Many veterans who served in the Armed Forces are buried in US National Cemeteries. This includes those who died or served during the American Civil War in the 1860s. You may have recently discovered that your ancestor was a veteran. of the Civil War. He perhaps he died in one of the battles during the war. Or maybe he served during the war and met and lived to claim a pension in the late 1800s. Perhaps he served on the Confederate side. So how do you find out where he served and perhaps if he is buried in one of the US National Cemeteries?
There are several avenues available to search for that Civil War ancestor. The 1890 Census provided a schedule for Civil War veterans who applied for a veteran’s pension. Although most of the 1890 population census was later destroyed in a fire, there is still a good part of the veteran census that has survived and is available to the public. It is called THE SPECIAL SCHEDULES OF THE CENSUS OF SURVIVING UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR OR THEIR WIDOWS, 1890. This schedule contains the name of the veteran, or in the case of the widow, the name and rank of the deceased veteran. It also lists the veteran’s unit and regiment and where this individual lives at the time the census was taken. If the veteran was injured while on duty, the program may contain the injury sustained during combat as well. These records are on microfilm at the National Archives and can also be purchased through NARA.gov. You can also find these records online at Ancestry.com. You must have a subscription to view these logs.
The National Park Service has developed an index of those who were cared for in the Civil War. The site is called the Soldiers and Sailors Database, and it contains an index of those who served in the Army and Navy and on both sides of the conflict, as well as information on National Cemeteries, battles, and even Confederate prisoners who were held in some selected fields. . https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm.
There are more than 100 National Cemeteries in the US, which is the final resting place for veterans who lost their lives during battle or are now buried after serving their country. One of the most interesting of these cemeteries is the Camp Butler National Cemetery outside of Springfield, Illinois. According to the cemetery’s website, it was founded shortly after the start of the Civil War and served as the second largest training camp during the war. The site is named after the Illinois State Treasurer at the time, William Butler. General William Tecumseh Sherman was sent to Springfield to select and develop the new training ground. He and Butler identified the location to be northeast of Springfield.
A portion of the site was also used as a prisoner of war camp. Many Confederate prisoners lost their lives as a result of disease and extreme weather conditions throughout the year. The Camp Butler website indicates that approximately 700 Confederate prisoners died as a result of the 1862 smallpox outbreak. Soldiers from not only both sides of the Civil War but also from the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean, and Vietnam wars are buried on this site. Since then, the cemetery has been honored by many organizations and in 1997 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. To learn more about this cemetery and to see if you have an ancestor buried there, check out their website: https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/campbutler.asp. The US Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration also maintains a National Grave Locator that lists the burial places of veterans and their families who are buried in National and State veterans’ cemeteries. The list also includes veterans who are buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government headstone.