How to Find Enlistment Documents From the Civil War
Enlistment documents for soldiers who fought in the U.S. Civil War (1861-65), are among the 6 million military records held in the National Archives in Washington. The collection includes all original service records and other information for each of the Civil War's nearly 3 million soldiers. Online genealogy services now go even further, combining these Federal records with State, local and regimental records. The Civil War researcher can now find dozens of records pertaining to Civil War enlistment, including information about where the soldier served, battles fought, rank, and the time and conditions of discharge or death.
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Instructions
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Study family records and follow the family line back as far as you can, Determine all alternate surname spellings used by the family, the soldier's complete name, birthdate and birthplace. The research can be conducted online or at historical societies, public records depositories and libraries.
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Look at the United States Census of 1850, the first to record all family members by name, to verify the information you have. Pay close attention to the ages of the males in the family to determine which of them may have been old or young enough to enlist.
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Check the 1860 census, family records or public records to determine where the soldier lived during the war years (1861 to 1865). If he was enlistment age by 1860 he may have already been a head of household or was living in another household as a boarder or farm laborer.
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Access military records through an online genealogy service like Ancestry.com. These may or may not include enlistment records but will help you narrow your search and flesh out details that could cut the cost of data compilation.
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Request enlistment records from the National Archives. The specific file you want is the Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR).
Request a form called NATF Form 86 to get your CMSR. File one form for each soldier you are researching. Paper copies of the Civil War military service records will be sent to you. Obtain the NATF Form 86 at archives.gov/contact/inquire-form.html or by writing to: National Archives and Records Administration, Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20408
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Tips & Warnings
A $25 charge is assessed for each paper record CMSR sent to you. The War Department compiled the CMSRs to expedite pension administration. The research was rigidly thorough and includes information from regimental returns, books, hospital rolls, and other records copied verbatim onto cards. The CMSR will verify the soldier's enlistment date and may include copies of the original enlistment papers, prisoner of war capture and release or death information.
Some soldiers enlisted under aliases or lied about their ages. Be prepared to discover that your soldier may have fought on either side of the war and enlisted under a first or middle name. A cousin, nephew or young uncle may have had the same first name and also enlisted. The soldier may not have enlisted in the state where he was born and he may have had more than one enlistment.
