'll visit the National Archives & Records Administration facility in Washington, DC. There are millions of records there, so we'll concentrate just on one record group this time .... Civil War pension records. If your ancestors were in this country by 1865, it's quite likely that someone in the family served in the Civil War. If they lived in a northern state, they probably served in the Union forces, so there should be some record in the National Archives. Unfortunately, if they were from a southern state, they would have likely served in the Confederate army, and those records are primarily in the various state archives. As a result, most of what I will be sharing here will pertain to Union troops.

We'll start with a little background on the Civil War and its pensioners, then we'll go to the specific processes while at the National Archives.

As usual, we'll start with a few definitions from Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., 1989:

• Deposition - testimony taken down in writing under oath.
• Draft - to conscript (to enroll by compulsion) for military service
• Enlist - to enroll oneself in the armed forces.
• Invalid - one that is sickly or disabled.
• Militia - a part of the organized armed forces of a country liable to call only in emergency.
• Pensioner - one who receives or lives on a pension.
• Unit - a part of a military establishment that has a prescribed organization.
• Volunteer - one who enters into military service voluntarily.
• Widow - a woman who has lost her husband by death and usually has not remarried.

Beginning in April 1861, a number of Presidential proclamations were issued, calling for men to serve in the Union forces. These proclamations were met through militia activation, voluntary enlistments and draft. Note that those who were drafted could hire someone to substitute for them. Many units were mustered for 30-60-90 days or 6-9-12 months. The normal term of service was 1-3 years. Most of the soldiers served from units formed locally. Re-enlisting soldiers were not necessarily re-assigned to the same unit (or even to the same branch). They even sometimes served in units from different states.

Immediately after the war, pensions were issued only to those soldiers who were severely injured, or to widows of the war. This is typical, since immediately after a war, the funds of the country have been depleted, and there just is not enough money to pay everyone for service. As time passes, the country's coffers are replenished so there is more money available - at the same time, the number of veterans is reduced by death so the pension laws generally become more generous. A soldier (or widow) may not have been eligible under one of the early pension laws, but may have applied under a later act.

• Navy or army veterans (or widows) could be eligible for pensions under separate programs. The National Archives includes pension files for both groups. Most applications for Union veterans are available. These were submitted by:
• Survivors
• Widows
• Minor Children
• Parents

[Note: Most Confederate files are maintained in the appropriate state archives, but not as many pensions were granted, since the states did not have funds to pay them.]

• Declaration for an Original Invalid Pension (or Widow's Pension or Dependent Pension)
• Proof of service
• Proof of disability
• Proof of relationship
• Proof of need
• Proof of identity
• Periodic statements providing additional information
• Statement of termination of pension

The National Archives main facility is in Washington, DC, at 7^th & Pennsylvania Avenue NW. They are currently open Monday & Wednesday 8:45 am - 5:00 pm; Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 8:45 am - 9:00 pm; Saturday 8:45 am - 4:45 pm; Closed Sunday.

When you get there, you will be greeted by the security guards. They will ask you to sign in, check your photo ID, and examine any materials you are bringing in with you. Note that you must declare any electronic equipment (computer, telephone, etc.) to get a receipt. You will need to give them this receipt on leaving the Archives to identify your personal equipment. Don't try to bring any original documents with you, since they will need to mark them for identification and/or you won't be allowed to take them out when you leave.

Once you have signed in, you may proceed either to the Microfilm Room or the Researcher Registration Room (both on the 4^th floor). If you intend to look at Civil War records, you will need a Researcher Card, so you might as well go to the Researcher Registration first. They will again ask for a photo ID, and you will complete an application form. They will then issue a Researcher ID card. Be sure to pick up a brochure or sheet with the rules of using the National Archives.

Between the Researcher Registration and Microfilm Room, there is a table usually staffed by volunteers. They are there to assist genealogists specifically, giving suggestions on how to proceed. If you need any assistance, stop and ask them for help. There are also sheets there giving suggestions for researching various types of records, including one for researching military records. Pick one up and read it!

When you enter the Microfilm Room, you will sign in and they will assign you to a microfilm reader. Each reader has a side table, so you have plenty of room to work. You may remain at that reader all day, unless there is a waiting list. If others are waiting, you may be asked to give up your reader after 3 hours or more. It has never been that busy when I have been there, but have heard of it. When you have settled at your table, get your bearings of the records in the room. I suggest walking down the aisle in the main room and looking at the file drawer labels and books on top. You might even want to do the same in the "vault" where the balance of the microfilms are stored.

The Civil War pension indexes are microfilmed copies of index cards created for each pension file, then alphabetized. The reels for the army pension files are series T288, just inside the "vault" on the left, with each microfilm box showing the names included on that reel. Most cards will contain:

• the name of the soldier
• the name of the survivor (if applicable - not listed if the soldier survived his spouse, since no widow's pension application was filed)
• military unit(s)
• date(s) of pension application
• pension application number(s)
• pension certificate number(s), if granted

Be sure to look for siblings (or other relatives) while you're scrolling through for your soldier.

With the information from the card, you can then request the information from the original file. Complete a Request for Military Records form in the Microfilm Room (available at the desk), have it approved by a librarian, and place it in the box for the next "pull" (approximately 1 per hour). There is a limit of 4 records per person per pull. While you're there, you might want to go ahead and purchase a copier card. It's $1.00 for the card and $1.00 worth of copies. The machines take various denomination of US bills (check the messages for which ones; some don't take new $20 bills yet), and you can add to the card at any time. I suggest you just get one for $1.00 until you see how many copies you'll need.

After the scheduled pull (they will put the pull time on the form when it is approved), go to the Second Floor Reading Room. Before entering the Reading Room, get a locker and leave EVERYTHING there except your Researcher's Card and copier card. Sign in with the guard, giving your name, Researcher Card number and the time. If you have some notes/paper that you need to be able to identify your soldier/sailor, it must be stamped by the Reading Room staff upon entry to the room. Paper and pencil for notes are available in the Reading Room.

Find a table, and go to the desk to identify yourself and get your file. You will be given one file at a time. You sign the pink sheet and take the file to a table. NOW IS THE FUN PART!

Handle the file carefully. Remember that these are the ORIGINAL documents, submitted 100-150 years ago! Keep the sheets in order as you review them. When you find a sheet that you want to copy, the copier takes pre-paid cards only. The cost in the Research Room is only 10 cents per page. Everything copies on 8-1/2"x14" paper, with a notice in the corner "Reproduced at the National Archives". Read the notices on the copier, or ask for assistance from the librarian to be sure you get good copies. I suggest you also copy the green sheet for all files you review, writing notes to yourself on that copy whether you found a connection or not - if not, I suggest you make notes of what indicated a non-match (i.e., "born in VT", when all of yours are from PA; or "widow named Hilda", when you KNOW that the widow's name was Violet). That will help you document your negative searches - you don't want to request the same file again if it isn't what you want.

Once you have finished with the file, return it with the green sheet to the desk to exchange for the next file you have requested.

When you've finished in the Reading Room, you will again sign out with the guard, who will check each sheet you are taking with you, to be sure they all have the "Reproduced at the National Archives" imprint, or the stamp from when you entered the room.

In addition to the pension files, the National Archives also has

• Civil War Compiled Service Records (the index is arranged by state, then alphabetically by soldier, and is in the rack next to the pension file index). The records themselves rarely given genealogical information, but merely indicate when and where the soldier answered muster calls.
• Some Confederate Army records. Microfilm series M253.
• 1890 Veterans & Widows Census (mid-KY- WY). Microfilm series M123.
• Navy records. Microfilm series M275.
• Amnesty papers (Applications from former Confederate Soldiers for Presidential Pardons, 1865-1867). Microfilm series M1003.
• Burial records or applications for headstones. Microfilm series M1780.

• GAR Records
• Biographies of fellow soldiers
• U.S. Army Military History Institute (Carlisle Barracks, PA)
• Veterans Home Records (usually found in the state where located)

You can get the most value from the Civil War pension files by visiting the main National Archives in person. No stranger can know your soldier as well as you, so you should be able to identify him more readily. You can look for possible (or known) relatives while reviewing the index. You can look through the entire file, not just the pages selected as "most relevant" by the NARA staff (although my experience has been that they usually did select the most genealogically relevant pages .... But they missed some "good stuff" too). And best of all, you can follow up on leads you find in the file referring to other soldiers.

While you're going through the file, be alert for opportunities to increase your knowledge of the family. Specifically, watch for:

• References to siblings and other relatives. Often the depositions in the file will be signed by relatives (I've found mothers, brothers, in-laws, cousins, and children signing depositions for the soldier or widow).
• How the family lived. Often depositions will make reference to the financial condition of the family, living conditions, work (or lack thereof), and health of the soldier. These pieces help to "flesh out" the family in a very real way.
• Personal information. The soldier generally had to give at least date and place of birth. If the pension was requested by a widow, parent or child, they had to state date and place of birth, and prove relationship to the soldier. Those documents can be priceless (since some of the proofs are not available in any other form).
• Medical Information. Since nearly all pensions were based on disability, the files are quite detailed in their descriptions of the physical condition of the soldier. You find out what the injury or illness was, and in most cases see it develop over the years.
• List of residences. In the "follow-up" forms required of the pensioner, they were asked for all residences since enlistment. In addition, every deposition asks the date, residence, and age of the deposer.
• And if you're really lucky, there might be something wonderful in the file .... Like the one I found with a photograph of the soldier. He had lost an arm at age 17 - thirty years later he grew tired of explaining every few months that he still did not have an arm, so he sent a photograph in lieu of his 6-month physical .... After that his physicals were every 2 years.

• American Civil War Homepage. Major links to Civil War resources - no pension links however. http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/warweb.html
• American Civil War Research Database. Fee based. http://www.civilwardata.com/
• Beers, Henry Putney. Guide to Federal Archives of the government of the Confederate States of America. The National Archives. National Archives and Records Service. General Services Administration. National Archives Publication 68-15. (Washington: 1968)
• Carter, Fran. Searching American Military Records. Bountiful, UT: Heritage Quest, 1999.
• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System ^RN The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System is a database containing facts about servicemen who served on both sides during the Civil War. http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/
• Cyndi's List links for U.S. Civil War/War for Southern Independence. http://www.cyndislist.com/cw.htm#Pension
• Genealogy and the American Civil War. Includes Pension information. http://www.outfitters.com/illinois/history/civil/cwgeneal.html#pension
• Lott Pension. Good Samples of Forms found in Pension files. http://www.premiernet.net/%7Eccarley/PENSION4.htm
• Munden, Kenneth W. and Henry Putney Beers. Guide to Federal Archives Relating to the Civil War. The National Archives. National Archives and Records Service. General Services Administration. National Archives Publication 63-1. (Washington: 1962)
• National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.nara.gov/
• Neagles, James C. U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1994.
• Neagles, James C. Confederate Research Sources: A Guide to Archive Collections. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1986.
• Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Revised Edition. Salt Lake City: Ancestry Incorporated, 1997.
• The Institute For Civil War Research is dedicated to researching the history of small units during the American Civil War. http://members.aol.com/Icwrjohn/icwr.html
• US GenWeb Archives Pension Project. This project will endeavor to provide actual transcriptions of Pension related materials for all Wars prior to 1900. Transcripts, extracts and abstracts will be accepted and files will be placed in the USGenWeb Archives directory of the State and County of principal residence of the Pensioner. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/pensions/civilwar/
• Washington College - The American Civil War. http://www.janke.washcoll.edu/civilwar/civilwar.htm
• And check the catalog for presentations made at various genealogical conferences, available on cassette from Repeat Performance at http:/www.repeatperformance.com/

I am always interested to hear from readers, so if you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please email me at: talkgenealogy@aol.com. Stop by next month for more Pilgrims, Pioneers & Aliens! Happy Hunting!

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