Course: 2026-11
Interdisciplinary Civil War Research: The Road to Disunion and Reconstruction, 1820–1877
In Person – Pittsburgh
Faculty:
- Coordinator and Instructor: Michael L. Strauss, MA, AG®, AGL™
- Other Instructors: Brian Rhinehart; Sandra Rumble
Tuition:
- Regular Price: $615.00
- NGS Member Price: $575.00
Description:
The course is designed to be highly interactive, with critical thinking practicums at the end of each of the first three days, along with a planned field trip to the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum on day four. Students will be given the opportunity for a practical approach to learning presented through the use of primary documents, research methodology, and historiography. Key terminology will enhance the student’s journey, which allows for a deeper look into other lesser-used sources, leading to more advanced record applications. Instruction will also ultimately look at the FAN club for Civil War ancestors, including brothers, cousins, friends, and other familial associates. When properly analyzed, military records can be used for more profound ways to research our ancestors’ lives, including details of military service and family history during the Reconstruction Era post-war period.
Student Prerequisites:
- Students should have a working knowledge of research sources commonly used by genealogists and be familiar with the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) and the Friends, Associates, and Neighbors (FAN) club. Students need some online experience with Ancestry, FamilySearch, and Fold3, with limited knowledge of researching available in military databases and finding aids.
- Though not required, students would benefit from having access to a laptop or notebook.
Recommendations:
None
What to Expect:
Each student will receive curated military course materials for each of the practicum-based exercises, with examples of military and/or civilian personnel that will be analyzed.
NOTE: All times are listed in Eastern Time.
Live Sessions may be subject to schedule adjustments by your course coordinator.
| Day | Session | Time | Session Title | Description | Instructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday 13 July |
Intro | 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM | Introduction to Course and Welcome Students | This initial 30-minute session is designed to introduce the course objectives and goals, and address any questions students may have. This will include an introduction to the faculty members and the expectations of the instructors. | Strauss |
| 1 | 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM | Understanding the Civil War Military Structure | Identifying the organizational structures of the historical Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Revenue Cutter Service during the Civil War is necessary for those who wish to navigate military records effectively. This session thoroughly explores the hierarchical systems, roles, and developments within these branches, underscoring how organizational changes influence the accessibility and nature of personnel records. Students will gain insights into the distinctions among units, ranks, and command structures, enhancing their ability to accurately identify and interpret service records. | Strauss | |
| 2 | 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM | Starting Your Civil War Research Journey | Civil War soldiers often left a genealogical paper trail, but knowing where to begin can be overwhelming. Learn which records are only available at the National Archives, which are already online, and how pension files, compiled military service records, and medical records fit together. This foundational talk sets the stage for the start of your research and helps you move forward to dig deeper into your Civil War soldiers’ story. | Rhinehart | |
| 3 | 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM | Rich Man’s War, Poor Man’s Fight: Substitution, Commutation and Class Conflict in the Civil War Draft | The history of conscription of men for military service dates back to the days of the Revolutionary War. During the Civil War, the first national legislation was passed in 1862, followed by the Enrollment Act of 1863. The records of bounty payments, substitutes, Provost Marshal, and alien registration have all accounted for men who would serve their country in times of crisis. | Strauss | |
| 4 | 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM | Practicum Number 1: Civil War Draft Records | Students will each receive assigned packets of draft records from the Civil War, with time prearranged to study, read, and analyze the documents and to respond to a critical thinking exercise. | Strauss | |
| Tuesday 14 July |
5 | 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM | Understanding Compiled Military Service Records | The Compiled Military Service Records were first indexed, organized, and cataloged under the direction of General Frederick C. Ainsworth, head of the Record and Pension Office. Covering soldiers who served in both Union and Confederate forces, CMSRs provide detailed abstracts of enlistments, muster rolls, pay vouchers, medical records, and prisoner-of-war data that shed light on the daily military experience. Service records examined will also include the equivalent record sets for the Navy, Marine Corps, and the Revenue Cutter Service during the Civil War. The session emphasizes how the records can be used not only to reconstruct individual service but also to contextualize broader military and social history. | Strauss |
| 6 | 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM | The Adjutant General’s Office (AGO) | The records of the Adjutant General’s office add general correspondence, polish, shine, and sometimes tarnish to the service of our ancestors. These records reveal minute details of service and conflicts between the state and the volunteer troops that served the Federal government in the Civil War. | Rumble | |
| 7 | 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM | Tracing the Movements of a Civil War Military Unit | Tracing a military unit’s movements during the Civil War can add depth to an ancestor’s military service by showing not only which unit served but also where it fought. Understanding the military unit’s lineage and command structure will help determine which events the regiment actively participated in during a given war period. This session focuses on a wide variety of records to trace the steps of military units of both the Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. Wherever practical, to also include troop movements of not only Army personnel, but also Navy and Marine Corps personnel through written sources. | Strauss | |
| 8 | 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM | Practicum Number 2: Compiled Military Service Records | Students will receive assigned packets of Compiled Military Service Records along with documents that support the CMSR, with time allotted to read and analyze the material and respond to critical thinking exercises. | Strauss | |
| Wednesday 15 July |
9 | 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM | Charting the Battlefield: Exploring Civil War Military Maps | The role of cartography in the Civil War underscores the dependence on how both Union and Confederate forces relied on maps for strategic decision-making and battlefield tactics. This includes studying key cartographers on both sides whose comprehensive maps greatly affected military operations. This session considers the legacy of Civil War cartography in relation to the War of the Rebellion Atlas, which is relevant for current historical research. | Strauss |
| 10 | 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM | Traveling with the Army: Non-Combatants and Their Role During the Civil War | Historically, when armies marched off to war, civilians followed. During the Civil War, sutlers, wagon masters, teamsters, blacksmiths, and laborers served alongside the armies. Other civilians who joined the ranks of the armies were nurses, washerwomen, and camp followers. In Confederate service, it was commonplace to have enslaved persons following the armies, where primary records document the lives of persons who also witnessed war as dissenters. | Strauss | |
| 11 | 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM | Headed to Court | In the civilian world, civil and criminal trials and the attendant prison terms generate a paper trail that can be unraveled years later. Courts-martial and captain masts are the military equivalents of these common “civilian” trials. Just as we wouldn’t overlook these valuable records in our everyday courthouse research, they are invaluable for shedding light on our soldiers’ and sailors’ time in the military. | Rumble | |
| 12 | 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM | Hallowed Ground: Burying of Our Honored Military Dead | Deaths and burials of military veterans in both combat and during peacetime periods have been recorded for centuries. Listings of death and burials are recorded in numerous primary sources. Records of the Compiled Service Records, pensions, and other sources all have the potential to include burial information, as do some lesser-used records. For details about burial procedures of veterans, looking at the way flags were supplied to American veterans and families, and the issuing of United States Government tombstones for deceased soldiers, sailors, and marines, is yet another way to discover unknown facts about your family. | Strauss | |
| Thursday 16 July |
13 | 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM | A 60-Year Old Soldier? Following the Clues Behind an Unlikely Decision to Enlist | A 60-year-old doctor enlists in the Union Army. The reason is far more complex than it first appears and challenges common assumptions about why men enlisted. Using both usual and unusual sources, including tax books, land and mortgage records, military files, newspapers, Congressional records, and even a weather event, we reconstruct what was really happening around him and the forces that shaped that decision. | Rhinehart |
| 14 | 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM | The United States Congress to the Rescue | When damages resulted during a war, the soldier or his heirs could petition the Legislature to pass a private law to address a specific grievance. Congress passed private laws designed to benefit a specific named person(s), compensate for damages caused by troops, grant pensions to heirs otherwise ineligible to receive or inherit a pension, and resolve service issues. | Rumble | |
| 15 | 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM | Refugees, Claims, and Pardons: Reconciliation during the Reconstruction Era | With the end of the Civil War in 1865, the United States turned to mend the sectional differences that separated our nation. Known to historians as the Reconstruction Era, it lasted from 1865 to 1877 until the withdrawal of Federal Troops from the South during the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. Military and civilian records will help piece together our families’ history during this difficult time in the United States. | Strauss | |
| 16 | 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM | Field Trip to the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum | Each student will have the opportunity to visit the Soldiers and Sailors museum next to the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, where exhibits and artifacts will explain the role of the military in our nation’s wars. | Strauss | |
| Friday 17 July |
17 | 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM | Civil War Military Pensions Records | In 1833, the Commissioner of Pensions (eventually the Bureau of Pensions) was created by Congress as an office in the War Department, making the Army responsible for administering its veterans’ pensions. The Bureau formalized the application process and had the authority to determine which claims were approved or denied. Formalized processes, including the ability to appeal determinations and request benefits or increases due to deteriorating health, exponentially increase the amount of paperwork available to researchers. | Rumble |
| 18 | 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM | Practicum Number 3: Civil War Military Pension Records | Each student will explore a small pension to become familiar with the forms, affidavits (FAN club members), and other genealogically relevant information found in the file. | Rumble |