Department of Confederate Military Records, 1859-1996

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888

Summary

Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Records, 1859-1996 (bulk 1861-1864, 1905-1918), of the Dept. of Confederate Military Records. The bulk of the collection covers the years 1861 to 1864, 1884, 1900, and 1905 to 1918. Includes correspondence, muster rolls, payrolls, clippings, descriptive rolls of pay and clothing, powers of attorney, rosters, printed material, scrapbooks, letter books, general and special orders, certificates, photographs, and other sundry items.

Biographical / historical:

Interest in memorializing Confederate veterans prompted the General Assembly to pass an act on March 13, 1884, directing the adjutant general to compile a roster of all those who served from Virginia in the Confederate armed forces. The Adjutant General distributed blank roster sheets to former company commanders and other individuals, however, most of the sheets were never returned and the project was left unfinished. On January 25, 1898, another act was passed and later re-enacted on March 6, 1900, to provide a roster of all the ex-Confederate soldiers living in the State of Virginia. The commissioners of revenue throughout the Commonwealth were furnished with blank roster sheets from the auditor of public accounts to record the name, age, rank, company, regiment, date of enlistment, and length of service of all former Confederate soldiers living in the state of Virginia. The result of this endeavor was a two-volume roster of ex-Confederate soldiers and sailors arranged by locality. A more comprehensive inventory of Virginia soldiers, dead or alive, who fought for the Confederacy was still in want. In response to Congress' passage of an act on February 25, 1903, providing for the assembling of muster rolls for all Union and Confederate soldiers, Virginia created the Office of the Secretary of Virginia Military Records on March 7, 1904, to assist the Secretary of War and the U.S. War Department with a complete roster of Confederate soldiers from Virginia.

Major Robert Waterman Hunter, a former soldier in the 179th Regiment Virginia Militia and officer in the 2nd Regiment Virginia Volunteers, was appointed for one year by Governor Andrew Jackson Montague upon the recommendation of the Grand Commander of the Grand Camp of Confederate Veterans, as the first Secretary of Virginia Military Records. His duties were to "collect all muster rolls, records, and other materials showing the officers and enlisted men of the several companies, battalions, regiments, and other military organizations from Virginia in the armies, marine or naval service of the Confederate States." These records were to be obtained by the secretary through gift or loan and deposited in the Virginia State Library. The General Assembly passed legislation on February 20, 1906, and again on March 9, 1908, reappointing the Secretary of Virginia Military Records, further expanding the duties of the office, and providing a salary for the position. Hunter submitted a report to Governor Claude A. Swanson in 1909 detailing the accomplishments of the office. Hunter noted in this report the completion of various lists of officers, surgeons, chaplains, battles in Virginia and West Virginia, and the collection of rolls and rosters, both original and secondary, of Virginia companies calendared in books of the office according to branch, regiment or battalion, and company.

Colonel Joseph Virginius Bidgood, former Commander of the Grand Camp of Confederate Veterans, succeeded Hunter in 1910 as Secretary of Virginia Military Records. The Office of the Secretary of Virginia Military Records merged into the Adjutant General's office on February 28, 1911. The Department of Confederate Military Records was formed by an act of the General Assembly on March 12, 1912. This act replaced the Office of the Secretary of Virginia Military Records and appointed the secretary for a term of two years to be paid out of the Military Fund. The Department of Confederate Military Records, under the Office of the Adjutant General, continued the work of the Secretary of Virginia Military Records of assembling muster rolls and other documents related to Virginians in the Civil War. In 1918, the General Assembly passed an act abolishing the Department of Confederate Military Records and transferring the department's records to the Virginia State Library.

Acquisition information:
Transferred from the Adjutant General's Office, Dept. of Military Affairs, 506 Ninth St. Office Building, Richmond, Virginia, 4 April 1918.
Arrangement:

Organized into the following four series: I. Correspondence; II. Unit Records; III. Miscellaneous Records; IV. Confederate Rosters.

Physical location:
State Records Collection, Acc. 27684
Physical description:
68.19 cubic feet.