settled. (These books are no longer extant except when bound with other records.)

Company descriptive book: Lists of commissioned officers, noncommissioned officers, enlisted men, men transferred, and men discharged; registers of deaths with date, place, and cause; registers of deserters; descriptive roll of company, giving personal data.

Regimental consolidated morning report book: A strength report made daily on a standard form and entered chronologically, showing the disposition and condition of the regiment and usually its location. Strength given by company.

Company morning report book: Strength report made on a form allowing space for each day, giving the same information as the regimental morning report book.

Company order book: Chronologically arranged copies of all company orders.

The overall organization of these records is alphabetical by State or Territory, thereunder by branch of service (cavalry, heavy and light artillery, and infantry), then numerical by regiment or battery. The following States or Territories are represented: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado Territory, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska Territory, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico Territory, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington Territory, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The records include also those of organizational elements of U. S. Colored Troops, U. S. Sharpshooters, U. S. Volunteers, U. S. Veteran Volunteers, and Veteran Reserve Corps.

FORTS, CAMPS, AND OTHER ARMY POSTS

Records of some U. S. Army posts existing during the Civil War are treated summarily in this section. These are records actually kept at forts and other "fixed" stations and are to be distinguished from related records kept by the Adjutant General's Office and other War Department bureaus. Records created by Army posts incidental to their serving as temporary military prisons for Confederate prisoners of war and records of military prisons themselves are discussed elsewhere, under the Office of the Commissary General of Prisoners. Also excluded from treatment here are ordnance arsenals and armories (see the Office of the Chief of Ordnance) and quartermaster depots (see the Office of the Quartermaster General).

At each post the commanding officer was required to see that the following books were kept: a morning report book, a guard report book, an order book, and a letter book. Copies of the monthly post returns were required to be filed and kept; the original post returns were forwarded periodically to the Adjutant General. For 38 of the Army posts in existence during the Civil War decade, there are no post records. Only 36 posts have copies of letters sent and only 10 have letters received. Records of many posts are fragmentary. Some posts, in Southern areas, were surrendered to the Confederacy early in the war and were not reactivated after the war. Frontier posts during the war were especially subject to Indian attack or harassment, and for some of them there are few or no records.

Other posts were inactive during the war; still others may have kept records that were lost either in shipment to Washington or by some other hazard.

In the discussion below a few of the U. S. Army posts with extant records for the Civil War decade (or some part of it) are listed in alphabetical order. The reader should note that this is not a "sampling" of post records. The posts listed are those with the more nearly complete or the more significant records for the Civil War period. At the end of the list is an entry for the U. S. Soldiers' Home.

Fort Abercrombie, N. Dak.

The first United States military post in North Dakota; established as a camp on Aug. 28, 1857. When the Civil War broke out all regular troops were recalled from this fort, and in July 1861 it was garrisoned by volunteer organizations from Minnesota. From this fort and from Fort Wadsworth just south of it went the expeditions against the Dakota Indian tribes led by Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley in 1863 and Gen. Alfred Sully in 1864. Capt. James L. Fisk's expeditions of 1862 and 1863, which escorted trains of miners and settlers to the Montana and Idaho goldfields, passed through this fort.

Record Group 98. --Fragmentary records (7 ft.), 1860-77.

Posts at Alexandria, Va.

At the outbreak of the war Alexandria was taken and fortified because of its nearness to Arlington Heights, its command of the navigation of the Potomac, and its connection with the railroad system of the South. Fort Ellsworth was soon built, and about Sept. 1, 1861, Forts Worth, Reynolds, and Ward were commenced. Somewhat later Forts Barnard and Lyon were begun. In 1862 Forts Weed, Farnsworth, O'Rourke, Willard, and Williams were constructed. Between Fort Ward and Fort Worth an almost unbroken line of trenches, supported by powerful batteries, covered the line of defense; this was continued to Fort or Battery Baresche, near Fort Reynolds. Early in 1863 a barbette battery of 6 guns, Battery Rogers, was built on Jones' Point. The fortifications were held by Union troops until the end of hostilities, when they were gradually dismantled and abandoned.

Record Group 98. --Several items, 1863-69 (4 in.), including reports of the strength of different units and of convalscents, deserters, invalids, etc., in the area, 1864; and daily work reports and freight records of a quartermaster depot at Alexandria, 1863-65.

Fort Craig, N. Mex.

Established Mar. 31, 1854; abandoned Sept. 1884.

Record Group 98. --Records, 1852-85 (15 ft.), include copies of letters sent; guard reports, from 1862; and provost marshal's records, from 1863. Posts at Hilton Head, S. C.

On Nov. 7, 1861, Fort Walker, a Confederate fort on Hilton Head Island, was captured by U. S. forces. The fort was renamed Fort Welles, and a strong earthwork built behind it was named Fort Howell. Hilton Head

became the headquarters of the Department of the South in Apr. 1862. In Sept. 1864 the entrenchments were known as Fort Sherman. In Apr. 1866 the post of Hilton Head was established, and on Jan. 14, 1868, it was abandoned.

Record Group 98. --Records (6 in.) comprise copies of letters sent by the post quartermaster, 1865-66, and the post engineer officer, 1861-63; and miscellaneous papers, 1862-64.

Post at Huntsville, Ala.

Established Jan. 1864 by the 17th Iowa Volunteer Infantry.

Record Group 98. --Records of the original and successor posts, 186374 (2 ft.), include letters received, from 1864; a register of letters received, from 1865; copies of letters sent, from 1865; morning reports of sick and wounded, from 1864; and a list of hospital attendants, 1864-65.

Fort Independence, Mass.

This fort, on Castle Island in Boston Harbor, was named Fort Independence in Aug. 1799. It was abandoned in 1833, regarrisoned and again abandoned in 1836, again regarrisoned in 1851, and finally abandoned in 1879.

Record Group 98.-- A fragmentary file (4 in.) includes copies of post surgeon's letters sent, 1858-61 (also letters sent from Fort Jefferson, Fla., 1861-65); a prescription and diet book, 1857-61 (with similar records for Fort Jefferson, 1861-66); and miscellaneous reports, 1866-67.

Fort Jefferson, Fla.

The fortification on Garden Key, construction of which was begun in 1846, became Fort Jefferson in 1850; it was garrisoned by U. S. troops throughout the Civil War. Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, convicted of conspiracy in the Lincoln assassination, was imprisoned at the fort, 1865-69. The fort was abandoned on Jan. 11, 1874, although later regarrisoned.

Record Group 98. --Records (33 ft.); those of Civil War interest include copies of letters sent, 1866-70; endorsements, 1868-73; registers of letters received, 1846-62; a document file, 1844-98; orders and circulars, 1866-72; morning reports of sick and wounded, 1862-63, 1865; morning reports, 1866-73; records relating to the construction of the post (chiefly progress reports), 1847-72; employees' time books, 1846-65, 1868-69; and miscellaneous material, 1847-97. The records were indexed in a WPA project in 1935. A letter book kept originally by Army Surgeon Adam N. McLaren, who was transferred from Fort Independence, Mass., to Fort Jefferson in Jan. 1861, is filed with the records of Fort Independence (see above); this book was used from 1862 to 1865 by other surgeons at Fort Jefferson to record their letters sent. Also with the Fort Independence records is a prescription and diet book, containing Fort Jefferson entries for 1861-66.

Fort Kearny, Nebr.

Established as Fort Childs about Apr. 1848 near Grand Island; renamed Fort Kearny Jan. 31, 1849; discontinued 1871.

Record Group 98. --Records (3 ft.) include copies of letters sent, 186165; registers of letters received, 1865-66; endorsements, 1865-71; orders, 1852-71; morning reports, 1861-62; and guard reports, 1863-66.

Fort Klamath, Oreg.

Established Sept. 5, 1863, to protect the emigrant route and settlers in Klamath Valley, when Col. C. S. Drew arrived from Camp Baker with Co. C, 1st Oreg. Cavalry. The fort was occupied by volunteer troops until July 8, 1867, and was abandoned in 1890.

Record Group 98. --Records, 1862-90 (12 ft.), include copies of letters sent, from 1862; and a document file, from 1863.

Fort Laramie, Wyo.

Established June 26, 1849, in what in 1868 was to become Wyoming Territory; abandoned 1890.

Record Group 98. --Records, 1849-90 (26 ft.), include for the Civil War period copies of letters sent, a document file, and orders.

Fort Leavenworth, Kans.

Established in May 1827; thereafter continuously occupied. During the Civil War the post was twice threatened by Confederates and was a major base of operations in the West. An ordnance arsenal was located at the fort, 1860-74, and one of the several schools of artillery practice operated there, ca. Jan. 1860-Jan. 5, 1861.

Record Group 98.--Records, 1844-1941 (461 ft.),. include copies of letters sent, 1861-62 and 1865; registers of letters received, from 1864; a document file; orders, including those of the Artillery School of Practice, 1860-61, and of U. S. Forces at Independence (Mo.), 1862-66; a post journal of events, 1864; a report on citizen prisoners, 1863-64; muster rolls, from 1862; post and regimental returns; post surgeon's copies of letters sent, from 1865; and descriptive books of casuals, from 1864.

Fort Monroe, Va.

The present fort, begun after the War of 1812 as Fortress Monroe, was renamed Fort Monroe in 1832. A major center for military operations during the Civil War, it served as headquarters for the Peninsular Campaign of 1862 and for several waterborne expeditions.

war.

Record Group 98.--Records, 1817-1940, include a few concerning the These comprise copies of letters and telegrams sent, 1865; "official telegrams received at, sent from and passing through Fortress Monroe," 1862-65; endorsements, 1861-64; orders and circulars; descriptive lists, 1862-65; and, in the records of the Artillery School of Practice, courtmartial records from 1864.

Post at Raleigh, N. C.

Although Raleigh was occupied by Federal forces during the closing days of the war, a post there does not seem to have been formally established until Apr. 1866.

Record Group 98. --Records, generally postwar (4 ft.), include a record of prisoners, 1865-66, and (in a volume of resignations and commissions, 1835-36, a State record) oaths of allegiance, 1865.

Camp San Juan Island, Wash.

Established as Camp Pickett in July 1859 by Capt. George E. Pickett and his Co. D, 9th U. S. Infantry; name later changed to San Juan and still later to Fred Steele. In 1868 the post was renamed Camp San Juan Island.

Record Group 98. --Records (2 ft.), include copies of letters sent, 1859-74; letters received, 1859-65; and orders, 1859-74 (including those of Fort Townsend).

Post and District of Savannah, Ga.

This post, sometimes known as Oglethorpe Barracks, was seized by Georgia State troops on Jan. 26, 1861. Savannah and the post were captured by Federal forces in Dec. 1864. The post was abandoned on Apr. 23, 1879.

Record Group 98. --Post records (2 ft.) include copies of letters sent, 1866-70, and of endorsements, 1867-79; orders, 1868-79; a station book, 1865; and record of prisoners, 1866. Here also are records of the Military District of Savannah, consisting of copies of letters sent, 1865, and of endorsements, 1865-66.

Fort Snelling, Minn.

Established Aug. 24, 1819; abandoned Sept. 14, 1946.

Record Group 98.--Records, 1862-1924 (71 ft.), include copies of letters sent, from 1863; orders and circulars, from 1862; rosters; morning reports, 1865; copies of letters and endorsements sent by the post surgeon, from 1864; a medical history of the post, 1865-1905; hospital morning reports, 1863-64; sick reports, from 1864; and prescription books, from 1865.

Fort Stanton, N. Mex.

Established May 4, 1855. On Aug. 2, 1861, because of the Confederate invasion of New Mexico, Fort Stanton was abandoned by Federal troops. It was occupied by Confederates for a short time, abandoned in Sept. 1861, reoccupied by Federal troops on Apr. 8, 1863, and finally abandoned on Aug. 17, 1896.

Record Group 98. --Records, 1859 and 1863-96 (18 ft.), include, for the Civil War period, copies of letters sent, letters received, proceedings of the council of administration, and orders.

Fort Stockton, Tex.

Established Mar. 23, 1859, as Camp Stockton; renamed Fort Stockton May 23, 1860; reoccupied July 7, 1867, under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Military District (see Military Government, below).

Record Group 98. --Records, 1867-86 (6 ft.), include copies of letters sent, endorsements, and letters received (with registers) during the period of the Fifth Military District.