Pennsylvania Volunteers of the Civil War

Look for your ancestors in this PA genealogy database of American Civil War soldiers - infantry, cavalry & artillery rosters, histories, biographies, draft, journals, letters, medal of honor recipients, prisoners of war (POWs), & pensions of our Pennsylvania military ancestors. Use this free Pennsylvania database to help with your genealogy search.

PA Civil War Soldiers

Civil War Veterans' Card File, 1861-1866 Indexes

Arranged alphabetically by surname of soldier at the Pennsylvania Archives.

These 3" x 5" cards were initially prepared to serve as an index to Samuel P. Bates' "History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865" (Harrisburg, 1869-1871). The Office of the Adjutant General later expanded the scope of the cards by transcribing onto them data found on the original Civil War Muster Rolls and Related Records, 1861-1866 {series #19.11}.

The information generally includes:

Soldier name
Military units
Bates' citation (volume and page)
Age at enrollment
description (complexion, height, color of hair and eyes)
Residence and birthplace
Date and place where enrolled
Date and place where mustered in
Date of discharge.

The listing is not inclusive.

Civil War Veterans' Card File, 1861-1866 Indexes

Select the first letter of the surname you want to view in the card file index.
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View Archive Card Key

Ancestry.com Civil War Databases

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U.S. Civil War Soldiers
6.3 million soldiers who served in the American Civil War.
U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles
A compilation of military records (including state rosters, pension records, and regimental histories) of individual soldiers who served in the United States Civil War.
Civil War Collection
Search all the Civil War databases
Civil War Research Database
Interlinked records of Civil War soldiers.

Civil War Pension Index
Use the index to order Civil War Pension records from NARA which can provide huge amounts of genealogy data. Learn more
Military Databases
The largest collection of U.S. military records available online. More than 90 million names and 700 databases!

Pennsylvania Databases
Search the Pennsylvania Ancestry Databases.

Historic Newspapers
Read about the Civil War as it happened. Read the stories of PA soldiers killed, injured, missing, POWs, letters home, draft lists, battles, and more.

Special Veterans' 1890 Census
Lists the veteran's name or widow's name, rank, year of enlistment, and year of discharge.

Civil War POWs
Confederate and Union Civil War Prisoners of War

Footnote.com Civil War Databases

Search for your Ancestors in Original NARA Documents

Civil War Records
Original documents relating to the American Civil War, slavery, and the confederate states. * Free Trial

Civil War Pension Index
(often includes soldier's death date and place)
Civil War Widows' Pensions
Images of the actual pension record, not the index. Many of the pension files are over 100 pages.
Brady Civil War Photos
PA Civil War IRS Records
Records of tax assessment lists during the period 1862-66. The records include the name, location, article taxed or occupation, and the amount assessed and taxed.
Philadelphia PA Directories
Directories include pre-Civil War, Civil War era, and post Civil War time periods
Pennsylvania Archives
Pennsylvania Records

Footnote.com Military Databases

Revolutionary War Records

Civil War Records

World War I Records

World War II Records

Air Force Records

Army Records

Navy Records

Military Records

Civil War Research

Civil War Research
Want to find out if your ancestor was a Civil War soldier? Follow these research ideas.