Confederate Pension Records

The veteran was eligible to apply for a pension to the State in which he lived, even if he served in a unit from a different State. Generally, an applicant was eligible for a pension only if he was indigent or disabled. In your letter to the repository, state the Confederate veteran's name, his widow's name, the unit(s) in which he served, and the counties in which he and his widow lived afater the Civil War. Some repositories also have records of Confederate Homes (for veterans, widows, etc.), muster rolls of State Confederate militia, and other records related to the war.

NARA (the National Archives at Washington) does not have pension files for Confederate soldiers. Confederate pensions must be obtained from the State Archives.

• Tennessee State Library Archives, Public Service Division, 403 Seventh Avenut North, Nashville, TN 372-43-0312 Telephone: 615-741-2764

  In 1891 Tennessee began granting pensions to indigent Confederate veterans. In 1905 the State began granting pensions to their widows. The records are on microfilm. A published index is available in many libraries:

  Sistler, Samuel Index to Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications (Nashville, TN: Sistler & Assoc., 1995).

• Library of Virginia, Archives Division, 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219 Telephone: 804-692-3888

  In 1888 Virginia began granting pensions to Confederate veterans or their widows. The records are on microfilm. An index is available online: Index to Virginia Confederate Pension Records

• Kentucky State Archives, Research Room, 300 Coffee Tree Road, Frankford, KY 40601 Telephone: 502-564-8704

  In 1912 Kentucky began granting pensions to Confederate veterans or their widows. The records are on microfilm. A published index is available in many libraries:

  Simpson, Alicia Index of Confederate Pension Applications, Commonwealth of Kentucky (Frankford, KY: Division of Archives and Records Management, Department of Library and Archives, 1978).

• Addresses for other Confederate States obtain online from:

  Civil War Records Page - Confederate Pension Records