Seeking records of Joseph McDonough/Smith

JoAnne,

This is a picture of an Admiral Joseph Smith Civil war. If you have any additional information such as a DOB, place of birth.

Thanks,

Elliot Schneider

Dear Ms. Booth,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

Unfortunately, the Navy Department did not create compiled service records for all Civil War-era sailors comparable to what the War Department created for soldiers.

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located Muster Rolls of Naval Ships, 1/1/1860 - 6/9/1900 in the Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (Record Group 24). Many of these records have been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog.  However, there is no personal name index to these records and the Catalog is not word-searchable by the name of the sailor. You would need to know which ships to search for, and then browse through the muster rolls for that particular ship. If the sailor or his survivors applied for a pension, there may be a pension file for him that will likely list the names of the ship or ships that he served on. Please note that not all those that served applied for pensions. For more information about Navy muster rolls and pension records, please email the National Archives at Washington, DC - Textual Reference (RDT1) at Archives1reference@nara.gov.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT1. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

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