In a message dated 3/15/01 7:59:08 PM Central Standard Time, Dasgi@aol.com writes: << I am searching for the pension record of my gr- grand father. Please help. >> The following is from the Lousiana State University civil war site: http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/ I hope this helps you. <<Beginning Your Research The three most valuable pieces of information when researching a Civil War ancestor are the soldier's name, whether he served for the Union or Confederate army, and the state from which the soldier served. By knowing these facts, other aspects of a soldier's record of service can often be determined. Usually, the piece of information that poses the most problems to find is the state from which the soldier served. Often, you will find that you have vague idea of the soldier's state of service, but you are not quite sure. The easiest way to confirm this is to contact the state archives in the state of possible service. They should be able to direct you to the muster rolls for their state if you go to the archives in person, or inform you of the procedure for requesting that information if you write or call. Remember to keep your requests simple, and offer only those details pertinent to your request. Be aware that names were often misspelled, so do not despair if you have a hard time finding your ancestor. Chances are he is listed under a name with a similar spelling. With those three pieces of information verified, the next step is to retrieve the soldier's pension records. Pension records offer more information useful to the genealogist, and also provide a more complete picture of a soldier's military career. Some Confederate states issued pensions until 1959, and those pension can be found filed in the state archives in the state in which the soldier retired. All Union pensions and Confederate pensions issued after 1959 can be found by writing the National Archives and Records Administration. A NATF Form 80 must be requested, filled out, and submitted before records can be researched. In order for the National Archives to process the NATF Form 80, you must include the veteran's name, Civil War Union or Confederate service, branch of service, and the state from which he served. They will contact you with an invoice for copy fees, which must be paid before the copies are sent. It will take a few weeks for the request to be fully processed. If pension records do not exist for your ancestor (Union or Confederate), you can write to the National Archives for the military record of the soldier in question. However, you should be aware that these records aren't as useful, and are subject to the same process as described earlier for requesting pension records.>>