Although much publicity about Civil War military records has occurred this year because of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, it has come to my attention that the online listings for these records are for thevolunteers--which made up MOST of the military in the Civil War, of course.  But--there were others--non-volunteers, called Regulars. However, having recently attended a lecture by a Regional representative of the Pacific Coast (at least Southern California area) and picked up some handouts given out by the lecturer, it has come to my attention that the REGULAR soldiers records of that era are NOT included in the volunteers listing and hence do not appear in the online collections.  (Some online US military records are hit and miss, however.  Take a look at some of these US military records for some of your missing males!!!!) Do you perchance have an ancestor who joined the ARMY before the Civil War--perhaps an immigrant or two?  *Old* Wars were those in the US *far west* for the most part--against our native Americans, mainly.  (Remember some of those John Wayne-Henry Fonda movies where they were members of the Cavalry.  Who do you think those men really were?  My ancestor, for sure, unruly as he was--and perhaps your ancestor, also.) Lots of fellows needed jobs, Irish and Germans among them, and the recruiting officer at the port was probably most accommodating in providing not only food, clothing, housing (of sorts), and transportation--to the Far West in many cases.!! By sheer luck (and by snooping among the bookshelves at my local Family History Center for Virgil D. White's volumes) I discovered that my "absent father" German immigrant ancestor had received in New York an *OLD WAR* pension --and so had his widow, who later remarried another Civil War pensioner.  (No--this was not my Germanna ancestor.)  This later German ancestor had migrated to the US about 1851-52 from what was Silesia (Schliesen) now in Poland.  And the Family History Library has films of some of the church records of that parish--now named Raciborz formerly Ratibor.  I found his youngest son's baptismal record, and included in it were the words *auf Amerika*.  (Yes, a kindly missionary at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City translated the baptismal record.) If your local -- or nearby library -- has books of lists of US military pensions compiled by Virgil D. White, how about taking a look?  Do you have a college or University library near you?  If not, how about asking for Interlibrary loan?  Some librarians do not like the bother with interlibrary loan (I met one of those prior to the use of the internet), be insistent--or join another library. When I sent away some years ago for my veteran's widow's pension, for my approximately $35 I got a goldmine of genealogical info.  Marriage records, lack of marriage records, divorce from first wife, baptism of child of second marriage, death info (but not the headline I found later in the online version of The Brooklyn Eagle).  I cannot remember all that was included in that bundle, received some years ago.  (The price has gone up now!) I have just now accessed (on the OLD familysearch.org website) the Family History Library catalog and did an author search for Virgil D. White.  That ambitious man has compiled 16 volumes (or sets of volumes) of US military records, and you really could expand your genealogical knowledge by taking a look at one or two of them!!! Pass this info along to other rootsweb lists to which you subscribe.  Edit it as you wish. If you are not looking at Virgil D. White's volumes, you are missing out on some [militaristic] American history. E.W.Wallace