This index to the Index to compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the Territory of Colorado, collection provides the dates each reel covers. Government Information MAY NOT hold all of these reels. The record in the library catalog describes the extent of our holdings. For help, or to make an appointment to view a reel, email rad@colorado.edu
On the 3 rolls of this microfilm publication is reproduced an alphabetical card index to the compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers belonging to units from the Territory of Colorado. Each index card gives the name of a soldier, his rank, and the unit in which he served. There are cross-references for names that appeared in the records under more than one spelling and for service in more than one unit or organization. The supposedly correct name of a volunteer Union soldier from the Territory of Colorado may not appear in the index for several reasons. First, he may not have served in a Colorado unit. Second, he may have served under a different name or used a different spelling of his name. Third, a proper record of his service may not have been made; or, if made, it may have been lost or destroyed in the confusion that often attended the initial mobilization, subsequent military operations, and disbandment of troops. Fourth, the references to the soldier in the original records may have been so vague that it was not practicable to determine his correct name or the unit in which he served. Fifth, the soldier may have served in the Regular Army instead of a volunteer organization.
The compiled service records to which the index applies consist of a jacket-envelope for each soldier, labeled with his name and containing (1) card abstracts of entries relating to the soldier in the original muster rolls, returns, hospital rolls, descriptive books, and lists of deserters; and (2) the originals of any papers relating solely to the particular soldier. A typical example of a compiled service record is filmed at the beginning of the index.
The compiled service records of soldiers belonging to units from the Territory of Colorado are arranged according to an organizational breakdown ending with the regiment or the independent battalion or company. Under each unit the service records are arranged alphabetically by surname. Unless the unit in which a soldier served is known, his compiled service record can be located only through the use of an index, such as the one reproduced here, which gives the name of the unit in which he served.
The compilation of service records of Union soldiers was begun in 1890 under the direction of Capt. Fred C. Ainsworth, head of the Record and Pension Division of the War Department. The abstracts made from the original records were verified by a separate operation of comparison, and great care was taken to ensure that the abstracts and the indexes were accurate.
Reproductions of specific compiled service records corresponding to entries in the index here reproduced may be obtained from the National Archives for a fee. Requests for such reproductions should give the name of the Territory, the regiment or battalion, and the company for each soldier, exactly as shown in the index.
The index here reproduced and the compiled service records to which it relates are part of Record Group 94, Records of The Adjutant General's Office.
The spreadsheet attached below contains a reel-by-reel description of the complete collection.