Abrams Collection Genealogy Highlights
March/April 2002
Volume 4, Number 2
More than 90,000 Michigan men, nearly 23 percent of the state's male population in 1860, served in the United States Civil War. In addition to the approximately 600 men who joined the Navy, these men served in 31 infantry regiments, 11 cavalry, 14 batteries of artillery, and 1 unit each of engineers and sharpshooters. In fighting to preserve the Union, these Michigan servicemen generated a wealth of genealogical records from which family history researchers can benefit.
This publication is a list of notable Michigan Civil War resources available at the Library of Michigan. Titles may be located by searching ANSWER, the Library's online catalog. The easiest way to locate Civil War resources on ANSWER is with a keyword search using the phrase michigan civil war, followed by the type of information you are looking for. Here are some additional suggestions to help maximize your search results:
Adding the type and number of a soldier's regiment will also help refine your search. For example, michigan regimental histories and 4th cavalry will retrieve materials that focus on the 4th Michigan Cavalry unit. When searching by keyword, it is not necessary to capitalize proper nouns.
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Dyer, Frederick H. Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 3 vols. 1908. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.
Genealogy E 491 .D99 1959
Ellis, Helen H., comp. Michigan in the Civil War: A Guide to the Material in Detroit Newspapers, 1861-1866. Lansing: Michigan Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, 1965.
Michigan Documents Z 1297 .E55 1965
Fox, William F. Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865. 4th ed. Albany, NY: Albany Publishing Company, 1898.
Genealogy E 491 .F79 1898
May, George S., comp. Michigan Civil War Monuments. Lansing: Michigan Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, 1965.
Michigan Documents E 470 .M533 1965
---. Michigan and the Civil War Years, 1860-1866: A Wartime Chronicle. Lansing: Michigan Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, 1964.
Michigan Documents E 514 .M35 1964
McRae, Norman. Negroes in Michigan During the Civil War. Lansing: Michigan Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, 1966.
Michigan Documents E 514.5 1st Colored .M32
Robertson, John, comp. Michigan in the War. Rev. ed. Lansing, MI: W.S. George & Company, 1882.
Michigan Documents E 514 .M62 1882
An index is available.
Michigan Women in the Civil War. Lansing: Michigan Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, 1963.
Michigan Documents E 514 .M6258 1963
Williams, Frederick D. Michigan Soldiers in the Civil War. 3rd ed. Lansing: Bureau of Michigan History, 1994.
Michigan Documents E 514 .W5 1994
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Eleventh Census of the United States, 1890: Schedules Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Michigan. 5 reels. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1948.
Genealogy Microfilm HA 201 1890
An every-name index is available.
Hewett, Janet B., ed. Roster of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865. 32 vols. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Co., 1995-1996.
Genealogy E 494 .H4 1997
Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of Michigan. 48 reels. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1964.
Genealogy Microfilm E 514 .I5 1964
Also available for Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and the U.S. Colored Troops regiments.
Michigan. Adjutant-General's Department. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, 1861-1865. 46 vols. Kalamazoo: Ihling Brothers & Everard, 190-.
Michigan Documents E 514.3 .M62
A master index is available.
Michigan. Adjutant General's Department.
Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Michigan. 6 vols. 1862-1866.
Michigan Documents UA 43 .M5
Reports give regimental rosters and updates, names of casualties and discharge information.
Pension Index File. 544 reels. Washington, D.C.: Veterans Administration Publications Service, 1953.
Genealogy Microfilm UB 373 .P4 1953
A card index primarily for Union servicemen.
Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 95 vols. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing, 1994.
Genealogy E 464 .U61
United States Civil War Soldiers Living in Michigan in 1894. St. Johns, MI: The Genealogists of Clinton County Historical Society, 1988.
Michigan E 494 .U6 1988
United States. Pension Bureau. List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883. Vol. 4. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883.
Michigan E 494 .U55 1883
United States. War Department. War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 128 vols. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901.
U.S. Documents Reference W 45.5
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Civil War Unit Histories: Regimental Histories and Personal Narratives. 5 vols. Bethesda, MD: University Publications of America, 1992-1996.
Genealogy E 470 .C58 1990
Isham, Asa B. Historical Sketch of the Seventh Regiment Michigan Volunteer Cavalry. 1893. Huntington, WV: Blue Acorn Press, 2000.
Michigan E 514.6 7th .I7 2000
Pardington, John H. Dear Sarah: Letters Home From a Soldier of the Iron Brigade. Ed. Coralou Peel Lassen. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1999.
Michigan E 514.5 24th .P37 1999
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Grand Army of the Republic. Department of Michigan. Journal of the Annual Encampment. Lansing: Grand Army of the Republic, 1882-1948.
Michigan E 462.1 .M44 A4
Michigan Soldiers' Home. Board of Managers. Biennial Report of the Board of Managers of the Michigan Soldiers' Home. 17 vols. Lansing, MI: Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Company, 1887-1918.
Michigan Documents UB 384 .M5 M53
Reports list the residents by name, rank, and unit; some include additional personal information about the veteran.
Sherman, Alonzo J., comp. List of the Grand Army of the Republic Posts in Michigan, 1872-1948. Oscoda, MI: Huron Shore Genealogical Society, 1994.
Michigan E 462.1 .M5 S54 1994
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American Civil War Home Page
http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/
Site contains histories, regimental rosters, documentary records and bibliographies.
Civil War Battle Flags
http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/explore/
museums/hismus/special/flags/flaglist.html
Images of the battle flags for Michigan's Civil War units.
Civil War Maps Collection
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/cwmhtml/
This American Memory project maintains a wide array of digitized Civil War maps, including reconnaissance and campaign maps.
United States Civil War Center
http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/
An index to Civil War information available on the Internet.
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