Explore the U.S. Civil War Medal of Honor recipient records and find your heroic ancestors. Learn fascinating details about their service and the exploits that earned them the highest medal awarded by the United States military.
Explore the U.S. Civil War Medal of Honor recipient records and find your heroic ancestors. Learn fascinating details about their service and the exploits that earned them the highest medal awarded by the United States military.
The records in this collection each identify a Civil War veteran who was a recipient of the U.S. Medal of Honor. While the information for each person varies, U.S. Civil War Medal of Honor, 1861-1865 usually includes:
There were more than 1,000 recipients of the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War, each one awarded for heroic actions that went “above and beyond the call of duty.”
The American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865, and began after a number of Southern states seceded from the country and formed the Confederate States of America. The ensuing conflict involved millions of Americans being recruited on both sides and became the bloodiest war in American history. The war was brought to a close in April of 1865 after the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, close to the Union-Confederate border on the east coast of the United States.
Created by the National Park Service, in cooperation with the Genealogical Society of Utah and the Federation of Genealogical Societies, information in this collection is from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors index, which collects entries for 6.3 million individuals from 44 states and territories. Compiled from original records held by the National Archives and Records Administration.