The commemoration of the beginning of the Civil War has produced several new publications on how to trace your Civil War ancestors.
Family Chronicle has a new 82-page work devoted to the subject, "Tracing Your Civil War Ancestors," by David A. Norris. It includes more than 20 articles covering numerous topics, including how to begin, the different types of troops, civilians in the war, prisoners of war, parole lists, pension resources and amnesty papers.
The publication is available for $9.95 plus $4.50 shipping from Moorshead Magazines, P.O. Box 194, Niagara Falls, NY 14304. 1-888-326-2476, www.familychronicle.com.
The same company has published "Life During the Civil War," also by David A. Norris, and also $9.95. This book contains a series of illustrated articles covering various aspects of what the soldiers went through during the war.
Family Tree Magazine has published a special Civil War issue. There are great illustrations and links to numerous websites to help you find military research sources. There is also an article on finding African-American newspapers. This issue can be found at major bookstores and at www.familytreemagazine.com, where you can purchase a copy for $8 postpaid or a digital version to download. Call 1-800-258-0929 to order by mail.
National Civil War Museum
Check www.nationalcivilwarmuseum.org to learn about the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pa. You can take a virtual tour of the 24,000 artifacts, a collection that continues to grow. This would be an interesting stop on your tour of Civil War-related sites. The Gettysburg National Military Park is not far away and is a must on any such tour.
Georgia's Civil War rosters
Georgia's most popular published material on Civil War soldiers is the six-volume set "Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia, 1861-1865," compiled by Lillian Henderson, director of the Confederate Pension and Record Department. A separate index volume was published in 1982 by the Reprint Co. of Spartanburg, S.C. Be sure to note that Henderson only included the infantry in these volumes. Many others fought in the artillery and militia units, and that material can be found on microfilm at the Georgia Archives, as can be more material on the infantry troops.
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