Civil War Links
Access the National Park Service database of Civil War Soldiers and Sailors. This database contains 6.3 million records of both Confederate and Union soldiers. You can search by a several criteria including:
o Last Name
o First Name
o Union or Confederate
o State
o Unit Number
o Function: Artillery, Cavalry, Engineers, Infantry, Sharpshooters
Many soldiers names are spelled differently in different records. For example my ancestor's name appears as both Capers and Cappers in many documents.
You can search very broadly if you don't have much information - e.g., you can search for all the Smith's from Maine or you can search for a very specific individual: Captain Hillman Smith of the 8th Maine Infantry.
If you do not find your veteran on the first query - try some alternate spellings. If you are sure of the regiment, start with a regiment roster and look for potential candidates.
If you feel you have a relative who was a member of the Eighth Maine, but you are unable to find them in the NPS database, let us know and we can check some other resources.
Good searching ! !