Ordering Millitary Records from NARA

Has anyone ordered military records for a Civil War Union soldier from NARA?

I'm not sure which option is the best. There are 4 options for this time period:

Compiled Military Service File
Federal Military Pension Application (complete file)
Federal Military Pension Application (Pension Documents packet)
Military Bounty-Land Warrant Application File

Any opinions?

Tags: civil, military, nara, records, union, war

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl W. Terry on March 26, 2010 at 6:26pm

Hi,

If you are interested in the records, there is also another way to get them. Footnote.com has almost all of the military records online. They got them from NARA. They are separated into Union/Confederate, state and surname. You can print off the exact same thing you can get from NARA.

I have ordered many records from NARA, but none for the Civil War, so can't be a help there.

Cheryl

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Permalink Reply by Sara Bird on March 27, 2010 at 8:55am

Thanks for the info on footnote. It's free. I think, at my local Family History Center.

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Permalink Reply by William S Dean on April 13, 2010 at 9:12am

Usually the military pension records give the fullest information regrading a veteran as their service record is often included where they may have sustained a disability (illness, wound, etc.). Also the pension file will include any changes in status (moving to a new location, widow information, etc.). For other information about a veteran's service, you can usually find this online searching for the unit history (i.e. 30th Regiment, Company C., and so forth).

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Permalink Reply by Katie Heitert Wilkinson on April 13, 2010 at 7:03pm

I recently ordered my gg granmother's Civil War widow's pension application. Another responder stated and I also have recently read that these applications are a "genealogical goldmine" ... the article's wording, not mine. We shall see. I could really use those precious nuggets of information because I've reached a stalling point on that family line. The charge for a copy of the application (paper of CD) can run up to $75, depending on the number of pages. Hoping that NARA locates the file .. because the other requests I've submitted have added up to nothing. In each instance I was told nothing could be found. Frustrating .... because I thought I gave them all the necessary facts.

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Permalink Reply by Rosetta Davis,JAnes on April 14, 2010 at 9:56am

I haven`t had any luck either with that web site I ended up going to the counties they lived in then look for the dif. war soldiers names & info according which war they were in ,it tells where they signed in at & out also & some even show news paper articles with photos & list of names when they came home,even if they never went to war.