COL. JOHN RANDOLPH LANE SOCIETY OF CHATHAM COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA MOST ACCESSIBLE SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON NORTH CAROLINA CONFEDERATE VETERANS (ncinfo.txt) Finding complete information on Confederate soldiers from any state can be a challenge, largely because many records were destroyed near the end of the War Between the States or were lost in the confusing years of disorder immediately after the conflict. The good news is that many records were preserved by state governments, particularly records of their own troops, and some records from the Confederate States of America were recovered and stored by the United States of America. But, without a Confederate States of America archives, many useful materials that did once exist will never be recovered. Researchers looking for information about Confederate soldiers serving in units from North Carolina, however, have some excellent resources available. Foremost is a series, NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS, 1861-1865: A ROSTER, published by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Founded as a project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the War Between the States, the series is a comprehensive roster of North Carolinians who served during the war. When completed, the series will include 16 volumes and the names and service records of about 125,000 soldiers. A final volume will contain a master index to the entire series. To date, 14 volumes have been published, including records on the artillery, cavalry and infantry units through the 61st Regiment. Publishers now estimate that two additional infantry volumes will be required, and those will be followed by one additional volume containing information on Junior and Senior Reserves, Militia, Home Guard, Navy, Marines, Federal troops from North Carolina, and North Carolinians who served in units from other states. Here are some sources of information about Confederate soldiers from North Carolina that are most helpful and accessible: * ROSTER OF CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 1861-1865, published by Broadfoot Publishing Company of Wilmington, N.C., is an index of service records held by the United States Archives. It is an alphabetical list of 1.5 million names of Confederate soldiers from all Confederate states in 16 volumes (and on CD-ROM). Listings include the soldier's name, state, and unit. The Roster is available in most university and research libraries. For information: http://broadfoot.wilmington.net * NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS, 1861-1865: A ROSTER, published by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, provides a short synopsis of the war record for all known Confederate soldiers serving in North Carolina units. The series includes artillery, cavalry and infantry units up to and including the 61st Regiment; higher-numbered units, home guard units and some others have not yet been published in the series. The volumes are available in most local libraries throughout North Carolina, as well as in university and research libraries. (Note: This volume is particularly helpful if you have already checked the Broadfoot Roster for the unit in which your ancestor served, but also can be used alone, by searching the index of all of the 14 volumes published.) For information: http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hp/nc_rostr/default.htm * COMPILED MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS for Confederate Armed Forces at the United States Archives, include transcriptions made from records surviving the War Between the States. Available notes on each soldier are on file and can be obtained for a $10 from the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington. Requests must be made on NATF Form 80. The form is available free of charge by sending your name and mailing address to the United States Archives at or by writing to: National Archives and Records Administration, Attn: NWDT1, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001. Remember to state that you need NATF Form 80. Instructions for ordering records are provided on the form. For information: http://clio.nara.gov/genealogy/civilwar.html These records also are available on microfilm at the North Carolina Archives in Raleigh, where they can be searched free of charge during regular operating hours. Copies of microfilm records are available for a small fee. For information: http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/archives/arch/default.htm NOTE: Saying they are underfunded, the United States Archives plans to stop providing paper copies of Confederate service records (only) in the near future, according to information distributed by the SCV. Records still would be available, but only by purchasing a $34 roll of microfilm. Compiled Military Service Records for Confederate Armed Forces, the same records now available from the United States Archives, also are now available from Broadfoot Publishing Company. Broadfoot promises to process all orders within one business day and charges $30 per record. For information, contact Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1907 Buena Vista Circle, Wilmington, N.C., 28405; 910-686-4816 (phone), 800-537-5243 (orders), or http://broadfoot.wilmington.net * CONFEDERATE PENSION RECORDS for North Carolina Soldiers and Widows are available from the North Carolina Archives. Records can be searched at the Archives in Raleigh during regular operating hours and some information can be obtained by mail. For mail requests, the Archives will answer one simple question about one person for each request, questions like: "Do you have a War Between the States pension request for John Johnson of Henderson County, North Carolina?" or "Do you have proof of service for a Confederate soldier named Henry Franklin Pate of Wayne County, North Carolina?" It helps to include some information about the soldier, but avoid asking several questions or providing information that is not relevant to the question. Requests must be made for documents, not for general information like the parents of an ancestor. Out-of-state correspondents should enclose an $8.00 search and handling fee and one legal-sized, self-addressed, stamped envelope, mailed to: North Carolina State Archives, 109 East Jones Street, Raleigh, N.C., 27691-2807. The fee does NOT include the cost of copies, which must be ordered after the results of your search have been received from Raleigh. In-state correspondents (only) do NOT need to pay the $8 search fee and may also submit requests by e-mail to or by FAX to (919) 733-1354. The Archives' search findings are returned by US Mail, so remember to include your in-state mailing address. The Archives asks that you have only one request pending at a time. For details: http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/archives/arch/mail.htm * ROSTER OF NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS IN THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES, also known as MOORE'S ROSTER in honor of author Confederate Maj. John Wheeler Moore, is a four-volume list of North Carolina troops prepared by order of the North Carolina legislature in 1881. Published a year later, the list includes the names of Confederate soldiers available at the time, organized by unit of service. Dates and counties of enlistment are frequently provided, but little additional information is available. The publication is valuable because it contains names of some soldiers serving in units not yet published in NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS, 1861-1865: A ROSTER, but it is not as complete as other sources and contains many errors that have been corrected in other volumes. The Roster is available in most university and research libraries, as well as some local or county libraries. There are plenty of books designed to help you find information on Confederate veterans from other states. While the Col. John Randolph Lane Society does not endorse any of these books, you may want to review some of these titles (all are available from Amazon.com): * Segars, J. H. & John McGlone, eds. (1994). In Search of Confederate Ancestors: The Guide. Atlanta: Southern Lion Books, Inc. [ISBN: 0-963-19634-0; about $12 in paperback] * Groene, Birtram Hawthorne. (1989). Tracing Your Civil War Ancestor. New York: Ballantine Books. [ISBN: 0-345-36192-X; about $10 in trade paperback) * Neagles, James C. (1986). Confederate Research Sources: A Guide to Archive Collections (Second Edition). Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, Inc. [ISBN: 0-916-48916-7; about $17 in paperback] ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIPS to the Col. John Randolph Lane Society are available to anyone interested in supporting society activities, including repairing veterans¹ cemetery markers, marking Confederate veterans¹ graves, researching and publishing the Troops Roster, conducting living histories and publishing historical material. Copyright © 2004 by the Col. John Randolph Lane Society