Note: This two-part article originally appeared in the December 2005 and March 2006 issues of Indiana Genealogist.
The following information is adapted from an Indiana State Archives brochure intended to assist researchers in locating and documenting their Indiana Civil War ancestors.
The Indiana State Archives maintains an alphabetical card file listing all soldiers who served in Indiana volunteer regiments (infantry and cavalry) and artillery batteries. The list prepared by the Works Progress Administration in the late 1930s employs the original muster rolls of the Indiana volunteer units found in the Indiana State Archives.
The entries typically (but not always) contain the following information on the soldier: name, rank, company, regiment, period of original enlistment, place and date of enrollment, place and date of muster (swearing into Federal service), age, physical description (height, color of eyes, hair, complexion), nativity, and occupation. Date, place, and manner of leaving service are also indicated. Information on promotions, etc., may also be given. The card file has been microfilmed.
The Indiana General Assembly in its special session of 1861 passed legislation creating the Indiana Legion, revamping the moribund state militia for service in defense of the state. Legion companies were raised throughout Indiana, but those located along Indiana’s Ohio River border were the only units (with the exception of companies called out to repel Confederate raider John Hunt Morgan’s invasion of Indiana) to see active service in the war.
Similar to the volunteer soldiers, the Works Progress Administration created a card file for Legion soldiers based on the Legion muster rolls. However, this card file is incomplete. The cards themselves generally list only the name of the soldier and the Legion unit in which he served. The card file has been microfilmed.
Since the card file is only a partial list, researchers should search the unit files for each county. Most counties had several Legion units. Enrollment in a Legion unit did not mean that the individual did not serve at another time in an active duty unit. The muster rolls have not been microfilmed.
These records are the product of an effort to determine who and how many persons were eligible for veterans’ pension benefits in Indiana. Enrollments are arranged by individual townships within each Indiana County. Each enrollment alphabetically lists the name of the veteran, unit in which he served, war, number of children under 16, wounds received or illnesses contracted during service. Widows have husband’s death date indicated in many cases. The enrollments have been microfilmed.
An alphabetical printed index of the names of soldiers who appear on the 1886 enrollment is available in the Genealogy Section of the Indiana State Library. Researchers will find it helpful to consult this printout prior to searching the enrollments.
The Library index is currently only a typescript, but the Indiana State Library is working on an online database version.
The Works Progress Administration, in cooperation with the American Legion, produced in the late 1930s a card file of veterans buried in cemeteries in 51 of Indiana’s 92 counties. The cards generally give the name of the veteran, war in which he served, unit, and location of grave in the cemetery. The cards are filed alphabetically for each of the 51 Indiana counties.
By the summer of 1862, Federal officials at Washington, D. C., concluded that conscription was necessary to fill the Northern armies to put down the Southern rebellion. War Department orders and instructions went out to all Northern states to organize the draft. Each state was to administer its own draft, the only time this was done during the war. All white men between the ages of 18 and 45 years were required to enroll. The actual draft took place 6 October 1862. Men were allowed to furnish substitutes if they were drafted. Indiana’s quota was 21,250 men.
Two lists of men in each township in each county were made. The first listed all men who had already enlisted in the armed services, giving the unit in which each served along with age and occupation. The second listed all other eligible men.
This second list included information on each man, giving age, occupation, disease or condition that made that man ineligible, exemption, and other remarks. The lists are arranged in alphabetical order by the name of the county and by name of the township within each county. The lists have been microfilmed.
After the Civil War, Northern veterans organized the GAR as a means to remember their participation in the struggle to save the Union.
Over the years, the GAR grew to become a major political factor, wielding great influence in state and federal affairs. Records of the GAR state organization and the many local posts survive. These are contained in more than 288 volumes of various types of post records, plus over six shelf feet of files of loose papers.
The records of greatest genealogical interest include the applications for establishment of each GAR Post, listing the charter members and the units they served in during the war.
The types of GAR records include:
As the last members of the GAR died and the membership dwindled, the decision was made not to merge with other veteran's organizations. Consequently, the GAR gave its records to the Adjutant General of Indiana, who later turned them over to the State Archives.
A 2-volume finding aid, developed by the Archives staff, identifies the post names, post numbers, and the towns in which posts were established.