The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 1999 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. - New Civil War Research Database The following is an announcement from Ancestry.com: Ancestry is pleased to announce a new and exciting Civil War Database now available to our subscribers in a format specially tailored to fit the needs of family historians. The Civil War Research Database is a historic effort to compile and link all available records of the individual soldiers who fought in the Civil War. It seeks to collect all available data about individual soldiers, thus offering unprecedented research possibilities. Historic Data Systems has compiled and inter-linked a wide array of records including state rosters, pension records, regimental histories, photos, and journals. The genealogical value of this database is immeasurable. More than authoritative names and dates, this database connects our ancestors with this turbulent period of American history. The database is a work in progress and considering the scope of its ambition, the amount of data already available is very impressive. The project to date has digitized, indexed, and inter-linked the roster records of 2.1 million soldiers (out of approximately 4 million who served), 2,719 regimental chronicles, 1,010 officer profiles, 3,343 battle synopses, and 1,012 soldier photographs. As the database continues to grow, so will the impact of this unique genealogical resource. Visitors will be able to search for a soldier and click on his name for more information. You will learn the regiment with which he served, and by clicking on the regiment, you will be taken to the regimental history, which includes statistics, a chronology of battles fought, and a link to the entire roster of that regiment. Those with an interest in officers (Brigadier General and higher) will want to search the Officers' database for biographical information and/or photos. Civil War buffs with an interest in a particular regiment can search for regiments separately. Be sure to check back often as this database will be updated regularly. You can search the Civil War database at: http://www.ancestry.com/cwrd/cwrd_index.htm