Connecticut State Library with state seal

Research Guide to Civil War Materials at the Connecticut State Library

The Connecticut State Library contains a wealth of information useful to genealogists seeking Civil War ancestors as well as to historical researchers examining political, economic, social, and military aspects of the Civil War. For convenience this research guide is divided into the following categories:

Introductory Materials
An introduction to Civil War genealogical research may be found in:

For other aspects of the war, recommended bibliographies include:

Archival Materials
Archival and manuscript materials are retrieved from the vaults twice daily. Researchers must read the current Rules and Procedures for Researchers Using Archival Records, Original Newspapers, and Special Collections and obtain an archives pass prior to requesting materials. The major record groups in the State Archives which relate to the Civil War era are:

RG 2, Records of the General Assembly. General Assembly papers and rejected bills for the years following the Civil War include petitions and special acts relating to soldiers, sailors, and their families.

RG 5, Records of the Governor. See especially:

RG 8, Records of the Comptroller.

A list of dates on which various Connecticut regiments were mustered out appears at the beginning of volume two. The index lists page numbers in volume one and then, after the term "New Book," page numbers in volume two. No index for towns beginning with the letter "W" existed; staff created one and appended to copies. A copy of the index is in the register. This item has been microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah (LDS microfilm #1533593) and is available through LDS Family History Centers.

RG 12, Records of the State Library. Includes the records of the War Records Department. Item 9 contains lists, compiled from various sources, of Connecticut men and women who served in the Civil War. Item 37 consists of replies from 48 states to an inquiry by Charles R. Hale regarding marking the graves for the Sons of Veterans of the Civil War. Item 44 includes some original discharge papers of Civil War soldiers admitted to Fitch's Home for the Soldiers (predecessor of the Veterans' Home and Hospital) ca. 1900.

RG 13, Records of the Military Department. Military units in Connecticut were under the jurisdiction of the Adjutant General. During the war, that office was the central receiving point for information on enlistments, commissions, promotions, discharges, resignations, transfers of servicemen, operations, engagements, casualties, general orders, courts martial, pay, recruiting, bounties, pensions, deaths and wounds, substitutes, Knight General Hospital in New Haven, Fitch's Home for Soldiers in Noroton, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Dayton, Ohio.

Of special note are:

There is also an enormous amount of unprocessed records, including individual enlistment papers (arranged by unit), muster rolls, and quartermaster correspondence. These records are being made available as resources and staffing levels permit.

RG 52, Records of the Connecticut Civil War Centennial Commission, 1959-1965. Includes minutes, correspondence, publications, administrative files, and the final report.

RG 69, Manuscript Collections.

Cataloged Manuscripts. In past years manuscripts were often catalogued, either individually or as collections. Most of those items are now in a single Dewey decimal group of "Catalogued Manuscripts" and are accessible through the Manuscripts and Archives Catalog in the H&G Reading Room. For letters, journals, diaries, and other items relating to the Civil War, check the Manuscripts and Archives Catalog under the subject headings:

Uncataloged Manuscripts. Record Group 69 also includes groups or collections of manuscripts which were not classed as "Catalogued Manuscripts" but which are represented in the Manuscripts and Archives Catalog. Major collections dealing with the Civil War include:

RG 72, Vital Records. Item 4 within this record group is a list of veterans buried in Connecticut, ca. 1640-1934. The list contains the name, company, regiment, date of death, and age of each veteran and the war in which he or she served.

RG 113, Records of the Grand Army of the Republic, Connecticut Department. Box 10 includes a list of members, obituary rolls, and a roster of Civil War veterans buried in Willimantic Cemetery, Willimantic, CT.

RG 114, Griffin A. Stedman, Camp 6, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Connecticut Division, 1909-13. This organization, still active, is composed of male descendants of veterans of the Union Army in the Civil War. Camp 6 was concerned with such activities as marking the graves of Civil War veterans, proper observance of national holidays, and care and upkeep of Civil War memorials.

RG 119, The Army and Navy Club of Connecticut, 1892-1936. This organization, formed Nov. 27, 1879, was composed of any soldier or sailor honorably discharged and sponsored by a member. It appears to have been limited to Civil War veterans. Annual dinner meetings were held, usually in Hartford, until disbandment of the club in 1936. Records include biographical sketches, lists of members, obituary notices, and other related materials.

RG 138, Connecticut Medical Society, 1792-1912. The Connecticut Medical Society was incorporated in 1792. From its inception until 1893 it was responsible for the licensing of physicians. For material relating to the selection of physicians for Civil War service, see item 2, "Connecticut Medical Examining Board Records and Correspondence, 1861-65".

Artifacts
For information on Civil War artifacts, including uniforms, flags, and weapons contact the Museum of Connecticut History.

Battle Flags
Hill, Steven W. Connecticut Battle Flags: the Civil War. League of Women Voters of Connecticut, 1986 [CSL call number Museum UC 594 .H5 1985].

Bounty Claims
RG 13:50, Claims for "Additional Bounty," 1866-1877.

RG 13:52, Certificates of Eligibility for Bounty, 1865-1866.

Conscientious Objectors
Wright, Edward N. Conscientious Objectors in the Civil War. A. S. Barnes, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1931 [CSL call number UB 342 .U5 W7 1931].

Discharge Papers
RG 13:27, Letters Pertaining to Appointments, Promotions, Discharges, and Resignations, 1861-65.

RG 13:28, Reports of Deaths, Discharges and Desertions in the Connecticut Volunteer Force, 1862-66.

RG 13:42, Notices of Discharge or Resignation; Acceptances of Appointment, 1861-63.

RG 13:44, Discharge Certificates, 1898-1956. Includes some original Civil War discharge papers of soldiers admitted to the State Veterans' Home ca. 1900.

RG 13:87, Requests for Discharges, First Regiment Infantry, 1866-97. Alphabetical by company.

RG 13:101, Request for Discharges, Second Regiment Infantry, 1861-97. Alphabetical by company.

Genealogical Information
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the post-Civil War organization of Civil War veterans, often placed flags on soldiers' graves. The Hale Collection of Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions includes references to GAR flag markers if they were in place ca. 1934. In some instances, the headstone inscription itself may include the name of the unit in which the veteran served.

In addition to checking the Hale Collection and other Connecticut genealogical materials, researchers should check the Veteran's Deaths Index.

See also the following State Archives Records Groups:
RG 12:37, Letters concerning marking and maintenance of soldiers' graves, 1926. Replies from 48 states to an inquiry by Charles R. Hale, Chairman of the Sons of Veterans of the Civil War's National Committee on Marking Graves.

RG 13:80, Record of Deaths at Fitch's Home, 1884-1942.

For burials in National Cemeteries, consult:

United States. Quartermaster's Dept. Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers Who Died in Defense of the American Union, Interred in the National [and other] Cemeteries. [CSL call number W 39.7: in the Federal Documents collection].

General Histories
The State Library has many general histories dealing with the Civil War. Books which provide an overview include: Newspapers
Newspapers published during the Civil War are an excellent primary source for information. The Connecticut State Library holds an extensive collection of original or microfilmed newspapers for this period.

Marriage notices and death notices from 90 early Connecticut newspapers, covering the period ca. 1750-1865, were abstracted by the Works Progress Administration during the 1930's. The abstracts sometimes provide the place of death and/or unit of Civil War soldiers. The staff of the History and Genealogy unit does not search or provide copies from the original newspapers. Newspapers that have been microfilmed are available on interlibrary loan. Original newspapers are available for use in house following the Rules and Procedures for Researchers Using Archival Records and Secured Collections Materials . A list of independent researchers is available for those unable to visit the library personally.

Payrolls and Muster Rolls
Although most payrolls and muster rolls relating to Connecticut units are found within State Archives Record Group 13, Records of the Military Department, some rolls were acquired from other sources and appear in other record groups. The following list, while representative, is not exhaustive:

RG 8:67, Paymaster and Quartermaster Accounts, 1861-65. An unarranged collection of papers pertaining to pay, expense accounts, and supply accounts, probably from the office of H. W. (or H. J.?) Morse.

RG 13:32, Muster Rolls, Descriptive Lists, Pay Rolls, and Related Papers, 1861-65.

RG 13:82, Bounty Register, Receipts, Muster Rolls for Three-Month Enlistees, First Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, 1861-79.

RG 13:99, Muster-in Rolls, First Regiment, Connecticut Cavalry, 1862-65.

RG 13:116, Muster Rolls, Co. "H", Fourth Regiment, Infantry, 1861-65.

RG 13:119, Records, Co. "F", Fifth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, 1861-65.

RG 13:136, Muster Rolls, Eighth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, 1861-65. Includes some for the 15th Regiment.

RG 13:140, Muster Rolls and Other Papers, Company "D", Eighth Regiment, Infantry, ca. 1861-65.

RG 13:157a, Papers and Records, Eighteenth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, 1861-65.

RG 13:168, Muster Rolls and Other Papers, Twenty-Fifth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, 1863.

RG 69:64, Edward V. Preston Papers, 1861-65. Major Edwards was a Civil War paymaster and quartermaster. The collection includes payrolls, muster rolls, vouchers, etc.

RG 69:81, Andrew M. Morgan Civil War Papers, 1861-71. Includes muster rolls, receipts, reports, correspondence relating to the 8th Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry.

Pensions

Published Material
US Pension Bureau. List of Pensioners on the Roll, Jan. 1, 1883 [CSL call number HistRef UB 374 .C8 L57 1883a].

State Archives Record Groups
RG 8:72, Records of Payments to Civil War Soldiers and Families, 1861-66.

RG 13:49, Incoming Letters Concerning Pensions, Nov. 1864-Dec. 1881. Known as "Index Books." Chronological.

RG 13:58, Record of Pension Vouchers, 1877-1923. List of persons to whom payments for US pensions were made.

RG 69:50, William H. and Henrietta Noble Collection of Pension Applications, 1870-1908.

Photographs
The major picture groups in the State Archives which relate to the Civil War are:

PG 80, Civil War Collection. Includes 450 photos, prints, and glass negatives, including battle sites at Antietam and Gettysburg, camp sites and forts, monuments, the South, Connecticut troops, Andersonville and Libby Prisons, and portraits of military officers and noted people of the period.

PG 85, Brady Collection of Civil War Photographs, 1861-65. Includes about 7,500 photos and 134 lantern slides by noted Civil War photographer Matthew Brady.

PG 385, Goddard Collection. Includes lantern slides of the Civil War.

PG 570, Connecticut Military Portraits, ca. 1860-1945. Includes individual and group portraits of Civil War soldiers and veterans of the Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Photographs may or may not be identified by unit.

PG 850, Cartes de Visite, 1860-1885. Includes individual portraits of Civil War officers, group portraits of Civil War soldiers, and other Civil War portraits.

PG 860, Daguerreotypes, Tintypes and Ambrotypes, ca. 1850-1882. Includes some portraits of Civil War soldiers.

Prisons

Published Materials
Atwater, Dorence A. A List of the Union Soldiers Buried at Andersonville. The Tribune Association, 1866 [CSL call number E 612 .A5 A8].

United States Christian Commission. Record of the Federal Dead Buried from Libby, Belle Isle, Danville, and Camp Lawton Prisons, and at City Point, and the Field Before Richmond and Petersburg. Philadelphia: J. B. Rodgers, 1865 [CSL call number E 494 .U589].

State Archives Materials
RG 69:23, George Q. Whitney Collection. Includes materials pertaining to the 16th Connecticut Volunteers imprisoned at Andersonville and to the Andersonville monument.

PG 80, Civil War Collection. Includes photographs of Andersonville and Libby Prisons.

Regimental Histories

Published Materials
The Connecticut State Library has many published regimental histories, including some for out-of-state units. A sampling of Connecticut regimental histories follows; some include lists of enlisted men with birth dates, death dates and other biographical information.

General
Civil War Unit Histories: Regimental Histories and Personal Narratives. University Publications of America, 1991 [CSL call number HistRef E 491 .C58 1991]. Accompanied by fiche collection housed in the microfiche cabinet in the back of the H&G reading room. See a librarian for assistance in locating and using the fiche.

African American
See "29th and 30th Infantries", below.

1st Light Battery
Beecher, Herbert W. History of the First Light Battery Connecticut Volunteers 1861-1865: Personal Records and Reminiscences. 2 vols. New York: A. T De La Mare Printing and Pub. Co. Ltd., 1901 [CSL call number E 499.8 1st B44 1901].

1st Heavy Artillery
Bennett, Edgar B. First Connecticut Heavy Artillery: Historical Sketch and Present Addresses of Members. Hartford: Star Printing Co., 1889. 53 p. [CSL call number E 499.7 1st .B46 1889].

The First Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery in the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865. Hartford: Case, Lockwood and Brainard Co., 1889. 57 p. Bound with History of the First Connecticut Artillery, below.

Taylor, John C. and Hatfield, Samuel P. History of the First Connecticut Artillery and of the Siege Trains of the Armies Operating Against Richmond, 1862-1865. Hartford: Case, Lockwood and Brainard Co., 1893. 272 p. [CSL call number E 499.7 1st .T39 1893].

2nd Heavy Artillery
Vaill, Dudley London. The County Regiment: a Sketch of the Second Regiment of Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery, Originally the Nineteenth Volunteer Infantry, in the Civil War. Litchfield: Litchfield County University Club, 1908. 108 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 2nd .V35 1908].

Vaill, Theodore Frelinghuysen. History of the Second Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery, Originally the Nineteenth Connecticut Volunteers. Winsted: Winsted Printing Co., 1868. 366 p. [CSL call number E 499.7 2nd .V351868].

5th Infantry
Marvin, Edwin E. The Fifth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers: a History Compiled from Diaries and Official Reports. Hartford: Wiley, Waterman and Eaton, 1889. 394 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 5th .M37 1889].

6th Infantry
Charles K. Cadwell. The Old Sixth Regiment, Its War Record 1861-5. New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor, 1875. 227 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 6th .C33 1875].

7th Infantry
Tourtellote, Jerome. A History of Company K of the Seventh Connecticut Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War, Compiled by a Member who was Second in Rank in the Company When the Regiment Left the State for the Front and Second in Rank in the Regiment When it Returned to the State for Final Discharge. 1910. 217 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 7th .T67 1910].

Walkley, Stephen. History of the Seventh Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Hawley's Brigade, Terry's Division Tenth Army Corps, 1861-1865 Hartford, Conn.: 1905. 325 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 7th .W35 1905].

9th Infantry
Murray, Thomas Hamilton. History of the Ninth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, "the Irish Regiment," in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-65. New Haven: Price, Lee and Adkins Co., 1903. 440 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 9th .M87 1903].

13th Infantry
Sprague, Homer Baxter. History of the 13th Infantry Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers, During the Great Rebellion. Hartford: Case, Lockwood and Co., 1867. 353 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 13th].

14th Infantry
Page, Charles D. History of the Fourteenth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Meriden, CT: Horton, 1906. 509 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 14th .P34 1906].

15th Infantry
Thorpe, Sheldon Brainard. The History of the Fifteenth Connecticut Volunteers in the War for the Defense of the Union, 1861-1865. New Haven: Price, Lee and Adkins Co., 1893. 362 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 15th .T56 1893].

16th Infantry
Blakeslee, Bernard F. History of the Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteers. Hartford: Case, Lockwood and Brainard Co., 1875. 116 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 16th].

18th Infantry
Walker, William Carey. History of the Eighteenth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers in the War for the Union. Norwich: The Committee, 1885. 444 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 18th .W351885].

19th Infantry
See "2nd Heavy Artillery".

20th Infantry
Storrs, John W. The "Twentieth Connecticut": a Regimental History. Ansonia: Naugatuck Valley Sentimental, 1886. 306 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 20th .S76 1886].

21st Infantry
The Story of the Twenty-First Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, During the Civil War, 1861-1865. Middletown: Stewart Printing Co., 1900. 498 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 21st .U54 1900].

22nd Infantry
History of the Twenty-Second Regiment of the Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, 1862-3. Hartford: Hartford Printing Co., 1896 [CSL call number E 499.5 22nd .H57 1896].

26th Infantry
Roster, Muster Roll and Chronological Record of the Twenty-Sixth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, and Memoranda of the Association of the Twenty-Sixth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers. Norwich: Frank Utley Print, 1888. 56p. [CSL call number E 499.5 26th .C8 1888].

27th Infantry
Sheldon, Winthrop Dudley. The Twenty-Seventh, a Regimental History. New Haven: Morris and Benham, 1866. 144 p. [CSL call number E 499.5 27th]. Also filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah (LDS 896,829) and available through LDS Family History Centers.

28th Infantry
Roster of the Twenty-Eighth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, 1862-1897. Winsted: Dowd Printing Co., 1897. 31p.

Scofield, Loomis. History of the Twenty-Eighth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers. New Canaan, Conn.: New Canaan Advertiser, 1915. 24p.

29th and 30th Infantries
"Connecticut's Colored Volunteers," in Lure of the Litchfield Hills 104 (Summer 1962) 3 [CSL call number F 104 .L6 L8]. In this article, W. J. Finan outlines the organization and service of the 29th and 30th Connecticut Volunteers, 1864-65, who suffered extraordinarily high casualties at Petersburg. The author says these two regiments included 1,664 African Americans. A photograph purporting to be of some of them is actually a photograph of a Pennsylvania unit.

Hill, Isaac J. A Sketch of the 29th Regiment of Connecticut Colored Troops. Baltimore: Dougherty, Maguire and Co., 1867. 42 p. The State Library's copy has been missing since 1977.

Newton, Alexander Heritage. Out of the Briars, an Autobiography and Sketch of the Twenty-Ninth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers. Philadelphia: African Methodist Episcopal Book Concern, 1910, reprint 1969. 269p. [CSL call number E 499.5 29th .N48 1969].

Other
Wiedersheim, William A. "The New Haven Grays." Journal of the New Haven Colony Historical Society 26 (Spring, 1979) 2:20-32. A militia company for young gentlemen, founded in 1816, served in the Civil War, on the Mexican border, and in World Wars I and II. Illustrated.

State Archives Record Groups
Representative items are listed below. The library staff is unable to search original records for the public. They may be searched in-house, following the Rules and Procedures for Researchers Using Archival Records and Secured Collections Materials . A list of Professional Genealogists Familiar with Connecticut State Library Collection is available should you be unable to visit the library personally.

RG 13:29, Reports of Operations, Engagements, Casualties, July 1860-March 1866. The research guide register to Record Group 13 includes a chronological list with brief description of each report.

RG 13:31, Records of the Connecticut Volunteer Regiments, 1861-65. Bound volume, by regiment, containing lists of men with summary of their records, brief histories of the units, etc. The index volume at the end includes a numerical list of the men in each regiment.

Service Records

Original Records
Copies of military records and pension application files can be ordered from the National Archives. Request NATF Form 80, Order for Copies of Veterans' Records, in an email addressed to inquire@nara.gov or in a letter address to the National Archives and Records Administration, Attn: NWCTB, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001. Be sure to provide your name and postal mailing address, specify the form number, and state the number of forms you need (limit 6 per order). Additional information on how to obtain copies is available on the NARA website.

Published Materials
The following printed sources are suggested for information on Civil War service in Connecticut units. Copies may be consulted at the Connecticut State Library but are not available on interlibrary loan:

Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the War of the Rebellion. Hartford: Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., 1889 [CSL call number HistRef ConnDoc Ad44 ran]. Includes brief regimental histories as well as the name, rank, residence, date of enlistment, date of muster, and a basic service record of most soldiers and sailors who served from Connecticut.

Catalogue of Connecticut Volunteer Organizations. Hartford: Brown & Gross, 1869 [CSL call number HistRef ConnDoc Ad 44 cat].

Croffut, William A. and Morris, John M. The Military and Civil History of Connecticut During the War of 1861-1865. NY, 1868 [CSL call number E 499 .C94 1868].

Powell, William Henry. List of Officers of the Army of the United States from 1779 to 1900. NY: L. R. Hamersly & Co., 1900 [CSL call number 355.1 R26p].

Soldiers' Homes and Hospitals
RG 5:9, Military Correspondence. Includes applications for admission to military hospitals, 1873-1882.

RG 12:44. Includes original discharge papers of Civil War soldiers admitted to Fitch's Home for the Soldiers (predecessor of the Connecticut Veterans' Home and Hospital) ca. 1900.

RG 13:45, Knight General Hospital Reports, 1863-65.

RG 13:66, List of Connecticut Soldiers at Dayton, Ohio National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1867-1880.

RG 13:77, Clothing Requisitions, Fitch's Home for the Soldier, Noroton Heights, CT, 1886-87.

RG 13:77, Accession 91-032, Fitch's Home for Soldiers Deceased Veterans Discharge Files, 1882-1936. These records consist of approximately 2300 files of deceased veterans. Although most served in the Civil War, a few Spanish-American War veterans may be included. Consult the every-name index available in the H&G reading room.

RG 13:78, Supply Vouchers, Fitch's Home, 1891.

RG 13:80, Record of Deaths at Fitch's Home, 1884-1942.

Prepared by the History and Genealogy Unit, Connecticut State Library, 11-96.