CONFEDERATE ANCESTORS: MEN IN GRAY

by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.

Men who served during the Civil War were usually born between 1806 and 1849, but there are instances of those who participated being younger or older. Never assume your ancestor was too young or too old to have taken part, or that they were Yankees or Rebels. If you determine where your families were living at the time of the 1860 federal census, this usually will narrow your research somewhat, since most soldiers served in units formed within their neighborhoods, states or territories.

If you have discovered a Confederate ancestor, there may be additional information about him and/or his regiment or company at the Confederate Research Center in Hill College, Hillsboro, Texas. This archival depository also contains many files of soldiers' letters, diaries and unpublished manuscripts.

"While not a genealogical library, researchers have on occasion found pictures of their Confederate ancestors here,'' according to Peggy Fox, the director.

Among the center's other treasures are capsule histories of all 3,200 Confederate regiments and special units and ships. It also has an extensive file of magazines and newspaper clippings, including major Texas newspapers published during the Civil War, the military service records of all members of Hood's Texas Brigade, Confederate generals and staff offices, and an index listing of all Confederate soldiers showing their companies and regiments.

Research service is offered for a fee (about $15 per person), but due to the volume of inquiries it usually takes six to eight weeks for a reply. Request the forms first (the center will bill you for the research) by writing to:

Confederate Research Center and Museum, Harold B. Simpson Hill College History Complex, P.O. Box 619, Hillsboro, TX 76645

There are no reliable figures, due to the lack of surviving records, of the total number of those who fought for the South during Civil War, but historians estimate there were from 600,000 to more than one million Confederate soldiers and sailors. There are compiled service records for Confederate enlisted soldiers and officers along with a master index, "Consolidated Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers.'' These microfilmed records are available at the National Archives, its regional branches, and through the Family History Library system.

Pensions were granted to Confederate veterans, widows and orphans by the former Confederate states. Generally Southern states did not begin granting pensions until about 1880, and initially they were limited to indigent or disabled veterans, but requirements were gradually broadened and extended to cover widows of veterans. Confederate veterans received a pension from the state of their postwar residence, not necessarily the state from which they served. Contact the appropriate state archives for pension information. Most charge a search fee.

For additional information about the Civil War, visit these sites:

-- The American Civil War Homepage at http://www.access.digex.net/~bdboyle/cw.html

-- The U.S. Civil War Center at Louisiana State University at http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/

An excellent book on the subject is Brian A. Brown's In the Footsteps of the Blue and Gray: A Civil War Research Handbook, Brown Publications, P.O. Box 25501, Little Rock, AR 72221 ($26.95 postpaid).

(c) 1998, Los Angeles Times Syndicate