1 Reply Latest reply on Apr 18, 2018 10:22 AM by Jenette Parish

    Are Civil War compiled service records on the same microfilm as the CSR Index Cards?

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    Pamela Miller Apr 18, 2018 9:12 AM

      I would like to review a service record for a young man who served in the 61st Illinois Infantry during the US Civil War.  I have obtained his pension record from NARA but no service record was included.  He has index cards listed on the NARA microfilm (seen on Fold3.com), so I feel certain there must be actual service records.  Do the service records follow the index cards on the NARA microfilm or are the service records kept on other reels of microfilm separate from the index cards?

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        • Re: Are Civil War compiled service records on the same microfilm as the CSR Index Cards?
          Jenette Parish Adventurer
          Jenette Parish Expert Apr 18, 2018 10:22 AM (in response to Pamela Miller)

          Dear Ms. Miller,

           

          Thank you for contacting the History Hub about early military service records.

           

          The Compiled Service Records on microfilm and fold3.com are nearly the same with some nuances. If there is an index card for your soldier, his CMSR can be requested in person at the National Archives in Washington D.C. or online using NATF-86. You may also search our National Archives Catalog to see if another researcher has already digitized your family member to the Catalog. Researchers are able to scan pensions and military service records for free to the Catalog in our Innovation Hub in Washington D.C.

           

          To explain why there isn’t a military service record in the pension application, these are two different records. The CMSR is a compiled record of existing record entries that present information about the soldiers military service. The pension file is a application process with many documents that will either confirm or deny his or his beneficiaries a pension benefit.

           

          We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!

           

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