Archival Research Catalog (ARC)
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Historical Documents Online: Search Hints for Selected Topics

Military: Civil War

Selected Civil War Records in ARC

For information on other Civil War sources at the National Archives, please see:
  • Plans of Military Forts, 1790 - 1941
    Plans, engineering drawings, diagrams, blueprints and sketches of Civil War forts. These materials are held by NARA's Cartographic and Architectural Records (College Park, MD).

    Search Hint: To retrieve the 54 maps from the Fortifications Map File:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter Fortifications Map File Plans of Military Forts in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit hits radio button to 100.
    5. Press the Go button.
    6. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.
    7. Scroll down to the part of the description that says Includes 54 items. Click on that link to view the hit list for all 54 items.

    From the Collection:

    North Side of Arkansas River opposite Little Rock, about 1861
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    ARC Identifier: 305762, Title: "North Side of Arkansas River opposite Little Rock, ca. 1861 - ca. 1865"

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  • Civil Works Map File
    A number of Civil War-Era maps, charts, plans and drawings have been digitized from this collection. These materials are held by NARA's Cartographic and Architectural Records (College Park, MD).

    Search Hint: To retrieve 182 maps from the Civil Works Map File:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter Civil Works Map File in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit results radio button for 100.
    5. Press the Go button.
    6. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of the series titled your hit by selecting the Title link for Civil Works Maps File.
    7. Scroll down to the part of the description that says Includes 182 items. Click on that link to view the hit list for all 182 items.

    From the Collection:

    Battlefield of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of July 1863
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    ARC Identifier: #305570, Title: "Battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa., 1st, 2nd, & 3rd of July 1863, 1863 - 1864"

    Search Hint: To retrieve 10 maps from the Post and Reservation Maps:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter Post and Reservation Maps in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit results radio button for 100.
    5. Press the Go button.
    6. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link for Post and Reservation Maps.
    7. Scroll down to the part of the description that says Includes 10 items. Click on that link to view the hit list for all 10 items.

    From the Collection:

    Headquarters of Major General Augur, et al, September 1865
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    ARC Identifier: #305822, Title: "Headquarters of Maj. Genl. Augur, Including Offices of Provost Marshal, Commissary of Musters, Chief of Ordnance and Printing. Washington, D.C., Sept. 1st, 1865. [Ground plan of the buildings located at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Fifteenth and a Half Street, North.], 09/01/1865"

    Search Hint: To retrieve the 4 maps from the Civil War Atlas Manuscript Maps:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter Civil War Atlas Manuscript Maps in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit results radio button for 100.
    5. Press the Go button.
    6. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.
    7. Scroll down to the part of the description that says Includes 4 items. Click on that link to view the hit list for all 4 items.

    From the Collection:

    Map to Show Lines of March of Second Army Corps and The Enemy, Oct. 14, 1863
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    ARC Identifier: 305831, Title: "Map to Show Lines of March of Second Army Corps and The Enemy, Oct. 14, 1863. [between Warrenton and Bristoe Station]...from reconnaissances after the movement...[signed] G. K. Warren, Maj. Genl., Vols., 10/14/1863"

    Search Hint: To retrieve the 2 Manuscript and Annotated Maps:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter Manuscript and Annotated Maps in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit hits radio button to 100.
    5. Press the Go button.
    6. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link for Manuscript and Annotated Maps, 1800 - 1955.
    7. Scroll down to the part of the description that says Includes 2 items. Click on that link to view the hit list for the 2 items.

    From the Collection:

    Map of the United States Showing the Military Divisions and Military Departments, about 1865
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    ARC Identifier: 305454, Title: "Map of the United States Showing the Military Divisions and Military Departments of, ca. 1865"

    Search Hint: To retrieve the 1 map from the War Department Map Collection:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter War Department Map Collection in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit results radio button for 100.
    5. Press the Go button.
    6. Select the box marked Descriptions of Archival Materials linked to digital copies
    7. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.

    From the Collection:

    Map of Clarksburg and vicinity, 1863
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    ARC Identifier: 305809, Title: "Map of Clarksburg and vicinity. Surveyed and drawn under the direction of 1st Lieut. John R. Meigs, U. S. Engrs., by Henry Topping, Asst. Engr., Septr. 1863., 09/1863 "

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  • Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, 1860's
    Approximately 6066 photographs taken by Mathew Brady and his associates have been digitized. These materials are held by NARA's Still Picture Records (College Park, MD).

    Search Hint: To retrieve the 6066 Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter Mathew Brady Photographs in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit results radio button for 100.
    5. Press the Go button.
    6. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link for Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War Personalities and Scenes.
    7. Scroll down to the part of the description that says Includes 6066 items. Click on that link to view the hit list for all 6066 items.

    From the Collection:

    General Stonewall Jackson
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    ARC Identifier: 526067, Title: "Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson, C.S.A, ca. 1860 - ca. 1865" Local Identifier: NWDNS-111-B-1867

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  • Herbert Eugene Valentine's Sketches of Civil War Scenes, 1861-1864
    All 26 watercolors have been digitized, painted by Herbert Eugene Valentine while serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. Herbert Eugene Valentine (1841-1917) enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 5, 1861, at Salem, Massachusetts. Shortly thereafter, he was mustered into Company F, 23rd Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers where he served as a clerk and occasionally drew military maps. As the Civil War progressed, he was stationed in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. During most of his military service, Valentine served as a clerk in the division headquarters. His duties were episodic allowing him considerable free time which he used to make sketches of military life. He chose not to reenlist, and was discharged on October 16, 1864. The records are held by NARA's Still Picture Records (College Park, MD).

    Search Hint: To retrieve the 26 digitized documents:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter Herbert Eugene Valentine in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit results radio button for 100.
    5. Select the box marked Descriptions of Archival Materials linked to digital copies
    6. Press the Go button.
    7. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.

    From the Collection:

    Four Headquarters of Brig. General C. A. Heckman, 1863
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    ARC Identifier: 533204, Title: "Four Headquarters of Brig. General C. A. Heckman, Commanding 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 18th Army Corps, 1863. (Four individual sketches) New Berne, N. Carolina; Morehead City, N. Carolina; Carolina City, N. Carolina; and Hilton Head, S. Carolina., 1863" Local Identifier: NWDNS-165-HV-7

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  • Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War, by Alexander Gardner, 1861-1865
    Almost 100 images from Gardner's book have been digitized. These materials are held by the Still Picture Records (College Park, MD).

    Search Hint: To retrieve the Civil War Photographs by Alexander Gardner:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit results radio button for 100.
    5. Press the Go button.
    6. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link for Photographic Sketch Book of the Civil War, by Alexander Gardner.
    7. Scroll down to the part of the description that says Includes 98 items. Click on that link to view the hit list for all digitized items.
Maryland, Antietam Bridge, 1862
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ARC Identifier: 533293, Title: "Maryland, Antietam Bridge, 09/1862"

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  • Confiscation Case Files, 1863-1865
    8 documents from the Confiscation Case File of Robert E. Lee have been digitized. These materials are held by NARA's Mid-Atlantic Region (Center City, Philadelphia, PA).

    Search Hint: To retrieve the 8 digitized documents:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter Robert E. Lee and Alexandria Division in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit results radio button for 100.
    5. Select the box marked Descriptions of Archival Materials linked to digital copies
    6. Press the Go button.
    7. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.

    From the Collection:

    Inventory of General Lee's personal property at Arlington House, 1863
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    ARC Identifier: 279088, Title: "Inventory of General Lee's personal property at Arlington House filed in U.S. v. All the Rights, Titles, of Robert E. Lee (Robert E. Lee Confiscation Case), 08/29/1863"

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  • Records of Death and Interment at Camp Nelson, KY, 1864-1865
    259 documents have been digitized from these materials. The Records of Death and Interment provide the decedent's name, rank, unit, cause and date of death, and burial location. The Records of Death from the Colored Refugee Home and the Freedman's Hospital are for "contraband", slaves who escaped or were brought within Union lines. The latter records provide the decedent's name, height, and date of death. Please note that only portions of these documents have been digitized and made available online. These materials are held by NARA's Southeast Region (Atlanta, GA).

    Search Hint: To retrieve the 259 digitized documents:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter Death and Interment as an exact phrase search (in curly braces) in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit results radio button for 1000.
    5. Select the box marked Descriptions of Archival Materials linked to digital copies.
    6. Press the Go button.
    7. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.

    From the Collection:

    Death and Interment Record for James W. Anderson
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    ARC Identifier: 279427, Title: "Death and Interment Record for James W. Anderson"

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  • Selected document from the War Department and Office of the Secretary of War.
    1 document has been digitized from this series. This material is held by NARA's Old Military and Civil Records (Washington, DC).

    Search Hint: To retrieve the 1 digitized document:

    1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
    2. Press the Yellow search button to go to the Basic search screen.
    3. Enter Telegram from Abraham Lincoln to Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant in the Keywords box.
    4. Select the limit results radio button for 100.
    5. Select the box marked Descriptions of Archival Materials linked to digital copies.
    6. Press the Go button.
    7. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.

    From the Collection:

    Telegram from Abraham Lincoln to Lt. General Ulysses Grant, 1864
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    ARC Identifier: 301640, Title: "Telegram from Abraham Lincoln to Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant at City Point, Virginia, 08/17/1864"

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The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001
Telephone: 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272