Civil War Records
This is a list of Records of the Office of the Adjutant General unless otherwise noted. The Civil War records follow the arrangement of the Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kansas, 1861-1865. Scans of the Civil War descriptive and muster rolls are on Kansas Memory.
When these records were filmed, only a few volumes could be borrowed at a time. Because of this, some records were filmed out-of-order chronologically. Records that are missing from the microfilm were not at the Adjutant General's Office at the time of filming. Microfilm that hasn't been digitized circulates through interlibrary loan; unfilmed documents do not. Please contact our reference staff for information on how to request copies of original documents.
Descriptive Book. 1862-1864. 1 volume. Includes list of commissioned officers, register of deserters, register of men discharged, descriptive rolls of companies, and registers of men transferred for various Kansas regiments. [State Archives]
Descriptive Rolls. 1861-1865. 17 volumes. Rolls give name, rank, physical description, nativity, and residence for the men in various Kansas volunteer regiments and batteries. Arranged by regiment and company. [State Archives]
Enlistment Papers. 1863. 1 box. Enlistment records for Miami, Johnson, and Linn counties. Arranged alphabetically. [State Archives] Note: Some of the enlistment papers online through our partnership with Ancestry.com. Kansans may access them for free if you verify your Kansas driver's license.
Enlistment Papers (selected), Kansas Volunteer Regiments. 1861-1869. 6 boxes. Forms filled out for each recruit which list name, nativity, occupation, physical description, etc. Arranged by regiment and company. Boxes 1-5 contain Civil War enlistments. Box 6 contains 19th Kansas Cavalry enlistments. The online index to the Adjutant General's report indicates whether or not papers exist for a particular soldier. [State Archives] Note: Some of the enlistment papers online through our partnership with Ancestry.com. Kansans may access them for free if you verify your Kansas driver's license.
Enrollment of...Soldiers, Their Widows and Orphans, Act of 1883. Rolls contain name, race, rank, company, regiment, state where served, arm of service, whether injured, wounded or contracted diseases while in service, present post office address; if deceased, date of death, place of residence at time of death, whether widow remarried or is in indigent circumstances or in an almshouse or dependent on others for support. Arranged by county and then alphabetically by surname. Filmed from severely damaged originals. [Microfilm AR 107-113]
Enrollment of Ex-Soldiers and Sailors, their Widows and Orphans. 1889. 79 volumes. Copies of documents prepared in enrolling veterans in Kansas in 1889 who had served in the Union army. Arranged by state of service, regiment, and company. [State Archives]
Hospital Records. 1862-1864. 1 oversize folder. Lists of Kansas volunteers who were being treated or who had died in military hospitals. Includes name, rank, regiment, company, and admission date, disease or wound,a nd remarks. Arranged chronologically. [State Archives]
Index of Volunteer Officers. 1861-1865. 1 volume. Arranged alphabetically by name. [State Archives]
Index of Volunteers. 1861-1865. 2 volumes. Lists all who service in Kansas volunteer regiments. Arranged alphabetically by name. (Index to the AGO's report, 1861-1865 available in the reference room.)
Index to copies of muster rolls prepared by the Adjutant General's Office in 1907-08. 10 reels of microfilm. Index to the rosters prepared by the Attorney General's office in 1907-08. Includes most information found in the rosters. Arranged alphabetically. Microfilm AR 7470-7479. Available through interlibrary loan, see list below:
- AR 7470 - Abbey, James to Byron, William
- AR 7471 - Buch, A.D. to Davis, Eliona
- AR 7472 - Davis, Elsa to Gibert, C.
- AR 7473 - Gibson, A. to Hoyue, Byrun
- AR 7474 - Hubbard, Chester to Love, Samuel
- AR 7475 - Love, Volney to Murray, William H.
- AR 7476 - Murray, William R. to Roberts, Abraham
- AR 7477 - Roberts, Alfred to Smith, Gordon
- AR 7478 - Stith, H.T. to Willis, Bradford
- AR 7479 - Willis, Henry to Zwanziger, Gottlieb
Index to Militia Officers. 1861-1865. 1 folder. Typed list of militia officers (excluding units formed for Price's raid) found in volumes 11-15 of the muster roll volumes. Includes name and volume and page numbers. Arranged roughly alphabetically by surname. [State Archives]
List of Members of the 8th Kansas Volunteers Buried at Stones River National Cemetery, Murfreesboro, Tennessee. One folder. Computer printout listing name, rank, date of death, state, company, and grave number. Arranged alphabetically. [State Archives]
Militia Organization papers. 1861. 1 box. Constitutions, election results for officers, and other papers of various militia organizations. Includes names of members, etc. Arranged alphabetically by county. [State Archives]
Miscellaneous papers. 1861-1865. 2 boxes. Documents regarding the enrollment of men in the militia. Arranged by county and unit. [State Archives]
Muster Roll of Company A, 2nd Regiment, Kansas State Militia. 1864. 1 volume. Copy of rolls of men enlisted during Price's raid. Includes name, rank, record of guard duty, equipment issued, etc. [State Archives]
Muster rolls of the Kansas State Militia. 1861-1865. Copies of original muster-in and muster-out rolls prepared by the Adjutant General's office in 1907-1908. 15 volumes on 2 reels of microfilm. Include name, regiment and company, commanding officers, rank, date and place of enlistment, date when mustered into active service, muster-out date, total days of active service, etc. Arranged by regiment and company. Finding aid online.
Muster Rolls and Payrolls. 1861-1864. 18 boxes. Includes men enrolled for Price's raid. Contains name, rank, when and where mustered, and by whom. Payrolls include rate of pay. Arranged by regiment. [State Archives]
Muster Rolls and Payrolls. 1861-1865. 3 boxes, 16 oversize drawers, and 4 reels of microfilm. Muster-in and muster-out rolls of Kansas volunteer regiments including the 79th U.S. Colored Infantry (originally the 1st Kansas Colored), 83rd U.S. Colored Infantry (originally the 2nd Kansas Colored); the four Kansas volunteer batteries including the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Kansas batteries, and the Independent Colored Battery; the 18th U.S. Colored Infantry, and several units in the U.S. 1st Army Corps. Include name, rank, age, when/where joined, enrolling officer, length of term of service, pay, name of paymaster, age at discharge, bounty due or property unaccounted for, etc. Although labeled "enlisted men" the volume contains officers' names as well.Arranged by regiment and company. Some available on microfilm. [Microfilm AR 114-117]
- AR 114, Muster Rolls and Payrolls
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- 1st Regiment - Infantry [also on LM 111]
- 2nd Regiment - Infantry (three month unit, original record?) [also on LM 111]
- AR 115, Muster Rolls and Payrolls
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- 2nd Regiment - Infantry (three month unit, roster)
- 2nd Regiment - Cavalry descriptive roll [also on LM 111]
- First, Second and Third Batteries - Light Artillery descriptive rolls [also on LM 113]
- 5th Regiment - Cavalry
- 6th Regiment - Cavalry descriptive roll [also on LM 111]
- 7th Regiment - Cavalry descriptive roll [also on LM 111]
- 8th Regiment - Infantry descriptive roll [also on LM 111]
- 9th Regiment - Cavalry descriptive roll [also on LM 111]
- AR 116, Muster Rolls and Payrolls
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- 10th Regiment - Infantry
- 11th Regiment - Cavalry
- 12th Regiment - Infantry
- 13th Regiment - Infantry
- 14th Regiment - Cavalry
- 15th Regiment - Cavalry
- AR 117, Muster Rolls and Payrolls
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- 16th Regiment - Cavalry descriptive roll [also on LM 113]
- 17th Regiment - Infantry
- 18th Regiment - Cavalry
- 79th US Colored Infantry Regiment (formerly the 1st Kansas Colored)
- 83rd US Colored Infantry Regiment (formerly the 2nd Kansas Colored) descriptive roll [also on LM 113]
Muster-Out Rolls. 1861-1865. 13 volumes on 3 microfilm reels. Copies of muster-out rolls of Kansas volunteer regiments and batteries prepared by the Adjutant General's Office in ca. 1908. Include name, rank, age, when, where and by whom enlisted, when, where, and by whom mustered into service, by whom and for what purpose last paid, dates, amounts, and comments regarding settlement for clothing and equipment issued, amounts of enlistment bounty paid and due, remarks about promotions, desertions, deaths, periods for which pay due, etc. Arranged by regiment and company. [Microfilm AR 118-120]
- AR 118, Muster Out Rolls
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- 1st Regiment - Infantry
- 2nd Regiment - Infantry (three month unit)
- 2nd Regiment - Cavalry
- 3rd Regiment - Infantry (consolidated with the 4th to make the 10th)
- 4th Regiment - Infantry (consolidated with the 3rd to make the 10th)
- 5th Regiment - Cavalry
- 6th Regiment - Cavalry
- AR 119, Muster Out Rolls
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- 7th Regiment - Cavalry
- 8th Regiment - Infantry
- 9th Regiment - Cavalry
- 10th Regiment - Infantry
- 11th Regiment - Cavalry
- 12th Regiment - Infantry
- 13th Regiment - Infantry
- AR 120, Muster Out Rolls
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- 14th Regiment - Cavalry
- 15th Regiment - Cavalry
- 16th Regiment - Cavalry
- 17th Regiment - Infantry
- 18th Battalion - Cavalry
- 19th Regiment - Cavalry
- 79th US Colored Infantry Regiment (formerly the 1st Kansas Colored)
- 83rd US Colored Infantry Regiment (formerly the 2nd Kansas Colored)
- First, Second and Third Batteries - Light Artillery [also on LM 113]
- Independent Battery, US Colored Artillery (Light)
- Detachment Company G, 8th Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps
- Miscellaneous units and individuals
Officers Commissioned. 1861-1865. 3 volumes. Registers of officers commissioned. Includes name, rank, date of commission, remarks regarding promotion, discharge, resignation, and death by disease or combat. Final register includes Home Guard (1861). Arranged chronologically or by regiment.
Officers Commissioned. 1863-1883. 14 volumes. Include name, rank, date of commission, company and regiment, home residence, promotion, discharge, etc. Arranged chronologically by regiment. [State Archives]
Returns and Reports. 1861-1865. 1 oversize drawer and 3 oversize boxes. Diverse reports largely concerning strength of units and individuals unavailable for service. Arranged by regiment and company. [State Archives]
Rosters of Cavalry and Infantry. 1861-1865. 18 volumes. Rosters give name, age, residence, nativity, rank, term of service, and status of service. Arranged by cavalry or infantry unit. [State Archives]
Roster of Deceased Members of the Kansas Volunteers. 1861-1865. 1 volume. Includes name, rank, regiment, company, year, and where died. Arranged by regiment or battery, then by rank, and then alphabetically by surname.
Roster of Enlisted Men. 1861-1865. 3 volumes. Include name, rank, age, physical description, marital status, nativity, and dates of muster. Arranged alphabetically and by regiment and company. [Microfilm AR 114]
State Decennial Census, 1865, 1885-1925 1,537 volumes on 774 microfilm reels. Records of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture. Population lists compiled every year ending in "5" for the State Board of Agriculture by city and county assessors. Those for 1865 include regiment and company of each individual involved in Civil War military service; those for 1885 through 1925 include discharge status, state where enlisted, company, regiment, branch of service, and name of prison if a prisoner of war. Indexes are available for 1865 and for scattered localities in other years. Arranged by county and city or township.
Volunteer Regiment files. 1861-1879. 4 boxes and one oversized folder. Correspondence and other documents relate to individual recruits assigned to the 1st - 19th Kansas Volunteers, the 1st and 2nd Colored Volunteers, the Independent Colored Battery, and the 1st - 3rd Kansas Battery. Arranged by regiment. [State archives]
Weekly Strength Returns of Officer Vacancies in Kansas Regiments of the 17th Army Corps, Department of Tennessee [1st Kansas Infantry]. 1863-1864. One folder. Includes name, rank of officer, date of vacancy, cause of vacancy, regiment, company, and strength of company. Arranged chronologically. [State Archives]