United States, Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917
Each card gives the soldier's name, the application number, the certificate number and the regiment in which the soldier served. In some cases, the soldier's rank, terms of service, date of death and place of death are given. The index cards refer to pension applications of veterans who served in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917. The majority of the records pertain to Civil War veterans. The indexing of this project has been provided by Fold3.com.
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United States, Civil War and Later Pension Index
What is in This Collection?
Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans who Served Between 1861 and 1900 on NARA microfilm publication T289 part of Record Group 15 Records of the Veterans Administration. The most of the index cards pertain veterans in the Civil War veterans. Other pension records included are for the of the Spanish-American conflict, Indian wars, the Philippine insurrection, and World War I. Index courtesy of Fold3. The pension files are located in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
For more information see,
- Claire Prechtel-Kluskens, "For Love and Money: Pension Laws Affecting Widows of Military Veterans", NGS Magazine 42 #1 (January-March 2016): 35-39 FS Library book 973 D25ngs v. 42 no. 1
- Claire Prechtel-Kluskens, “'A Reasonable Degree of Promptitude' Civil War Pension Application Processing, 1861–1885" Prologue 42 1# (Spring, 2010)
Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.
What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
- Name of the person claiming the pension
- Service record of the soldier, including rank, company, and regiment
- Enlistment date
- Discharge date
- Date pension was filed
- Whether an invalid, widow, or minor
- Application number
- Certificate number
- Additional service information, including company and regiment
- Death date of the veteran
- Death place of the veteran
Collection Content
Sample of indexed information:
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Inventory
For a list of all the titles included in this Historical Records publication see United States, Civil War and Later Pension Index - Inventory.
Collection Details
Location of Original Records
National Archives and Records Administration
"United States, Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 8 December 2025. From "Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900." Database. Fold3.com. http://www.fold3.com : n.d.
