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NPS Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database

Use it to identify a service name, unit or regiment and to continue into histories of military organizations, significant battles, prisoner records, cemetery records and Medal of Honor recipients.

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Live National Park Service Soldiers and Sailors Database page
The National Park Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System indexes people who served in Union and Confederate forces and connects them to regiments, battles and selected related records.

What you will find

  • Soldiers and sailors
  • Union and Confederate units
  • Regiment histories
  • Battles
  • Cemeteries and prisoners
  • Medal of Honor records

Historical records you can examine

The system joins an index of service names with organizational and place-based Civil War references.

  • Soldier or sailor name, side, rank and associated military organization when indexed.
  • Union and Confederate regiment histories and organizational context.
  • Descriptions of significant battles and participating units.
  • Selected prisoner-of-war, cemetery and Medal of Honor records.

Useful comparisons

Comparison works best at the unit and battle level, where context can distinguish people with similar names.

  • Compare name variants, ranks and units before assuming two entries describe the same person.
  • Compare regiments by state, branch, designation and battle participation.
  • Compare battle records by date, location, campaign and listed organizations.
  • Use cemetery or prisoner records as corroborating leads rather than automatic identity matches.

Best research path

Begin with the broad index, record the exact unit, then move to archival service and pension records.

  • Search alternate spellings and initials when an exact name returns no result.
  • Capture the regiment and company because they are stronger identifiers than a common name.
  • Read the regiment history to place the service entry in a campaign timeline.
  • Continue with the National Archives, state archives or pension files for fuller documentation.

Limits of the index

The database increases discoverability but does not reproduce every original military document.

  • An index entry is not the complete compiled military service record.
  • Absence from the search does not prove that a person did not serve.
  • Transcription and historical spelling differences can split or obscure identities.
  • Genealogical conclusions should be supported by additional records with matching dates, places and relatives.