Research: Topics: Military: Civil War Database
Origin of the Civil War Soldiers Database
In 1893 the State Legislature appropriated $25,000 to transcribe and publish the military service records of New York State Volunteers who served during the Civil War.
- The abstracts were compiled from original military service records held by the Adjutant General's Office and the United States War Department
- This task was undertaken in 1893 and completed in 1906.
- They were published, 1893-1905, as supplements to the annual reports issued by the Adjutant General's Office for those years.
- The transcriptions do not contain all of the information that is frequently provided in the original muster roll abstracts (e.g. physical description, occupation, etc).
- The original muster roll abstracts are now in the custody of the New York State Archives.
- Microfilm of all of the volumes pertaining to volunteers, sharpshooters, and colored troops is available for either purchase or inter-library loan.
During the early part of the 20th century, the New York State Adjutant General's Office produced the seventeen-volume name index to the abstracts.
- This index was compiled to facilitate access to the Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts of New York State Volunteers, United States Sharpshooters, and United States Colored Troops, 1861-1865
- It did not include the names of those men who served in the United States Colored Troops.
The Civil War Soldiers Database
- The vast majority of names populating the Civil War Soldiers Database were obtained from the seventeen-volume unpublished name index produced by the New York State Adjutant General's Office
- State Archives staff added to the database the names of the men who served in the United States Colored Troops from the original Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts
- Evolving the index into a database has added the capacity to search by unit as well as by name.
- In November 2002, a web accessible version of the Civil War Soldiers Database was made available to the public