American military history in Virginia began with the establishment of the colonial militia early in the seventeenth century, primarily to fight against attacks from native inhabitants. Service records of Virginia soldiers in the colonial wars (1622–1763) offer more historical than genealogical information and usually provide only the name of the soldier and the unit in which he served. The records consist primarily of rosters, rolls, and lists that survived the wars and several fires and are helpful in placing someone in a particular place at a given time. Most of these rosters and rolls have been published and can be found in genealogical libraries throughout the nation.
Below is a list of online resources for Virginia in the Colonial Wars. Email us with websites containing information on Virginia in the Colonial Wars by clicking the link below:
Virginia Colonial Militia, 1651-1776: One of the largest colonies in British North America, Virginia fielded a militia that included such prominent individuals as George Washington and William Byrd. This database is a collection of pension records for militia members between 1651 and 1776. In addition to providing the soldier's name, the date of pension, and court awarding the bounty is often given. In many entries rank, unit information, and commanding officers' names are included. It contains the names of over 4,000 men. For those researchers of early Virginian ancestors, this can be a useful source of military service information.
Some of the original service records for the Revolutionary
War were destroyed by fire. Those remaining are on file at the
National Archives, compiled primarily from rosters and rolls
of soldiers serving in Virginia's militia units, with additions
from correspondence and field reports of military officers.
However, there is no comprehensive list of Virginia veterans
of this war. Some published indexes exist. A card index of Virginia
soldiers is available only at the National Archives and is not
on microfilm.
Bounty-land warrants were issued to Virginia soldiers
for their war service. After the war, soldiers who served in
the Virginia State Line or Continental Line applied for a warrant
and, when approved, received a certificate to be exchanged for
a warrant. The land to be issued was located in Kentucky and
the Virginia Military District of Ohio. In the case of deceased
soldiers, their heirs made application. Kentucky land was occupied
first, then land was granted in Ohio after 1792.
The Library of Virginia and the FHL have microfilmed copies of applications for Virginia bounty-land
warrants.
Virginia Revolutionary War Records
Virginia played a pivotal role in the struggle for American independence from Great Britain, 1775–1783. Virginia
troops were engaged from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and many citizens provided some
form of military or public service. The records of service are numerous, varied and sometimes complex. Most
records contain little information about the person’s service and seldom contain genealogical data. There are
existing records of Virginia Continental Line troops, the Virginia State Line, the Virginia State Navy, county
militia, various independent units, and public service claims. Other important records include benefits in the
form of land and pensions given by the Virginia and federal governments to veterans and their heirs.
There is no central source or index for Virginia Revolutionary War records, but rather a wide array of records,
all of which should be examined. Records exist in a variety of formats, usually microfilm or photostats of original
documents, as well as printed material. Soldiers may have served in more than one unit and may appear
in several records of service and benefits. Men with common names are easily confused with one another
since most records contain little identifying data. A related problem is the variant spelling of surnames. A number
of state and county records of that era no longer exist, and not everyone in Virginia was sympathetic to
the revolutionary cause. The Library of Virginia is fortunate to hold many of those records which do survive
and a close study of them by researchers is advised. Searchable databases on the Library’s Web site index
selected Revolutionary War records, including bounty warrants, land office military certificates, pensions,
public service claims, and rejected claims. Digital images are also available for bounty warrants, pensions,
and rejected claims.
Service Records
Records of Virginia Revolutionary War military service begin in 1775 when the first Virginia revolutionary
government began to raise troops and make payments for expenses. An excellent source for these and other
early records is William J. Van Schreeven, Robert J. Scribner and J. Brent Tarter, eds., Revolutionary Virginia
and the Road to Revolution: 1763–1776 (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1973–1983, 7 vols.)
By 1777 Virginia had raised 15 regiments of infantry for service under Continental Congress authority, commonly
known as the Virginia Continental Line. Many Virginians also served in continental regiments of
artillery, cavalry, and other independent infantry units. These regiments were rearranged several times during
the war and many soldiers served in more than one unit. Troops were also recruited to serve within the
state under General Assembly authority and were known as the Virginia State Line. These included infantry
units raised for special purposes such as guarding prisoners and the Illinois Regiment of George Rogers Clark.
The organization and service of these and other Virginia units including the State Navy are detailed in E.M.
Sanchez-Saavedra, A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations in the American Revolution: 1776–1783 (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1978). Records of service with George Rogers Clark are found in Margery
Harding, George Rogers Clark and His Men, Military Records 1778–1784 (Frankfort: Kentucky Historical
Society, 1981) and in the George Rogers Clark Papers, indexed microfilm of vouchers and receipts held by
the Library of Virginia. A source for the Virginia State Navy is Robert A. Stewart, Virginia’s Navy in the
Revolution (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1993). Some free African-Americans served in
these units, and Luther P. Jackson, Virginia Negro Soldiers and Seamen in the Revolutionary War (Norfolk:
Guide Quality Press, 1944) is the best source for this service.
Virginia also organized county militia companies. All free white males aged 16 to 50 were required to serve
in a militia company unless exempted. Unfortunately few records of such service exist. Scattered pay records,
recommendations and appointments of officers, and some militia fines have survived. Many post-1832 federal
pensions also record militia service. A useful source is J.T. McAllister, Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary
War (Bowie: Heritage Books, 1989).
Three important indexes for Virginia Revolutionary War service are Hamilton J. Eckenrode, Virginia Soldiers
in the American Revolution (Richmond: Virginia State Library and Archives, 1989, 2 vols.), John H.
Gwathmey, Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution, 1775–1783 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing
Co., 1979), and Gaius M. Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records. Volume I, Virginia (Baltimore:
Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967). These volumes index records of individual service in Virginia units
held by the Library of Virginia and the National Archives, including some militia service. Records cited are
usually pay accounts, muster rolls, or records related to postwar benefits of land and pensions. Multiple
records are often listed for the same individual. Researchers are cautioned that service records of different individuals
bearing the same name may be indexed together because it was not possible to further identify them.
The National Archives in Washington, D.C. holds many records of Continental Line service by Virginians
and soldiers from other states. These are fully indexed in Index to Revolutionary War Service Records (Waynesboro:
National Genealogical Publishing Co., 1995, 4 vols.). The Library of Virginia holds some of these
records on microfilm. The most important are the Compiled Service Records of Virginia Soldiers Who Served
in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, 192 reels, NARA Revolutionary War Service Records
Index, 58 reels, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775–1783, 138 reels, and various compiled service records of Continental
cavalry, artillery, infantry, and naval personnel. The records typically may show enlistment, muster,
pay, furlough, discharge, capture, sickness, and death. They seldom contain personal or genealogical data.
These reels in the collection are only for reference use. Requests for copies should be directed to the National
Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. 20408 (www.archives.gov).
Benefits Records:
Benefits in the form of bounty land and pensions were offered by Virginia to induce men to enlist in the Continental
or State Line. Beginning in 1790, the new United States government also began to grant pensions
and bounty land. These records can be valuable to researchers as they may contain personal and service
information about the veteran and identify his heirs.
Bounty Land:
Virginia awarded bounty land to soldiers who served for at least three years in the Continental Line, the State
Line and the State Navy, died in service, or enlisted for the war. Heirs could apply if the soldier had died.
The process was lengthy. In many cases land speculators obtained the right to the land from the veteran or his
heirs. Proof of service had to first be submitted to the state. Once this was approved the governor issued a
land office military certificate. The amount of land awarded was based on the rank of the soldier and the
amount of time served. Virginia kept no record of the next two steps in the process, which was to have the land
surveyed, followed by the issuance of a grant.
All Virginia bounty land was in Ohio or Kentucky and records of the surveys and grants are held by the Secretary
of State’s Land Office Division, Room T40 Capitol Annex, Frankfort, KY 40601
(http://sos.ky.gov/land/military) and the Ohio Historical Society, 1982 Velma Ave., Columbus, OH 43211
(http://www.ohiohistory.org/resource/archlib). Bounty warrants and rejected claims (rejected for insufficient service
or other reasons) are available on the Library’s Web site and on microfilm. Land office military certificates
are available on microfilm and there is an online index. A card index to these records is located in the West Reading
Room. The United States government also awarded bounty land and all records pertaining to it are held
by the National Archives and the state(s) where the land was located.
Useful sources relating to bounty land are Lloyd D. Bockstruck, Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants: Awarded
by State Governments (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1996), Samuel M. Wilson, Virginia Land
Bounty Warrants (Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1953), Louis A. Burgess, Virginia Soldiers of 1776 (Spartanburg:
The Reprint Co., 1973), William L. Hopkins, Virginia Revolutionary War Land Grant Claims, 1783–1850
(Rejected) (Richmond: 1988), Margie G. Brown, Genealogical Abstracts Revolutionary War Veterans Scrip Act of
1851 (Lovettsville: Willow Bend Books, 1997), and Clifford Neal Smith, Federal Land Series (Chicago: American
Library Association, 1972–1982).
Virginia Pensions:
Beginning in 1775 the Virginia General Assembly passed several laws to increase military enlistment. These laws
provided for pensions for maimed and disabled soldiers or their widows. Surviving state pensions usually
include proof of service, the nature of the disability, records of payment and receipt of the pension, and statements
of disability from the local court. In most cases the General Assembly was petitioned to pass an act
granting a pension. Search the legislative petitions database on the Library’s Web site for references to these pensions.
The Virginia pensions are available on microfilm at the Library.
Federal Pensions:
Federal pensions were granted by Congress under a number of acts beginning in 1789 and continuing until
1878. The earliest acts applied mainly to disabled Continental soldiers or their widows. Beginning in 1818 pensions
were granted for service only, and soldiers who served in the militia were eligible beginning in 1832.
Papers relating to pension applications prior to 1818 were destroyed, but many exist for later years.
Federal pension records can provide much information about the soldier’s service and life, and the files often
contain statements made by the veteran, his widow, relatives, or neighbors. The data can include his military
unit, rank and period of service, place and date of birth, residence before and after the war, names and ages of
family members, bible records, and list of possessions. The widow’s application usually contains place of marriage
and maiden name. The Library of Virginia holds copies of these records on microfilm. Photocopies must
be obtained from the National Archives.
Below is a list of online resources for Virginia in the Revolutionary War. Email us with websites containing information on Virginia in the Revolutionary War by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War: This database includes the summary of the Militia's military movements arranged by counties, declarations of Virginia Militia Pensioners, Militia officers appointed in various counties, and pensioners residing in and outside of Virginia in 1835 who received pensions as Virginia militiamen. This record is an attempt to present a bird's-eye view of the field movements of the Revolution, which concern Virginia.
Virginia Navy in the Revolution: This database is a history of Virginia's Navy of the Revolution, which was the largest of all the State navies. It presents individuals who played significant roles in this organization, as well as the achievements and failures of the Navy. Sources for this work include the Journal and the Letter Book of the Virginia Naval Board, Revolutionary pension claim papers, and other documents concerning the Virginia Navy.
Virginia Revolutionary War Records: This database represents a variety of records of Virginia's army and navy forces in the Revolutionary War. The lists include names of officers, seamen, marines, and soldiers; service rendered; and compensation, if any. Material was obtained from Federal and State archives. Also included are extensive lists of Bounty Land Warrants issued by Virginia, indicating many thousands of the Revolutionary war soldiers, sailors and marines, and their heirs.
Virginia Soldiers of 1776, Vol. 1: Published in 1927, this important reference work identifies many military men serving from Virginia in the Revolutionary War. Information about each soldier has been compiled from documents on file in the Virginia Land Office, or from material in the Archives Dept. of the Virginia State Library. Entries often contain information about heirs, spouses, witnesses, and other people as are associated with the proceedings of probate and other legal processes.
Revolutionary War Land Office Military Certificates - land Office Military Certificates are printed forms on which the names of Revolutionary War officers, soldiers and sailors are filled in as well as the details of their service in the State or Continental line.
Revolutionary War Virginia State Pensions - index to and scanned images of the surviving records that veterans and their widows presented to the county courts to certify their eligibility for pension.
Revolutionary War Rejected Claims - index and images of the documents of applicants who had military service of insufficient length to qualify for the bounty land requested.
In his reminiscences, Captain Henry Brush described with precision what newly enlisted recruits wore during the War of 1812. Soldiers were outfitted for service in unbleached, tow-linen hunting shirts and trousers. On their heads they wore low-crown hats, on the left side of which were black cockades about two inches in diameter. A small silver eagle (about the size of a quarter) was fastened in the center of each cockade. Each soldier strapped a leather girdle around his waist, where he carried a tomahawk, a knife, a cartridge box, a bayonet, and a quart-sized tin canteen. He was armed with a musket and shouldered a linen knapsack with a blanket lashed to the top. Both were covered with oilcloth to protect them from wet weather. A soldier’s arms and pack together weighed about thirty-five pounds, and troops traveled an average of twenty-five miles a day on foot. Writing home to his wife, one soldier confessed: “My limbs were so stiff and sore at the end of each day’s march that I could hardly walk.”
In response to complaints from militia officers about their bedraggled troops, Virginia governor James Barbour outlined new uniform requirements in January 1812. General officers, artillery, light artillery, and grenadiers stood out in cockaded hats, white cuffs, and epaulets. Cavalrymen wore distinctive black leather caps dressed on the crown with bearskin and a red and white plume. Riflemen wore purple linen hunting shirts and leather moccasins, while the main body of the militia donned blue hunting shirts festively trimmed with red fringe. Despite the governor’s official proclamation, any soldiers who had provided themselves with uniforms different from those specified in the regulations could wear them for six months, and many probably went to war in the everyday clothing in which they had enlisted.
Virginia soldiers and sailors found themselves in the field as the result of international politics. Through the early decades of the nation’s history, relations between the United States and Great Britain remained strained. The relationship deteriorated sharply with the outbreak of war in Europe in 1803, when Britain imposed a blockade on neutral countries, including the United States. In addition, the British seized sailors from American ships and impressed them into the British navy. In Congress, southern and western War Hawks, such as the new Speaker of the House, Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and Representative John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, led the sentiment for war, calling for defense of American interests and honor. On 1 June 1812, President James Madison asked for a declaration of war. Shortly afterward, Congress approved the declaration (despite the opposition of every Federalist member), and the United States was fighting a war with the motto “Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights.”
In Virginia, the British responded by blockading the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and raiding coastal settlements. In mid-June 1813, the British attempted to capture Norfolk, but were repulsed by militia stationed on Craney Island. A week later, however, the British captured and sacked the nearby city of Hampton. Although actual encounters were few, the threat of attack kept militia in the field throughout the war, which ended when the Treaty of Ghent was signed on 24 December 1814.
Information included in service records for the War of
1812 is similar to that in the same records of soldiers in the
colonial wars and the Revolutionary War. Muster rolls, pay rolls,
and an index of the Virginia militia in the War of 1812 are
included in a card index at The Library of Virginia (also on
microfilm at the FHL).
Only the National Archives has copies of original pension and
bounty-land warrant applications for the War of 1812. Researchers
can use microfilmed indexes at the National Archives or the FHL.
Below is a list of online resources for Virginia in the War of 1812. Email us with websites containing information on Virginia in the War of 1812 by clicking the link below:
Index to War of 1812 Pay Rolls and Muster Rolls - a fully-searchable personal name index to Pay Rolls of Militia Entitled to Land Bounty Under the Act of Congress of Sept. 28, 1850 and its supplement, Muster Rolls of the Virginia Militia in the War of 1812. Approximately 40,000 names are indexed.
When the Confederate government evacuated Richmond in
April 1865, the adjutant and inspector general, Samuel Cooper,
took the centralized military personnel records of the Confederate
Army to Charlotte, North Carolina. When the Confederate civil
authorities left Charlotte after agreeing to an armistice between
the armies in North Carolina, President Jefferson Davis instructed
Cooper to turn the records over, if necessary, to “the
enemy, as essential to the history of the struggle.” After
the armistice, when Union General Joseph E. Johnston learned
that the records were at Charlotte, he turned them over to the
Union Commander in North Carolina.
These military personnel records were taken to Washington
along with other Confederate records captured by the Union Army
and were preserved by the War Department. Between 1878 and 1901,
the War Department employed a former Confederate general, Marcus
J. Wright, to locate missing Confederate records and borrow
them for copying if the possessors did not wish to donate them
to the War Department. In 1903 Secretary of War Elihu Root persuaded
the governors of most of the southern states to lend to the
War Department all Confederate military personnel records still
in their possession for copying.
The material gathered became the source for the Compiled
Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations
From the State of Virginia (similar records are available for
all Confederate and border states). The records are indexed
in Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederated Soldiers
Who Served in Organizations From the State of Virginia. These
National Archives microfilm series are available at The Library of Virginia and the FHL.
Virginia offered pensions to her Confederate veterans in 1888;
further pension acts passed in 1900 and 1902. The applications
have been microfilmed and may be examined at The Library of Virginia in the near future. A “Confederate Pension Index”
was microfilmed and is available in the microfilm area of the
Archives Branch, The Library of Virginia.
Using Virginia Civil War Records:
The ordinance of secession adopted by the Virginia State Convention in Richmond on 17 April 1861 was the
result of the failure of all political efforts to avert civil war. Virginia joined an increasing list of southern states dissatisfied
with further participation in the Union. The seceding states chose, rather, to form a confederation of
states in order to maintain the southern political and social order. The great debates over popular sovereignty and
states’ rights ended. These issues were settled by a clash of arms.
The convention realized the consequences of secession and so instructed Governor John Letcher to make preparations
to defend the state from probable attack. The total armed militia force throughout the state by 21 April 1861
numbered 12,050 troops. By January 1864, the most reliable statistics available reveal that over 153,000 Virginians
had served in the state’s military forces. The Old Dominion, however, was far from fully prepared for war.
Virginia became the battleground for twenty-six major engagements and over four hundred smaller clashes. Ultimately,
more men fought and died in Virginia than in any other state. The legacy of each soldier’s service remains
within the surviving written record. Researchers using Virginia Civil War records should examine a variety of
materials in order to chronicle a soldier’s military experience.
Service Records:
At the end of the Civil War in 1865, the Union armies confiscated most surviving Confederate War Department
records. Records pertaining to service in Virginia Confederate as well as Union military units were later abstracted
by the U. S. War Department. Researchers should first consult these Compiled Military Service Records (CMSR).
Each volunteer soldier has one CMSR for each regiment in which he served. This record contains basic information
about the soldier’s military career, including when a soldier was present or absent, dates of enlistment and discharge,
wounds received or hospitalization for illness, and dates of capture and release as a prisoner of war. Records
relating to Confederate soldiers are typically less complete than those relating to Union soldiers because many
Confederate records were destroyed. The CMSR rarely indicates the battles in which a soldier fought, nor will it
contain any genealogical information. It may, however, provide a soldier’s physical description at the time of his
enlistment. There are no CMSRs for either Union or Confederate naval personnel.
The National Archives in Washington, D.C., preserves the original service records created for Union and Confederate
soldiers from each state. The Library of Virginia has microfilm copies of the following service records for reference
use: Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Virginia; Compiled
Service Records of Confederate General and Staff Officers and Non-Regimental Enlisted Men; Compiled Service
Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations Raised Directly by the Confederate Government;
Compiled Records Showing Service of Virginia Military Units in Confederate Organizations; Compiled Service
Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Virginia. Requests for copies
should be directed to the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. 20408.
The following publications serve as a convenient index to records found in the Compiled Service Records: The Roster
of Confederate Soldiers, 1861–1865, an alphabetical list of every Confederate soldier with a CMSR at the National
Archives, and The Roster of Union Soldiers, 1861–1865, an alphabetical list of every Union soldier with a CMSR
at the National Archives. Volume twenty-three of this series contains a listing of those Union soldiers who served from
both Virginia and West Virginia.
Confederate Rosters:
Interest in memorializing Confederate veterans prompted the General Assembly to pass an act on 13 March 1884
directing the adjutant general to compile a roster of all those who served from Virginia in the Confederate armed
forces. It was not until 1904 that the project began, after the passage by Congress of an act in 1903 providing for
the assembling of muster rolls for all the Confederate states. Virginia created the Office of the Secretary of Virginia
Military Records in 1904 to begin this task. The Department of Confederate Military Records was formed by an act
of the General Assembly on 12 March 1912. This act abolished the Office of the Secretary of Virginia Military
Records. The new Department of Confederate Military Records continued the work of assembling muster rolls and
other documents related to Virginians in the Civil War.
Twenty volumes contain an unofficial roster of soldiers from Virginia who served in the Confederate military forces.
These rosters represent the accumulated work of the Department of Confederate Military Records and its predecessor
between 1904 and 1918. The rosters are organized by regiment and the soldiers are listed alphabetically according
to rank. The rosters provide the soldier’s name, rank, date of enlistment or commission, and sometimes include
additional remarks. Individual entries give minimal (if any) personal or military service information. The rosters are
indexed and available on microfilm. A searchable database is also available on the Library’s Web site. A researcher
should consult the Compiled Military Service Records for more detailed information on military service.
The papers of Virginia’s Department of Confederate Military Records, which collected and compiled unit rosters and
other lists of Virginia soldiers under the direction of Colonel Joseph V. Bidgood, are assembled in the Department
of Military Affairs (Accession 27684). This extensive collection of manuscript materials was created to replace lost
information resulting from the destruction of original unit rolls. It is composed of wartime documents, letters, memoirs,
and published regimental histories produced in the early twentieth century in response to pleas for information.
Unit records represent the largest segment, which are arranged first by branch of service and then by regiment.
Confederate Pensions:
Financial assistance for Confederate veterans and their families was provided when the General Assembly passed
Confederate pension acts in 1888, 1900, and 1902, followed by a series of supplementary acts through 1934. The
initial act provided pensions to Confederate soldiers, sailors, and marines disabled in action and to the widows of those
killed in action. Subsequent acts broadened the coverage to include all veterans, their widows, and their unmarried
or widowed daughters and sisters. The acts required that applicants be residents of Virginia. Later legislation also
included veterans or their survivors residing in the District of Columbia.
This collection consists of pension applications and amended applications filed by resident Virginia Confederate
veterans and their widows. The applications contain statements pertaining to the service record of the applicants
and may include medical evaluations, information about the income and property of the veterans or their widows,
and, in the case of widows, the date and place of marriages. The collection also includes claims submitted by more
than five hundred African Americans who had worked as cooks, herdsmen, laborers, servants, or teamsters in the Confederate
army.
The applications are indexed and are available on microfilm. (Pension applications filed by veterans’ sisters and
daughters are not indexed.) The microfilm is arranged first by pension act, then alphabetically by the applicant’s
county or city of residence, and thereunder by name of applicant. A searchable database linked to digital images is
also available on the Library’s Web site.
The General Assembly passed an act on 10 March 1914 providing additional money for the relief of needy Confederate
women who were not already on the pension rolls. Applications were made to the Relief Committee of the
Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which certified the applications, ascertained the payment
amount, and then forwarded the applications to the pension clerk at the Department of Accounts. A warrant
was then issued to the Treasury for payment to the beneficiary. Applications for relief include the name, address,
and condition or need of each beneficiary, along with her relationship to and service of a Confederate soldier relative.
Microfilm copies of these pension applications for the relief of needy Confederate women (1915–1967) are
found on miscellaneous reels 2178–2205.
Confederate Disability Applications:
The General Assembly enacted legislation, effective in 1867 and ending in 1894, to provide artificial limbs and other
disability benefits to Virginia’s Civil War veterans. To coordinate the program, and oversee the distribution of aid, the
General Assembly established the Board of Commissioners on Artificial Limbs. Injured soldiers submitted certificates
from their county court stating that they were Virginia citizens, that they had lost a limb or had been otherwise disabled
in the war, and the nature of assistance needed. The veterans listed the unit in which they served; included information
on when, where, and how they were wounded; and provided details about their medical history. The disability
benefit provided by the state was a one-time commutation payment of sixty dollars.
The applications are indexed and available on microfilm. The microfilm is arranged by date of the act, then alphabetically
by name of applicant. An online database to the disability applications is also provided on the Library’s
Web site, which is searchable by both the Confederate veterans’ name and place of residence (city or county). In
addition, each entry contains links to digital images of the disability application, including supporting affidavits and
receipts for payments issued.
Other Records:
The Robert E. Lee Camp Soldiers’ Home was established on 18 April 1883 as a benevolent society to aid hundreds of
needy Confederate veterans. The home opened on 1 January 1885. It was located at the corner of Grove Avenue and
the Boulevard in Richmond. Eventually plagued by financial difficulties, the home sought money from the state in
exchange for the deed to the property. Under the direction of the Department of Public Welfare it remained open until
the death of the last resident in 1941. R. E. Lee Camp Soldier’s Home applications for admission are on microfilm and
arranged alphabetically by the name of the applicant. A searchable database is also available on the Library’s Web site.
Below is a list of online resources for Virginia in the Civil War. Email us with websites containing information on Virginia in the Civil War by clicking the link below:
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Index to Virginia Confederate Rosters - unofficial roster of soldiers from Virginia who served in the army of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War compiled between 1904 and 1918.
Confederate Navy Index - searchable index created from a card file compiled primarily in 1924 as part of the United Confederate Veterans project to document Virginians' service during the Civil War.
Index to Confederate Veteran Magazine - A fully-searchable index to the personal names of Confederate soldiers as they appear in the Confederate Veteran magazine published between 1893 and 1932.
Confederate Pension Rolls, Veterans and Widows - searchable database of pension applications and amended applications filed by resident Virginia Confederate veterans and their widows. See also Card Index below - it may contain different information.
Military and pension records are among the most useful sources available to genealogists because of the detail they offer. These records are important because they may provide an ancestor’s date of birth, place of residence, the names and addresses of family members, and other details that can round out a picture of his or her life. Judith Prowse Reid,
Head, Local History and Genealogy, Library of Congress
Military records have originated at the federal, state, and local levels. Whether created in time of war or in time of peace, these records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served in the military forces of the United States. Almost every American family, in one generation or another, has seen one or more of its members serve in America’s armed forces. From regimental histories, which provide blow-by-blow accounts of a unit’s participation in military actions, to the personal details contained in the service and pension files of individual men and women, military records provide valuable information concerning a large and significant portion of the American population. And because military records have been preserved and made available at and through a number of research institutions, much information awaits the well-prepared researcher.
How to Find Military Records
To locate military records for any individual, it is essential to know when and where in the armed forces he or she served and whether that person served in the enlisted ranks or was an officer. (If you don’t have that identifying information, some potential solutions are discussed below.)
As in any research project, it is important to study carefully whatever is already known about the subject of interest. Families and communities frequently pass down stories of military heroes from generation to generation. In most cases, these stories retain some fact, but, with the passage of years and in the process of retelling, accuracy fades. At any rate, family stories should not be overlooked for clues at the start of a military search.
When and where did the individual live? Did the family keep evidence of military service? Certificates, letters, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, photographs, medals, swords, and other memorabilia kept in private collections may provide the basic facts needed to begin searching in military record collections.
Military Time Lines
Creating a historical time line can be especially useful for determining if and when the subject might have served in the military. By compiling a chronological list of the known dates and places of residence of an individual from birth through adulthood, it is frequently easy to discover the possibility of military service. Was the individual the right age to be eligible for the draft or to serve voluntarily in the Civil War? Is it likely that the person served on the Northern rather than the Southern side, or vice versa? For records from the colonial period to more recent military engagements, the place of residence is key to finding an individual’s records.
Evidence of Military Service in Hometown Records
There are a number of public records that are potentially valuable in discovering the military history of a veteran. It has been a long-standing American tradition to foster patriotism by honoring local sons and daughters who have defended the ideals of their country. Hometown military heroes are frequently noted on public monuments, and local newspaper files may yield surprisingly detailed accounts of a community’s well-known and less-famous military personnel.
Military History
Commercial enterprises and historically oriented groups and institutions have regularly published local histories. As a rule, these histories will include glowing accounts of the area’s involvement in military activities. Some volumes provide biographical sketches of military leaders, while others attempt to list all of the community’s participants in various military conflicts. Locally focused histories have been published at various times for virtually every state and county in the United States. Do not overlook them as an important research aid. P. William Filby’s A Bibliography of American County Histories is a list of five thousand such sources.
In addition to the standard histories, local public libraries and historical societies usually preserve and make available other types of publications that document the military history of the geographical areas they serve. Historical agencies collect biographies, letters, diaries, journals, and all sorts of memorabilia from military units and servicemen and -women. The personal accounts found in some collections are a fascinating means of stepping back in time. Firsthand accounts afford a better understanding of the day-to-day drudgery, loneliness, fears, and satisfactions of military life.
Evidence of Military Service in Cemeteries
Cemeteries provide yet another local source of information regarding individuals who served in the armed forces. Almost every cemetery in the United States contains some evidence of military events and veterans. Cemetery records and grave markers frequently identify military dead by name, rank, and unit designation. If a man or woman died elsewhere while in the service, the body was frequently brought home for burial; cemetery records often note the place and date of death.
Evidence of Military Service in Court Records
Court records are yet another potential source for identifying those who served in the military. Most counties formally recorded and indexed the names of their citizens who were discharged from the military. In some local courts, “military discharges” will be found indexed separately, and in others the military records may be oddly interspersed with deeds, naturalizations, or other categories of documents. The contents of military records may vary greatly from one courthouse to another. Some will provide biographical information, while others may simply list names and the event or names and date of certificate issue.
Military Records in the National Archives
Federal military documents that have been classified as archival material are in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration. Not all records created by military agencies are judged to be permanently valuable. Generally, only records of historical or administrative importance are kept.
A wonderful array of federal military records are available in major libraries and archives and through microfilm rental programs. (Heritage Quest, a division of AGLL, Inc., PO Box 329, Bountiful, UT 84011-0329, is a source of rental microfilms.) With sufficient identifying information, you may request a search of the registers of enlistments or the compiled military service records. The minimum information required for a search is (1) the soldier’s full name, (2) the war in which he or she served or period of service, and (3) the state from which he or she served. For the Civil War, you must also indicate whether the person served in Union or Confederate forces. A separate copy of the form must be used for military service, pension, and bounty-land warrant applications. Submit requests for information about individuals who served in the military before World War I on NATF form 80 (Order for Copies of Veterans Records). Write to the National Archives and Records Administration, General Reference Branch, Washington, DC 20408 to obtain copies of NATF form 80. Always ask for “all records” for an individual.
Make requests for information about U.S. Army officers separated from the service after 1912 on standard form 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records) and send it to the Military Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132.
U.S. Military Records
By far the most comprehensive study of military records and how to use them is found in James C. Neagles’s U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Neagles’s guide addresses primary and secondary military sources and accessibility, including the following information-rich sources:
Records of state militias and the National Guard
Records of the army, navy, and other branches of the U.S. military
Records of the military academies
Post-service records
Pensions
Bounty-land grants
Bonuses and family assistance
Soldier’s homes
Military burials
Military installations
Censuses of veterans
Conscription
Civilian affairs
