I haven’t found a family researcher that doesn’t jump at the chance to stroll a cemetery. We love the old granite and marble monuments. We marvel at the inscriptions, names and unusual epitaphs. We don’t mind that they’re not “our people.” As historians we love to experience and absorb history especially in this form. I’ve always thought when we stop and recognize a long forgotten headstone we honor a life once lived.
In a larger cemetery we may come across a military section with rows of neat white marble markers. I’ve always been drawn to that section. I walk past each stone saying the soldier’s name and regiment out loud. I hope that veteran “hears” and knows he is remembered and not lost to history. I wondered about all those headstones. I know they’re supplied by the government but that’s about it. So I decided to do a little research.
I was surprised to find “government issued headstones” pre-date the Civil War. It was back in this country’s frontier days when military posts were built that a burial system was established. As is common due to sickness, injury or combat, soldiers died where they were stationed and post commanders needed to bury them. A cemetery section was set aside usually within the fort for these burials and a marker was placed on each grave. Those markers soon became standard across all military posts — a wooden board with a rounded top and a name or inscription on it.
This worked fine until the Civil War. With the huge number of battlefield deaths a more detailed and organized system was needed. Commanders were still in charge of burying their dead but now would be helped out by the Quartermaster of the Army who was to supply wooden headboards and blank books to record soldiers’ burials. Faced with frequent large numbers of burials during the war, federally run national cemeteries were born.
By 1873 it was realized the wooden grave markers in national cemeteries would need to be replaced often, which would result in a tremendous ongoing expense. So a more permanent solution like a stone monument was needed. That’s how the recognizable white marble slab with the rounded top and added sunken shield on the face came to be used.
By 1879 veterans buried in private cemeteries could obtain the same headstone supplied to those buried in national cemeteries. We know many veterans acquired them. We see those headstones in cemeteries we visit today. These headstones leave a paper trail. An application needed to be filed for a military headstone, which resulted in a bunch of records and a database for us to search today.
Known as the United States, Applications for Headstones for Military Veterans this record set is located in the National Archives and is known as Record Group 92. There are two groups in the set. The first set of applications covers 1925 to 1941. Don’t be thrown off by the years covered here. Civil War veterans’ applications are in this group. Many headstones were applied for by family members long after their veteran died. The second set of applications are from 1941 to 1949. Both record sets are available to research.
The applications contain a lot of information if your ancestors sought a military headstone for their Civil War veteran. Some of the details you may find include of course the name of the soldier or sailor, his rank, company, regiment and state, the date of his death, religious symbol if used, the name of cemetery with city and state where the veteran is buried and the name and address of the person making the application. Finally the name and address to whom the headstone was being shipped. This can be some very useful information with new leads and surprises.
FamilySearch provides a great resource page for searching the Applications for Military Veterans. Their information page is here: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States,_Headstone_Applications_for_U.S._Military_Veterans_-_FamilySearch_Historical_Records
The page to actually search the collection from 1925 to 1941 on FamilySearch is here: https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1916249
Ancestry also provides the information on their site as well as Fold3. The records for both of these sites cover 1925 to 1963.
This image is from the Joseph H. Pillars application for a headstone. Although not an ancestor I “met” Joseph when researching a local GAR post in my hometown. I found it interesting that the GAR post commander is the one who applied for Joseph’s headstone. Notice there’s an address listed for Joseph Pillars on the application. That info can prompt further research in City Directories.
One last note, the overwhelming majority of these records will be for veterans who fought for the United States. That also includes other military actions like the American Revolution, War of 1812 and the Spanish American war but there are some Confederate records as well. In 1906 Congress approved headstones for Confederate soldiers that were buried in federal cemeteries. Those headstones were chiefly for prisoners of war who died in Union prisons or Union hospitals. In 1929 Congress extended the availability of headstones for all Confederate soldiers buried in private cemeteries too.
Who knows what helpful bits of information you may find checking the United States, Applications for Headstones for Military Veterans. It’s another resource as you continue to research and detail the life of your Civil War ancestor.
Good Luck in your search!
(1) “United States, Applications for Headstones for Military Veterans, 1925-1941,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VHZ6-NRK : accessed 05 Aug 2013, Joseph H Pillars, 1926.