Virginia in the Civil War

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Appomattox Civil War Centennial Stamp

Introduction

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.

Virginia Military Units

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.

The information in the lists of Virginia Military Units comes from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors web site. That web site also can be searched by the name of a soldier.

Virginia Confederate Units by Number or by Name

Confed. Units

1st-4th

5th-19th

20th- 59th

60th- 120th

A-L

M-Z

Virginia Confederate Units by Type of Unit

Confed. Units

Infantry

Cavalry

Artillery

Rifles

Local Units

Other

Virginia Union Units by Number

Union Units

Union Units

Confederate

Artillery

Cavalry

Battles Fought in Virginia

Over 120 battles were fought in Virginia during the Civil War (1861-1865). For more information about these battles, click here.

Records and Resources

Union

The Family History Library and the National Archives have the:

• “Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers . . .” (Family History Library film 881594).
• Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers . . . (Family History Library film 1292638-644). May provide the soldier's or sailor's unit which can help to find pension records but does not give information about other members of the soldier's family.
• Pension Index File . . . 1861-1934 (Family History Library films beginning with 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 - A free Internet index to pension applications of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917 is available on FamilySearch Record Search. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information. Other wars, of that time period, may be included.

Confederate

For those who served in Confederate forces, the Family History Library has the following records.

From the National Archives:

• Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers . . . (Family History Library films 881395-456).
• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers . . . (on 1075 Family History Library films 1488678-1489752). Lists the soldier's name, rank, unit, and enlistment date and place.

From the Library of Virginia: An outline explaining the variety of Virginia Civil War records available at the Library of Virginia in Research Notes series, No. 14.

• Index to Confederate Service Records of Virginia . . .(Family History Library films 029777-808). An online index to Virginia Confederate Rosters  is an unofficial roster of Virginia Confederate soldiers.
• Confederate Service Records of Virginia, 1861- 65 (Family History Library film 029767-76).
• 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 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 Library of Virginia has the Confederate Pension Rolls, Veterans and Widows Electronic Card Index. Because not all information is included in either of these pension rolls, both databases should be consulted.
• Oakwood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, Register of Interments in Confederate Plots. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia State Library, [19—?] (Family History Library film 1294360) Alphabetical by name. Lists company, regiment, state, grave number, row, division, and remarks.

The Confederate pension records from 1888 to 1928 are only at the Virginia State Library.

• Further Library of Virginia online databases include:

- Confederate Disability Applications and Receipts

- Robert E. Lee Soldier's Home Applications for Admission

- Selected Civil War Resources in the Personal Papers and Military Records Collections at the Library of Virginia

- Confederate Navy Index

- Index to the Confederate Magazine

Published Sources

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

• Virginia Regimental Histories Series. Lynchburg, Virginia: H. E. Howard, 1982–. (Family History Library book 975.5 M2vr.) 119 volumes in the series have been completed.

• Register of the Confederate Dead Interred in Hollywood Cemetery: Richmond, Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Gary, Clemmitt and Jones, 1869. (Family History Library book 975.5451 V3r; Family History Library US/CAN Film 33625.) This register lists thousands of Confederate soldiers buried in Richmond. Includes name, company, regiment, state, date of death, cemetery section and number.

• List of Field Officers Regiments and Battalions in the Confederate States Army 1861-1865 Google Books

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

• Sifakis, Stewart. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia. New York, NY: Facts on File, 1992- 1995. (Family History Library book 975 M2ss, Ten Volumes.) Gives organization information for each unit and its field officers, assignments, and battles. It also lists sources further reading. Volume 5 is for Virginia.
• Wallace, Lee A. A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations, 1861-1865. Lynchburg, Virginia: H. E. Howard, 1986. (Family History Library book 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.

Southern Claims Commission

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.