GovDocs for the non-GovDocs class
They’re called GovDocs here at the Institute for Genealogy and Historical Research — those wonderful, magical, marvelous windows to our collective past known as Government Documents. They’re so amazing in what they offer a researcher that there’s a whole course track in Advanced Library Research: Law Libraries & Government Documents.
Ruth Hager and GovDocs
Now you’ll understand, of course, that The Legal Genealogist hung on every word Ruth uttered about state slavery statutes: laws that covered everything from the day-to-day rules governing the lives of slaves and of free people of color, to runaway slaves, from emancipation of slaves in some states to the re-entry of free people into slavery in others.
That’s because one of the questions we so often have to answer as genealogists — and as 21st century Americans — looking back at what people did in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries is why people did what they did. And so very often the answer is: because the law said they had to. To find that answer, look in GovDocs: the statute books.
Ever want to know about the way medical and surgical treatment of wounds was handled — and the many ways it improved — during the Civil War? Have an ancestor who was wounded and want to know what kind of treatment he got? Have a curiosity about things like autopsies in the mid-19th century? There are answers in a set of records called the Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion — official records of the War Department, compiled by the Surgeon General and eventually published by the Government, in part for use as a teaching tool for the future.
Yep. Those are GovDocs too. Volumes of GovDocs.
And those medical and surgical records are only a small subset of the official records created, kept and archived as a result of the Civil War. Some military records were also compiled and published in sets called the War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies and the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies.
Yep. GovDocs again. Thousands and thousands of ’em, and they’re just the selected documents, chosen because of their perceived historical significance.
Now armies and navies have to eat, of course, and supplying the troops in the Civil War was a task and a half. In large measure, the troops had to live off the land (or land and sea, in the case of naval forces). And that often meant taking what belonged to somebody else. In theory, at least, if the government took something for the Army or Navy, it had to pay for it. What folks got, in many cases, was a receipt and instructions to file a claim after the war.
You know what that produced, right? Yep. GovDocs, this time records of claims against the United States from as early as 1866 to as late as the early 1900s, including those processed by the Southern Claims Commission (1871-1880). And because only proper claims were to be paid, the records the Southern Claims Commission produced are absolutely voluminous, spanning hundreds, even thousands of pages for a single claim, which could last for years, even decades.
GovDocs. Full of names and places and events affecting ordinary people in extraordinary ways. Full of clues leading to our family’s history.
GovDocs. You gotta love ’em.
Hi Judy! Is the Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion anywhere on the Internet? Where might one find this published work? Seems like a good many confederates contracted dysentery….would something like that be covered in this document? By the way, still working on the genetic angles on the Wilson surname, just ordered a deep clade test for deeper digging!
Beth, when I searched for these volumes online a while back I found results at the Internet Archive and at Google Books–but it was hard to sort through the hits to tell exactly how many different volumes there were. Either the “parts” were subdivided into “volumes” … or perhaps it was the other way around!
Then I found a brief article at Wikipedia that explained the organizing principle for this collection–and it also gave direct links to free copies of each of the six books at the Internet Archives. Now all I need to do is find time to read all of this!
Sorry, I forgot to include the Wikipedia link!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_and_Surgical_History_of_the_War_of_the_Rebellion
Great info, Kathy — thanks!!
That info definitely is included, Beth, and probably in a lot more detail than you’d like! Kathy has already given you good info about how to find these online.
One of my favorite Civil War records is in the Southern Claims Commission – James Bennett of Orange County, North Carolina filed for reimbursement for a table (with cover) which was taken from his house by a Union officer in April 1985. It’s the table on which Generals Johnston and Sheridan signed the surrender of the largest Confederate army – the surrender at Bennett Place. (Bennett’s claim was denied.)
Oooooh. What a neat find THAT is!
Hi all….I found the wikipedia info y’all pointed me to and followed the link to read a little of one of the volumes. It’s absolutely fascinating stuff – had NO idea of the sheer amount of disease alone suffered by so many during civil war, then the injuries and surgeries – the descriptions, drawings, etc. just horrific. I’m debating on whether to order the books off of Amazon or somewhere similiar – it doesn’t add direct research to my genealogy efforts, but what a fascinating set of publications to have for ready reference anyway.
Isn’t it a neat set of reference books, Beth? Really interesting stuff (even if a little gory and — to use your word — horrific).