St Louis County Library

Indexed Source

"Descriptive Recruitment Lists of Volunteers for the United States Colored Troops for the State of Missouri, 1863-1865" (NARA Microfilm Publication M1894). Washington, D.C.: Julius K. Hunter & Friends African American Research Collection St. Louis County Library and National Archives and Records Administration, 2002.

Download the NARA M1894 descriptive pamphlet as a PDF.

About the records

The microfilm includes records of African American men, most of whom were slaves, who enlisted in the United States Colored Troops between 1863 and 1865 at a Missouri recruitment station. When the volunteer was a slave, the record also includes information about his former slave owner. Original records include the following data:

Recruit's information

• Full name
• Age
• County and state of birth
• Slave owner, if a slave

Slave owner's information

• Full name
• County and state of residence
• Loyalty to the union (sometimes mentioned by not consistently)

Frame numbers--where are they and why are they helpful?

The frame number is a small number that appears between the top edge of the microfilm and the top edge of the document image. There is one frame number for each image. Knowing the NARA microfilm publication number (M1894), the roll number, and the frame number enables anyone to find an exact document or an exact place on a roll of film quickly and accurately.