Virginia in the Civil War: Difference between revisions

[[Image:{{AppomattoxCentennialStamp}}]]  

Virginia was a prominent part of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Many of the battles fought during the war were fought on Virginian land. The first and last significant battles were held in Virginia, and the men that Virginina supplied for the fight were men from all economic and social levels, both slaveholders and nonslaveholders, as well as former Unionists. The only areas that sent few or no men to fight for the Confederacy were located on the border with the North.   

The state was the focal point for a number of reasons. It had more manufacturers and more mines than any other state. It also had nearly 20% of the railroad track of the Southern states. Its state capital, Richmond, was also the Confederacy's capital. Because armies focus on capturing the enemy's capital, the Federals concentrated on capturing Richmond. The Confederates in turn worked to capture Washington D.C. The counties in between were doomed to suffer mass devastation. By 1865, the state's handsome towns were wrecked; its manufacturing centers destroyed; its farms ruined. Virginians starved and found themselves prey to foraging soldiers, looters and lawless bands. A half million men became casualties within its borders.  

Most units were numbered, however, many especially in the Confederate forces were named. See the table below for lists of the regiments, battalions, batteries, and other units. <br>  

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Over 120 battles were fought in Virginia during the Civil War (1861-1865). For more information about these battles, click [[Civil War Battles Fought in Virginia|here]]. <br>

The Family History Library and the National Archives have the:  

*'''Compiled Service Records''' - The [http://go.footnote.com/civilwar_records Compiled Service Records] ($) (Footnote.com) of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Virginia are available online. In the future, these records will be [http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2007/nr07-41.html made available at no charge] through the National Archives web site. The service records are also available at no charge at [http://www.archives.gov/locations/archival-research.html National Archives research rooms]. The compiled service records consist of an envelope containing card abstracts taken from muster rolls, returns, pay vouchers, and other records. Service records may provide rank, unit, date of enlistment, length of service, age, place of birth, and date of death. For more information see [[Union Service Records|Union Service Records]].

*''Pension Index File . . . 1861-1934'' (Family History Library films beginning with {{FHL|184124|title-id|disp=540757}}). The actual pension records are only at the National Archives. Pension records sometimes list other members of the soldier's family and birth, marriage, and death information.

*'''Civil War Pension Index Cards''' - An {{RecordSearch|1471019|Index to Pension Applications}} of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917 is available on FamilySearch. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information. The majority of the records are of Civil War veterans, but the collection also includes records for veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, the Indian Wars, and World War I. For more information see [[Union Pension Records|Union Pension Records]].

*''Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers'' . . . (Family History Library films {{FHL|281165|title-id|disp=881395-456}}).

*''Confederate Service Records of Virginia, 1861- 65'' (Family History Library film {{FHL|409624|title-id|disp=029767-76}}).

*''[http://ajax.lva.lib.va.us/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b-clas10&local_base=CLAS10 Confederate Pension Applications], Virginia, Acts of 1888, 1900, 1902: Index 1888-1934''. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (On 219 Family History Library films beginning with {{FHL|474918|title-id|disp=1439763}}.) Indexed by veteran's, widow's, or servant's name. Files are arranged by pension act, then by county, then by surname. Usually gives age, birthplace, and residence. In addition, the<span id="fck_dom_range_temp_1213644453671_151" /> Library of Virginia has the [http://lvaimage.lib.va.us/collections/CW.html Confederate Pension Rolls, Veterans and Widows Electronic Card Index].&nbsp;Because not all information is included in either of these pension rolls, both databases should be consulted.

:- [http://ajax.lva.lib.va.us/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b-clas65&local_base=CLAS65 Index to the Confederate Magazine]

Regimental rosters with biographical information of Virginia soldiers are published in:  

*''List of Field Officers Regiments and Battalions in the Confederate States Army 1861-1865 ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=eBUTAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA66&lpg=RA1-PA66&dq=1st+Battalion,+Virginia+Light+Artillery+(Hardaway's)(Moseley's)&source=bl&ots=nbm9_nZMYW&sig=Imr96z20w8neDBkzU74JinqTzKA&hl=en&ei=C_G9TPfBMoiosQPh0vX8DA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books]

A nineteen volume set of cemetery records is:  

*Spratt, Thomas M. ''Men in Gray Interments''. Athens, Georgia: Iberian Pub. Co., c1996-1998&nbsp;; Athens, Georgia&nbsp;: New Papyrus Pub., c1998-2009. (Family History Library book {{FHL|770667|title-id|disp=975.5 V3s}}) This gives name and location of cemetery, soldier's name, regiment, and any other information taken from tombstones, monuments and publications. Many of the soldiers served in regiments other than those from Virginia.

For guidebooks to Virginia's military units for the Civil War, the following sources are helpful:  

*Wallace, Lee A. ''A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations, 1861-1865''. Lynchburg, Virginia: H. E. Howard, 1986. (Family History Library book {{FHL|498411|title-id|disp=975.5 M2vr, Volume 29}}.) Gives brief historical sketches of each regiment and lists officers, company names, and commanders.

For records of national old soldier homes, including the home in Richmond, Virginia, see:  

*United States. Veterans Administration. ''Registers of Veterans at National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1937''. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (On 282 Family History Library films.) Includes general indexes for twelve homes, but some volumes are indexed separately. These Historical Registers may list the soldier's name, date and place of enlistment, rank, military unit, length of service, date and place of discharge, place of birth, age, physical description, religion, occupation, previous residence, marital status, nearest relative, pension, soldier home admission and discharge dates, disability, death date, or cause of death.

If a Union sympathizer in Virginia claimed a loss during the Civil War due to Union military confiscation, he could apply to the Southern Claims Commission for reimbursement. Only a few applied per county, but their neighbors were called as witnesses and asked dozens of questions. Hundreds of the residents of all kinds in a county may be mentioned in answers to Commission questions, and their wartime activities described. To learn how to find records mentioning these neighbors in Virginia counties during the Civil War see the [[Southern Claims Commission|Southern Claims Commission]]. <br>  

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[[Category:Virginia_-_Military_-_Civil_War,_1861-1865]]