Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System: The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System database contains basic facts about servicemen who served on both sides during the Civil War. The initial focus of the CWSS is the Names Index Project, a project to enter names and other basic information from 6.3 million soldier records in the National Archives.
The National Archives divides the location of U.S. Federal military personnel record holdings as follows:
The National Archives, Washington, D.C., holds records relating to:
The National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri, holds military personnel files of:
NOTE: On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at National Personnel Records Center destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files.
Branch | Personnel and Period Affected | Estimated Loss |
---|---|---|
Army | Personnel discharged November 1, 1912, to January 1, 1960 | 80% |
Air Force | Personnel discharged September 25, 1947, to January 1, 1964 (with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.) | 75% |
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