I have read several of this series, using copies at the Library of Virginia. The history is pretty good, with the sort of bias one would expect of accounts written by Confederate participants (i.e., we would have won if we had not exhausted ourselves killing Yankees). The most helpful part of each history is an appendix that lists in alphabetical order all members of the regiment and a very abbreviated summary of their service records. For example, if you go to the history of the 51st Va. Inf. Rgt, you'll find the sons of Dudley Sandidge and Melinda Smith. You'll learn when each enlisted (two early and one not until 1863), where they trained, any wounds, rank and dates achieved, when died and when or where captured and where interned, when exchanged or released. The unit history itself then gives some of the details of the battles and campaigns. Thus, you can match the dates in the personal records with the dates of engagements to learn, for example, that Valentine Sandidge, along with the remnants of Wharton's Division (750 men) was captured at Waynesboro in March, 1865, by 7,500 men of George Custer's cavalry. You'll learn some interesting tid bits such as the fact that the surrender order was given by a corporal because all the officers of the 51st were dead. I found a few of these regimental histories still in print and for sale at Amazon.com. There is at least one volume I found at the Library of Virginia that purports to list all Confederate soldiers and their units. I have forgotten the name of this volume, but it will be obvious in any library's collection of these materials. Once you have the unit, then you can get to the right regimental history if he is a Virginia ancestor. There is some difficulty in sorting through all the similar names because most soldiers are listed by initials (sorting through the "J. Smith" list is tough), but the number of Sandidges with just initials is not great. Moreover, once you find the unit of one person, you will often find his brothers and cousins in the same unit. The personal military records sometimes contain a pearl such as a date of birth located nowhere else, or even a physical description of the person. ---------- From: RASANDIDGE@aol.com To: SANDIDGE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [SANDIDGE-L] VA Regimental Historical Series Date: Wednesday, December 30, 1998 12:08AM Hello, I found the following information on va-roots@vsla.edu. Does anyone have any of these books and have found anything on our ancestors? The Virginia Regimental Historical Series, published by H.E. Howard, Inc. Lynchburg, VA. There are books on every VA Regiment which includes all of the battles, personnel, organizational history, and etc. Rita