More Medal of Honor winners came from this war than any other—and more Americans lost their lives. Women disguised themselves as men to join the fight. After almost two years, black men were allowed to join the fight for freedom. These are just a few of the stories that came out of America’s bloodiest conflict.
Mounting tensions over slavery came to a head with the election of anti-slavery president Abraham Lincoln in 1860. By February 1861, even before Lincoln had taken office, seven states had seceded from the Union; 6 more would follow by the end of the year. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces attacked South Carolina’s Fort Sumter igniting war.
More than 3.2 million Americans would fight in the Civil War; more than 2 million for the Union and about a million for the Confederate States. The Union side suffered almost 360,000 deaths, both battle and non-battle related. Confederate forces lost around 260,000. Recent estimates are suggesting the death totals may be even higher. About 2 percent of the population died, and few American families were left untouched—and that may include yours.
If you want to find your family’s Civil War story, here are some tips from the experts at Ancestry:
1. Search census records for clues. Start with 20th-century records. The 1910 and 1930 censuses each asked about prior military service.
2. Follow your family back through census records to the 1860 and 1850 censuses to find men whose age made them likely to serve.
3. Look for likely candidates in records created about Civil War veterans. In 1890, the U.S. government filled out a special census called the 1890 Veterans Schedule that included veterans of the Civil War or spouses, if the veteran was deceased.
4. Use names, birth dates and places, and other details to search for your soldier in war records such as draft registrations, service records, muster rolls, and pension applications. U.S. Colored Troops have their own set of service records.
5. Don’t forget Civil War cemeteries. More than 300,000 Union dead were reinterred in national cemeteries.
The Civil War was a defining event in U.S. history—and it may have affected your family in ways you can’t imagine. You can learn more about researching your Civil War ancestor in a free research guide from Ancestry.