Hi all, This is almost off the subject, but how do I determine a soldiers service (confederate vs. Union, ect.) from the pension files that Ancestry has online? A lot of the writing in the corners are just not high enough resolution to read and since soldiers that served in the Spanish American War (1898) also appear in the index, I'm finding it hard to tell whether they were in the Union Army or Spanish American War without cross referencing the name with Union Rosters. An example of this would be Joseph W. Holland CO M 3rd Reg GA INF. He has a pension filed in Alabama in 1921. In this case, I'm fairly certain he was in the Spanish American War as apposed to being a Union Soldier. For one thing, a tombstone bearing the same name and unit says he was in the S.A.W. Other than that, I have never heard or read of a 3rd GA regiment in the Union Army. But, what if the Regiment was listed as say the 3rd Reg TN Inf. I know Several Union Armies were mustered in TN, so what would be the key difference between the two pension application files that would let me know the difference between the two Wars? Also can someone help with this persons pension? I have been looking for the pension of a John Wehunt who served in a Confederate GA Reg. Ancestry lists that John Wehunt and his widow had a pension file in GA, but the wrong file comes up when you click it. I have been going through different counties files, but not having luck. My library finally got an index of all confederate pensions in GA so I looked for him. There were no Wehunts listed in the index at all. So, did all the Wehunts go off and also join a Union unit or could the index be incomplete? Anybody got an answer? Keith Bailey

Keith, I'm not sure if this is what your are asking, but the pensions you find in ancestry.com that come from NARA are all union veterans, as the United States Government only awarded pensions for CW veterans who fought on the union side. Confederate veterans had to apply to the state where they were living at the time of application; each southern state administered its own pension, with its own rules. So you have to find confederate pensions at the archives of the respective state where you think the confederate veteran/widow applied from. These are not on line at ancestry. -------Original Message------- From: CIVIL-WAR-L@rootsweb.com Date: Thursday, July 10, 2003 03:50:48 PM To: CIVIL-WAR-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [CIVIL-WAR] Civil War Pension index Question Hi all, This is almost off the subject, but how do I determine a soldiers service (confederate vs. Union, ect.) from the pension files that Ancestry has online? A lot of the writing in the corners are just not high enough resolution to read and since soldiers that served in the Spanish American War (1898) also appear in the index, I'm finding it hard to tell whether they were in the Union Army or Spanish American War without cross referencing the name with Union Rosters. An example of this would be Joseph W. Holland CO M 3rd Reg GA INF. He has a pension filed in Alabama in 1921. In this case, I'm fairly certain he was in the Spanish American War as apposed to being a Union Soldier. For one thing, a tombstone bearing the same name and unit says he was in the S.A.W. Other than that, I have never heard or read of a 3rd GA regiment in the Union Army But, what if the Regiment was listed as say the 3rd Reg TN Inf. I know Several Union Armies were mustered in TN, so what would be the key difference between the two pension application files that would let me know the difference between the two Wars? Also can someone help with this persons pension? I have been looking for the pension of a John Wehunt who served in a Confederate GA Reg. Ancestry lists that John Wehunt and his widow had a pension file in GA, but the wrong file comes up when you click it. I have been going through different counties files, but not having luck. My library finally got an index of all confederate pensions in GA so I looked for him. There were no Wehunts listed in the index at all. So, did all the Wehunts go off and also join a Union unit or could the index be incomplete? Anybody got an answer? Keith Bailey ==== CIVIL-WAR Mailing List ==== To unsubscribe from list mode, email CIVIL-WAR-L-REQUEST@rootsweb.com and in the text area of the message, type only the word unsubscribe .

On 10 Jul 2003 at 17:03, keith d bailey wrote: > Hi all, > This is almost off the subject, but how do I determine a soldiers > service (confederate vs. Union, ect.) from the pension files that > Ancestry has online? As far as I know Ancestry has no confederate pension indexes online, so that narrows your choices a little. > not high enough resolution to read and since soldiers that served > in the Spanish American War (1898) also appear in the index, I'm > finding it hard to tell whether they were in the Union Army or > Spanish American War without cross referencing the name with Union > Rosters. The index used for the Ancestry database is _General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934_, microfilm T288 (Washington: National Archives), therefore your idea of cross referencing the name with Union rosters is a very good one. Indexes are also available of soldiers who served in the Spanish American War. > know Several Union Armies were mustered in TN, so what would be > the key difference between the two pension application files that > would let me know the difference between the two Wars? The date of filing is often the only clue. > Also can someone help with this persons pension? I have been > looking for the pension of a John Wehunt who served in a > Confederate GA Reg. Ancestry lists that John Wehunt and his > widow had a pension file in GA, but the wrong file comes up when > you click it. I have been going through different counties files, > but not having luck. My library finally got an index of all > confederate pensions in GA so I looked for him. There were no > Wehunts listed in the index at all. So, did all the Wehunts go off > and also join a Union unit or could the index be incomplete? The index could be incomplete, but if Ancestry lists the correct John Wehunt applying for a Union pension it would seem that John also joined a Union unit (no doubt this would jeopardize any chance of receiving a Confederate pension). However, in checking the Ancestry indexes there is no John Wehunt listed as serving in the Union forces. My advice would be to check the actual indexes at NARA. Regards, Harry _ H. Spencer Byfield sbyfield@genealogy-quest.com Genealogy Quest "Military records at reasonable prices" http://www.genealogy-quest.com/Military/index.html

Harry, Thanks for the reply. Keith.