Burial Records for 250,000 Union Soldiers
These Original Civil War Records Reprinted More Than a Century Later
Jul 30, 2009
A century after the War Between the States, few Civil War buffs even knew these burial records for more than 250,000 soldiers existed. This came to the attention of the Genealogical Publishing Company in Baltimore and they undertook this massive reprinting project, finishing it with a tenth volume in 1995.
Genealogy Data in Burial Records
Each entry usually provides the Union veteran’s name, rank, regiment, company and date of death. This is often enough identifying information to link up with enlistment records in the National Archives and other Civil War databases.
The initial 27 volumes of Union soldier burials, called the Roll of Honor, was published by the U. S. Quartermaster’s Department. The soldiers are buried in national cemeteries, garrison post cemeteries, soldiers’ lots and private cemeteries. Approximately two-thirds of these soldiers have been disinterred from their original Civil War burial sites on or near the various battlefields.
Although the names of the soldiers are arranged alphabetically by burial site, an 11th book provides a new master index volume for the entire series, something the original edition lacked.
Obtaining Burial Record Volumes
For years the cost of purchasing the new edition was prohibitive for many people, ranging from $35 to $52.50 per volume, and the best bet was to find them in libraries. There have been, however, two new major developments. Bad news: The CD version and the index are currently out of print. Good news: Genealogical Publishing Company must have over-printed. The individual volumes are now available at warehouse sale prices. They are being offered by the publisher at about $10 per book and sometimes used copies of the index are available from online booksellers.
Below is a guide to the contents of each book in case readers wish to purchase the one or two volumes of most use to them, or look for them at the sites of online booksellers. It also helps to know the scope of the content before going to a library.
Guide to Union Soldier Burials
The first numbers mentioned in each guide entry are the original volume numbers; second is the number of pages.
- Book 1 (1-6; 616) covers cemeteries in Washington, and Arlington and Alexandria, VA, as well as at The Wilderness and Spottsylvania Court House, VA, Andersonville, GA, Fortress Monroe and Hampton, SC, plus some Texas locations.
- Book 2 (7-10; 720) covers burial sites from ME to FL and west to CA, but mostly in MD, VA, LA, MO, AR and TN.
- Book 3 (11-13; 749) primarily covers Tennessee burials, including the national cemeteries at Knoxville, Chattanooga and Stone’s River.
- Book 4 (14-15; 720) names 12,000 men buried in prison camps in all states of the Confederacy, as well as Virginia burials at Antietam, Arlington (additional), Culpepper Courthouse, Cold Harbor, Staunton, Winchester and other locations.
- Book 5 (16-17; 929 pages) lists burials at national cemeteries in MA, NY, PA, VA, IN, GA and KY.
- Book 6 (18-19; 818) covers cemeteries in MD, VA, NC, LA, TX, AR, IN, IL, OH and other midwest locations.
- Book 7 (20-21; 808) lists burials at Pittsburg Landing and Memphis, TN, as well as Corinth, MS, Jefferson Barracks, MO, and Chalmette, LA.
- Book 8 (22-23; 847) concentrates on cemeteries at Nashville, Fort Donelson, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Murfreesboro, TN, and Marietta, GA.
- Book 9 (24-25; 560) documents burials in Vicksburg, MS, Fredericksburg, VA, Mobile, AL and Fort Gibson (Indian Territory), plus supplemental names for Hampton, VA, Barrancas, FL, Alexandria, LA and New Albany, IN.
- Book 10 (26-27; 576) has corrections to previous entries (many in IL and OH), additional burials in AR, KS, and VA; burials at Beaufort, SC cemeteries, Vicksburg and Natchez, MS, and additional burials at Pittsburg Landing, TN. There is also a section which names locations from which bodies were removed and tells where they were re-interred.
These volumes are said to be the most complete written memorial to Union Army casualties. They complement a variety of other Civil War records offering other types of genealogical data.
Source: Descriptive material released by the Genealogical Publishing Company in 1995 when the 10th volume became available.
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