LPurch6636 wrote: > > I have been trying to find my G-Uncle ELIJAH HAMLER (NJ) since the verbal > family story that "he went, under-age, into the Civil War." The story also > says that he was a drummer. Well, I can find no record of him after the Civil > War. Does anyone know how to find their underage soldier ancestors from the > Civil War? Is there any web site for this specialty? I have looked up all the > usual information: Census Records where all the rest of the 9 members of the > family were living- everyone accounted for except Elijah; marriage records for > New Jersey; death records for New Jersey; property records for New Jersey; > Baptism records for New York (where the Hamlers tended to go for baptisms) and > New Jersey; Pennsylvanvia Census records; books on German migration in the > 1800's with names... > > What happened with "under-age" soldiers in the Civil War? Did they have an > especially high rate of mortality? Is it likely that Elijah died? His older two > brothers who fought in the Civil War (from New Jersey) served in Virginia; but > they both came home from the Civil War. Elijah was born in 1846, making him 16 > years old when the war started. > > Thanks for any help. 1. 16 wasn't "underage" in that war. There seem to be proven soldiers, on both sides, who were as young as 12. 2. The younger ones were usually assigned as flag-bearer/pennant-carrier and often were in the fore-front of the charge. People in the front row DID have a high mortality rate, regardless of their age. 3. There is, I am told, a website where you can check the names of Union soldiers receiving pensions. I don't have the URL and know nothing further about it. You might try finding it to see what happens. 4. And of course the things you don't mention: the Adjutant-General's office of almost every state that WAS a state by 1890 has a list of their known veterans; you might consult them. Or, in the meantime, contact NARA for their form and see if there's a service record on him. The 1890 Special Census (much of which is on-line at the USGenWeb sites) lists all Union veterans who are living in 1890. Cheryl