Descriptive Pamphlet (DP) for National Archives Microfilm Publication M589

St. Louis County Library would like to acknowledge the cooperation and support of the National Archives' (NARA) staff.

The Special Collections' copy of this microfilm publication was purchased by the Julius K. Hunter and Friends African American Research Collection.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES MICROFILM PUBLICATIONS

Pamphlet Accompanying
Microcopy No. 589

Index to Compiled Service Records of
Volunteer Union Soldiers who Served with
United States Colored Troops

The National Archives
National Archives and Records Service
General Services Administration
Washington: 1965

INDEX TO COMPILED SERVICE RECORDS OF
VOLUNTEER UNION SOLDIERS WHO SERVED WITH
UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS

On the 98 rolls of this microfilm publication is reproduced an alphabetical card index to the compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served with U.S. Colored Troops. Each index card gives the name of a soldier, his rank, and the unit in which he served. There are cross-references for names that appeared in the records under more than one spelling and for service in more than one unit or organization.

The supposedly correct name of a volunteer Union soldier who served with U.S. Colored Troops may not appear in the index for several reasons. First, he may have served in a unit from a State or in the Regular Army. Second, he may have served under a different name or used a different spelling of his name. Third, a proper record of his service may not have been made; or, if made, it may have been lost or destroyed in the confusion that often attended the initial mobilization, subsequent military operations, and disbandment of troops. Fourth, the references to the soldier in the original records may have been so vague that it was not practicable to determine his correct name or the unit in which he served.

The compiled service records to which the index applies consist of a jacket-envelope for each soldier, labeled with his name and containing (1) card abstracts of entries relating to the soldier in the original muster rolls, returns, hospital rolls, descriptive books, lists of discharges, and lists of deserters; and (2) the originals of any papers relating solely to the particular soldier. A typical example of a compiled service record is filmed at the beginning of the index.

The compiled service records of soldiers serving with U.S. Colored Troops are arranged according to an organizational breakdown ending with the regiment or the independent battalion or company. Under each unit the service records are arranged alphabetically by surname. Unless the unit in which a soldier served is known, his compiled service record can be located only through the use of an index, such as the one reproduced here, which gives the name of the unit in which he served.

The compilation of service records of Union soldiers was begun in 1890 under the direction of Capt. Fred C. Ainsworth, head of the Record and Pension Division of the War Department. The abstracts made from the original records were verified by a separate operation of comparison, and great care was taken to ensure than the abstracts and the indexes were accurate.

Reproductions of specific compiled service records corresponding to entries in the index here reproduced may be obtained from the National Archives for a fee. Requests for such reproductions should give the name of the regiment or battalion, and the company for each soldier, exactly as shown in the index.

The index here reproduced and the compiled service records to which it relates are part of Record Group 94, Records of The Adjutant General's Office.

The National Archives has other records that may contain information about Union soldiers who served with U.S. Colored Troops. Other series of compiled service records of volunteer soldiers are (1) series containing records of units belonging to the various States and Territories, (2) an alphabetical series of records of Union staff officers, (3) medical records of volunteer Union and Mexican War soldiers, and (4) records of other non-State organizations, such as the U.S. Sharp Shooters, the Signal Corps, and the Veterans Reserve Corps. Information relating to soldiers who served in the Regular Army is recorded in Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914 (reproduced as Microcopy 233), and in other records of The Adjutant General's Office. If an application for a pension was made, additional information about the soldier may be among the pension application files of the Veterans Administration in Record Group 15. Supposed Union military service is sometimes shown by the records to have been civilian service as a scout, guide, or spy. Evidence of such service may be among the records of the Provost Marshal General in Record Group 110.

CONTENTS OF MICROCOPY 589

Roll
Range and Price

1
A - Alk $3 [Not current price]

2
All - Ande $3 [Not current price]

3
Andl - Az $3 [Not current price]

4
B - Baq $3 [Not current price]

5
Bar - Bat $3 [Not current price]

6
Bau - Ben $3 [Not current price]

7
Beo - Blai $3 [Not current price]

8
Blak - Bor $3 [Not current price]

9
Bos - Brag $3 [Not current price]

10
Brah - Broo $3 [Not current price]

11
Bros - Brown, J. $2 [Not current price]

12
Brown, K. - Buf $3 [Not current price]

13
Bug - Bus $2 [Not current price]

14
But - Cam $3 [Not current price]

15
Can - Car $3 [Not current price]

16
Cas - Che $3 [Not current price]

17
Chi - Cl $3 [Not current price]

18
Co - Com $3 [Not current price]

19
Con - Cot $3 [Not current price]

20
Cou - Cr $3 [Not current price]

21
Cs - Dau $2 [Not current price]

22
Dav - Daz $3 [Not current price]

23
De - Dic $3 [Not current price]

24
Did - Dov $1 [Not current price]

25
Dow - Dy $3 [Not current price]

26
E - El $3 [Not current price]

27
Em - Fa $3 [Not current price]

28
Fe - Fl $3 [Not current price]

29
Fo - Fran $3 [Not current price]

30
Frap - Gak $3 [Not current price]

31
Gal - Gh $3 [$Not current price]

32
Gi - Gn $2 [Not current price]

33
Go - Graw $3 [Not current price]

34
Gray - Gref $3 [Not current price]

35
Greg - Gy $3 [Not current price]

36
H - Ham $3 [Not current price]

37
Han - Harris, K. $3 [Not current price]

38
Harris, L. - Haw $3 [Not current price]

39
Hax - Heno $2 [Not current price]

40
Henr - Hik $3 [Not current price]

41
Hil - Holl $3 [Not current price]

42
Holm - Hoz $3 [Not current price]

43
Hu - Hy $3 [Not current price]

44
I - Jackson, I. $2 [Not current price]

45
Jackson, J. - Jay $3 [Not current price]

46
Je - Johnson, C. $3 [Not current price]

47
Johnson, D. - Johnson, M. $3 [Not current price]

48
Johnson, N. - Jom $2 [Not current price]

49
Jon - Jont $3 [Not current price]

50
Joo - Ke $3 [Not current price]

51
Kh - Lah $3 [Not current price]

52
Lai - Laz $2 [Not current price]

53
Le - Lev $3 [Not current price]

54
Lew - Loc $3 [Not current price]

55
Lod - Ly $3 [Not current price]

56
M - Marr $3 [Not current price]

57
Mars - Mat $3 [Not current price]

58
Mau - McD $3 [Not current price]

59
McE - Mel $3 [Not current price]

60
Mem - Mil $3 [Not current price]

61
Mim - Moon $2 [Not current price]

62
Moor - Morr $3 [Not current price]

63
Mors - My $3 [Not current price]

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N - Ni $3 [Not current price]

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No - O $3 [Not current price]

66
P - Pas $2 [Not current price]

67
Pat - Pes $3 [Not current price]

68
Pet - Pi $3 [Not current price]

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Pl - Pre $3 [Not current price]

70
Pri - Ram $3 [Not current price]

71
Ran - Ree $3 [Not current price]

72
Ref - Ric $2 [Not current price]

73
Rid - Robe $2 [Not current price]

74
Robi - Rok $3 [Not current price]

75
Rol - Ry $3 [Not current price]

76
S - Scl $2 [Not current price]

77
Sco - Se $3 [Not current price]

78
Sh $2 [Not current price]

79
Si - Sme $3 [Not current price]

80
Smi - Smith, J. $3 [Not current price]

81
Smith, K. - So $3 [Not current price]

82
Sp - Steu $3 [Not current price]

83
Stev - Sty $3 [Not current price]

84
Su - Tax $2 [Not current price]

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Tay - Thol $3 [Not current price]

86
Thom - Thomp $3 [Not current price]

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Thoms - To $3 [Not current price]

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Tr - Ty $3 [Not current price]

89
U - V $2 [Not current price]

90
W - Ward $3 [Not current price]

91
Ware - Wash $3 [Not current price]

92
Wass - Wem $3 [Not current price]

92
Wen - White $3 [Not current price]

94
Whitf - Williams, E. $3 [Not current price]

95
Williams, F. - Williams, T. $3 [Not current price]

96
Williams, V. - Wils $3 [Not current price]

97
Wilt - Wo $3 [Not current price]

98
Wr - Z $3 [Not current price]

M589 DP: Beginning | Contents
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