Along Those Lines...
Why Southern Research is Different--Part II
by George G. Morgan
In "Along Those Lines . . ." last week, I began a discussion of Southern U.S. research and why some of the resources are unique or different. I provided some historical background of British colonization, the American Revolution, and the U.S. Civil War. I also included discussions of the Georgia Land Lotteries, Southern states' military records, Oaths of Allegiance, and Reconstruction Records. While NARA may hold some of these records, others are held only at the respective states' archives.
This week I'll discuss Confederate soldiers' homes, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Sons of the Confederacy, and the Confederate Veteran magazine as other resources for the post-Civil War era.
Confederate Soldiers' Homes
Confederate veterans who suffered injuries or from diseases as a result of their military service may originally have received treatment on the battlefield or in field hospitals. Further treatment may have been provided at regular military or civilian hospitals, and I have seen books and indexes in libraries concerning these facilities. One such book is "Florida Old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Home" published in 1929. Other books concern themselves with the doctors and surgeons who treated the Confederate sick and wounded military personnel, both in the South and in Union prisoner-of-war camps.
Many Confederate records relating to hospitals, medical purveyors, medical directors, and other "Records of the Medical Department, Confederate War Department 1861-65" (NARA Record Group 109.8) are held by NARA in their Record Group 109. For a complete listing, visit the NARA website (www.archives.gov), click on the Search link on the main page, and type "War Department Collection of Confederate Records" in the search box.
The Southern States also built, supported, and maintained soldiers' homes as residences for the disabled Confederate veterans. You will often find rosters of the residents there in those states' archives, and other detailed records concerning admission, treatment, and discharge or death can be found there as well. Contact state genealogical and historical societies for assistance with researching these veterans' records too.
Confederate Pension Files
You might be surprised to learn that many former Confederate states paid military pensions to indigent veterans. I've located such records for some of my ancestors at the Georgia State Archives, including one for my great-grandfather's brother, John Thomas HOLDER, an application for whom was initiated on 25 September 1902 in Floyd County, Georgia. John's application and affidavit of service, sworn statements from his doctor, his brother (my great-grandfather) who served with him in Company D, 9th Georgia Battalion Artillery, and another comrade-at-arms were included in the file and provided a great deal of medical and financial information about the pension paid during the last two years of John's life.
United Daughters of the Confederacy
Confederate women volunteered their time and service to assisting in hospitals and Confederate soldiers' homes following the Civil War, and in cleaning and maintaining the gravesites of the Confederate dead. The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an outgrowth of many local memorial, monument, and Confederate home associations and auxiliaries to camps of United Confederate Veterans (UCV) that were organized after the War.
During the Civil War, the South was in such dire need for metal to cast into weapons and ammunition that it was impossible to award medals and insignia to the soldiers. In 1898, the idea was conceived to award medals to the Confederate veterans for their service. The "Southern Cross of Honor" was designed and a copyright obtained on 20 February 1900 and the first one was awarded on 26 April 1900.
A total of 78,761 Crosses were bestowed to Confederate veterans between 1900 and 1913. The UDC has ledgers that provide the name and unit of each recipient and, in some cases, give the date and place of the award. An index was developed in the 1980s to cross-reference the information contained in the ledgers. If you think your ancestor may have been awarded one of these medals, you can contact the UDC to order a confirmation of the bestowal. Visit the UDC website (www.hqudc.org) for more information.
The United Confederate Veterans and the Sons of the Confederacy
Following the Civil War, an organization was founded called the United Confederate Veterans (UCV) and posts were formed in many places in the South. Not unlike the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) with which many of us are familiar, Confederate veterans formed these posts for the purpose of preserving the history and legacy of the South and of these veterans. The original records of many of these posts disappeared as the numbers of veterans diminished and the posts dissolved. However, some of the UCV records survive in public and academic libraries' collections, in some states archives' collections, and in local and state genealogical and historical societies.
The heir to the UCV heritage is the Sons of the Confederacy (SCV), founded in Richmond, Virginia, in 1896. The organization is open to all male descendents of any veteran who served honorably in the Confederate armed forces--of all races. The members are proud descendants of Confederate soldiers whose mission is to honor the memory of the bravery and valor on the field of battle and to preserve the historical record. The SCV actively promotes the registration of Confederate graves, genealogical research, and memorial awards. You can learn more about the SCV at its website (www.scv.org).
Confederate Veteran Magazine
Between the years of 1893 and 1932, the Confederate Veteran magazine was published. Each issue was filled with information, stories, and recollections of the Confederate armed forces during the Civil War. Obituaries were often submitted by families or by UCV, SCV, and UDC chapters for inclusion in the magazine when a veteran died. The personal accounts provided by veterans and other writers of the time concerning battles, military strategies, living conditions, supplies and food, medical treatments, prisoner-of-war camps, and other topics breathe life into the research of your Confederate ancestors, their wives, and their families. In 1988, Broadfoot Publishing Company (www.broadfootpublishing.com) reprinted all the issues of the Confederate Veteran, and these can be found in many larger libraries' genealogical and local history collections.
Best Research Strategies
We've discussed a number of record types that relate directly to Southern research from colonial times through the Civil War and to modern organizations. I have tried to suggest locations where you may locate these records but, of course, this column cannot possibly cite every location where such records are held. It is your responsibility as a scholarly researcher to seek out repositories and investigate the evidence.
I strongly recommend reading the colonial, state, and local histories of the areas in which your ancestors lived. Books, magazines, and journals are essential sources. Ancestry.com's Family and Local Histories Collection contains a number of memoirs, diaries, journals, and published Confederate rosters of the era.
Be sure to go online to access libraries' catalogs to determine what they may have in their collections. Remember that not all individual documents and files are cataloged, so you may want to call or e-mail each library for detailed information. In addition, don't overlook making contact with local and state genealogical and historical societies to determine what's available in their collections or in their area. Someone at the society will be a expert.
Finally, be sure to contact the state archive where your ancestors lived--and died. You may well be amazed by the volume, quality, and diversity of their holdings. Their state collections may just provide you with that missing link you needed to get your research back on track!
Happy Hunting!
George
George will be speaking at all-day seminars in the following locations in February:
- 15 February
South Bay Genealogical Society in Ruskin, Florida
- 19 February
Green Valley Genealogical Society (www.rootsweb.com/~azgvgs) in Green Valley, Arizona
To contact these societies for details, check the Myfamily.com Society Hall site at www.familyhistory.com/societyhall/search.asp.
Visit George's website (http://ahaseminars.com/atl) for information about speaking engagements.
Copyright 2005, MyFamily.com. All rights reserved.
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