FOUND: Civil War Pension file for the “Lost Soldier of Chickamauga”

National Archives News recently posted a two-part story on the Civil War pension file of Hugh Thompson, the “Lost Soldier of Chickamauga.” Today’s post, from Dena Lombardo, an intern in the Public and Media Communications office, tells more of the story.    Recently, National Archives staff uncovered the largest Civil War pension file in our holdings. … Continue reading FOUND: Civil War Pension file for the “Lost Soldier of Chickamauga”

An airing of grievances: A pension clerk’s appeal

In honor of Festivus, this seems like the perfect document for the airing of grievances. This feature was originally published in Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives (Summer 2013). At the National Archives, and almost any other archival institution, one of the principal rules for using original records is to keep the records in the same order … Continue reading An airing of grievances: A pension clerk’s appeal

The Real Widows of the Pension Office

Today's post was written by Pamela Loos-Noji, a former volunteer with the Civil War Widows Pension Project. The National Archives holds 1.28 million case files of pension applications from family members of deceased Civil War Union soldiers. A team of more than 60 volunteers, led by National Archives staff, is digitizing the files and placing … Continue reading The Real Widows of the Pension Office