Delaware in the Civil War

Delaware

Delaware Military

Delaware in the Civil War

During the Civil War, Delaware raised 16 military units for the Union. Their records can be found in state records shown on this page, unit records which may be found on the military unit pages (see below for links), or federal records. For ideas on how to begin searching for your Civil War ancestor, see Beginning United States Civil War Research.

Introduction- Delaware in the Civil War

Though Delaware contributed 16 military units to the Union Army, the citizens of Delaware were divided in their feelings about the war. Some were for slavery; others were against it, and still others thought it would fade away if left alone.

Delaware Military Units

Most units were numbered, however, some were named. See the table below for lists of the regiments, battalions, batteries, and unassigned companies.

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

Delaware Military Units by Number or Type of Unit

Union Units

By Unit Number

Infantry

Cavalry

Artillery

Un- assigned

Roster

A roster of Delaware volunteers is given at the end of the following work:

• Scharf, J. Thomas. History of Delaware, 1609-1888. Two Volumes. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: L.J. Richards, 1888. Google Books. (FamilySearch Library film 1000154 items 1-2.) Lists place mustered, officers, and casualties.

Service Records

• An index to compiled Delaware military service records is available at the FamilySearch Library (FamilySearch Library films 881617-20.)

• 1861-1865 Delaware Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index

• Delaware, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers (FamilySearchHistorical Records) goes to a description of the records with a link to the database.

• The Compiled Service Records ($) (Fold3.com) for soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Delaware are available online. In the future, these records will be made available at no charge through the National Archives web site. The service records are also available at no charge at National Archives research rooms. For more information see Union Service Records.

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, residence, and death date.

Pension Records

Civil War Pension Index Cards - An 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.

1890 Census

• The 1890 Census Veterans Schedules for the Delaware State Hospital for the Insane are available on roll 118 of "Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890) Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War" (NARA M123). The schedules list veterans and their widows who served as Union soldiers in the Civil War. For more information on the 1890 Veterans Schedules see Union Census Records.

Delaware Confederate Citizens and Soldiers

Delaware Grays (Sons of Confederate Veterans) has rosters and other information of Confederate citizens and soldiers of Delaware.

Confederate Prisoners of War

• United States, Records Of Confederate Prisoners Of War, 1861-1865 at Findmypast - Index

Other Sources

Hancock, Harold Bell. Delaware During the Civil War : a Political History. (Wilmington, Del. : Historical Society of Delaware, 2003, ©1961.) Libraries with this book

Delaware's United States Colored Troops and Sailors and list of Troops and Sailors buried in Delaware.

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)

Grand Army of the Republic founded in 1866 - 1956, was the largest veteran’s organization in the country after the Civil War. It was a fraternal organization members were veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, Marines and Revenue Cutler Service who served in the American Civil War. The group supported voting rights for black veterans, and lobbied the U.S. Congress to establish veterans' pensions. In 1890 the membership was 490,000.

GAR Posts in the State of Delaware

In 1888 Delaware had 19 posts with 1,183 members.

The FamilySearch Catalog list records of the Delaware Grand Army of the Republic

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

With the death of the last member of the Grand Army of the Republic the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was formed.