Civil War Civil War Research in Maryland
Essential Starting Sources at the Maryland State Archives
To locate Civil War records at the Maryland State Archives, the following resources must be consulted:
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Account Book), 1864-1910 MSA S346
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Arms Account), 1784-1897 MSA S338
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Civil War Papers), 1860-1867 MSA S935
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Clothing Record), 1861-1874 MSA S323
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Commission Applications), 1862-1865 MSA S324
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Descriptive Roll), 1861-1864 MSA S325
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Draft Proceedings), 1862-1863 MSA S341
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Draft Record), 1862-1864 MSA S340
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Enrollment Record), 1862-1864 MSA S352
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Letterbook), 1807-1912 MSA S351
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Maryland Guard Register), 1861 MSA S329
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Militia Appointments), 1794-1910 MSA S348
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Militia Regulations), 1864 MSA S924
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Morning Reports), 1863-1864 MSA S330
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Muster Roll Record), 1861-1867 MSA S343
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Muster Rolls), 1860-1867 MSA S936
- ADJUTANT GENERAL, (Quotas and Credits), 1861-1865 MSA S331
- GOVERNOR, (Miscellaneous Papers), 1848-1918 MSA S1274
- LIBRARY, Marylanders in the Confederacy, Daniel Hartzler, 950 Hartzler.
- LIBRARY, Maryland line in the Confederate Army, 1861-1865, W.W. Goldsborough, 950 Hartzler.
- LIBRARY, History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers, War of 1861-1865, Index, Martha and Bill Reamy, compilers, 950 Reamy.
- LIBRARY, History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers, War of 1861-1865, L. Allison Wilmer, et. al., 0950 mezzanine. This publication is a listing by military unit of Union personnel giving name, rank, date of enlistment, date of discharge, and remarks. Volumes 1 and 2 of this publication are available online as part of the Archives of Maryland Online.
The Civil War and Its Records
Service Records for the Union Army are housed at the National Archives, and include card abstracts and documents relating to individual soldiers, such as voluntary enlistment papers, prisoner of war papers, and death reports. There is no master index, rather a separate index for each state, and for each organization that is not connected with a particular state. Look for:
- Civil War Draft Records.
- Burial Records of Soldiers.
- Naval Service Records.
Veterans' benefits consist almost entirely of pension applications. N.B.: All pension applications, 1861-1934, excluding World War I and certain Indian wars, are in one series.
The National Archives also contains some records of Confederate Soldiers:
- Records filed by the State
- Troops who served in non-state organizations
- Officers and enlisted persons doing staff jobs
Pension records for individuals serving in the Confederacy are housed at the Archives for the state in which the soldier served from.
Again, do not forget that in addition to records at the National Archives there were records compiled by state and local governments. In Baltimore City, female dependents of Union Soldiers applied for bounty or relief payments. These applications, filed at the Baltimore City Archives may contain data such as dates of marriage, names and dates of birth of children and depositions of neighbors and relatives, attesting to the need and character of the applicant.
Select Bibliography
Abbreviations Used for Periodicals:
- HT: History Trails (pub. by the Baltimore County Historical Society)
- MDG: Maryland and Delaware Genealogist
- MGB: Maryland Bulletin (published by Robert Hayes)
- MGSB: Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin
- MHM: Maryland Historical Magazine
- NB: The Notebook (published by the Baltimore County Genealogical Society)
Books and Articles:
- "Civil War Camps," HT 15(1).
- Clemens, Mrs. C. E. "Union Soldiers from Upper Baltimore County, Maryland." MGSB 28 (3) 323-324., Location: REF E-2-3
- Company A, 2nd Regiment, Maryland Volunteers, Lt. George Booth, Regimental Records, MHS MS.2657
- Company B, 30th Regt., U. S. Colored Infantry, 1st Lt. Charles Tarbell, Company Description Book, 1864-1865. MHS MS.2603.
- Cotter, Thomas F. "The Merryman Affair." HT 24 (2) 5-9
- "Gilmor's Raid," (Events Recorded in a Pikesville Diary, 1864), HT 13 (3).
- Hartzler, Daniel D. Marylanders in the Confederacy. Silver Spring: Family Line Publications., Location: REF A-3-4
- History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers, War of 1861-65. 2 vols., 1898. Repr.: Silver Spring: Family Line. Index. By Martha and Bill Reamy. Westminster: Family Line Publications, 1990., Location: REF A-3-4
- "Letters to and from Joseph S. Hersey, A Union Soldier, 1864- 1865," HT 17 (3).
- Mallick, Sallie. “Soldier’s Letter (of the Civil War)." MGSB 32 (2) 212., Location: REF E-2-3
- Marks, Lilian Bayly,. "Confederates in the 1890 Census at Reisterstown." HT 21 (3) 11.
- Powell, Lorenzo Q. “Somerset County Draftees, 1862.” MGSB 33 (1) 98-101., Location: REF E-2-3
- "Union Soldiers; a list of Veterans from the Recollections of Philip S. Cross, Rayville," HT 17 (3).
- Wright, F. Edward. “Dorchester County Civil War Enrollment Books of the 1862.” MGSB 32 (2) 2 213-216., Location: REF E-2-3
For more information on Maryland and the Civil War, please search our library catalog.
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