Members: Log in to see a members-only database “Civil War Substitutes in St. Louis.”

Early Forts

St. Louis had three prominent forts during its history. Fort San Carlos was located near the current-day Arch. This was the site of the only battle in the American Revolution fought west of the Mississippi River.

Fort Bellefontaine, established about 1804, was located along the Missouri River just west of the confluence of the Mississippi River and Missouri River. Lewis and Clark and their expedition visited this fort.

War of 1812

Many St. Louis citizens served in the War of 1812. The military records may indicate those soldiers as residents of the Louisiana Territory or the Missouri Territory. In the 1800s, many War of 1812 veterans moved to St. Louis and Missouri to redeem their bounty land certificates from that war. St. Louis Genealogical Society has published two volumes describing Missouri’s extensive role in the War of 1812. Learn more about Missourians during this time on a separate page on this website, and you can purchase these books in our secure online store.

Jefferson Barracks

By 1826, Jefferson Barracks was established south of the City along the Mississippi River. This post was still in operation in 2005. Soldiers departing and returning from wars often traveled through Jefferson Barracks. Soldiers from the Indian Wars to the Korean War called Jefferson Barracks home for a short time.

The Jefferson Barracks Cemetery was established in 1826 with the daughter of Zebulon Pike one of its first burials. Abraham Lincoln established the National Cemetery system, and Jefferson Barracks was included.

Jefferson Barracks is the final resting place for soldiers from all wars: including the American Revolution, Civil War, World War I and World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The Jefferson Barracks Cemetery burial listings are included in a nationwide VA gravesite search online.

Civil War

Civil War citizens were represented on both the Union and Confederate sides. The National Park Service (NPS) website Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System offers the name and service for over 6 million soldiers. A great history of how St. Louis participated in the Civil War is available at the Civil War St. Louis website . The Civil War Provost Marshall Papers, 1861–1866, are available in a searchable expanding database at Missouri Archives Provost Database.

Some Missouri soldiers served in the Enrolled Missouri Militia, formed in 1862 for “putting down marauders and defending the peaceable citizens of the State.” These soldiers were considered the state militia; therefore, their names will not appear on the NPS website. However, the Missouri Archives Military Database website offers a list of all Missouri soldiers from the War of 1812 to World War I.

Missouri Archives has pension records for Confederate soldiers who lived in Missouri after the Civil War. They may or may not have served from Missouri.

Another website has more information on the Civil War in St. Louis.

The National Park Service has a Soldiers and Sailors Database.

Civil War Substitutes in St. Louis

In the past, it was possible for a man to avoid service in the military by providing someone to take his place. StLGS member, Gordon Seyffert, has compiled a database on such substitutes and the men they replaced in Missouri’s First Congressional District in North St. Louis and St. Louis County for the period 1863–65, combining data from several sets of records now located at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Kansas City, Missouri. This new report contains over 3,400 names, including those of African-American men recently accepted into the military.
The Fall 2009 St. Louis Genealogical Society Quarterly journal contains an article that provides background on the conditions at the time and then describes the records that were used to produce this database. Click here for the Civil War Substitutes List of the Provost Marshall.

Military Records

Military Discharge Records are available at the Recorder of Deeds office. In the past, these records were available for review; however, recently they were closed to the public. Veterans, or their surviving spouses, may obtain a copy of their records, which include the veteran’s name, social security number or serial number, and date of discharge. This record can be used to obtain military burial benefits.

St. Louis residents served in the military for over 200 years. Their records are available in numerous locations.

Soldiers’ Homes

There were a few soldiers’ homes available to St. Louis veterans. The Confederate Soldiers’ Home in Higginsville, Missouri, was open for infirm and dependent former Confederate soldiers and sailors, their wives, widows, and orphans.

The Federal Soldiers’ Home in St. James, Missouri, was originally opened to soldiers, sailors, aged wives of these men, and army nurses who served in the Mexican War and the War of the Rebellion. They had to be citizens, honorably discharged, indigent, and unable to work. The home is open to all veterans today.

Bibliography

A World War I Biography & Service Records: Persons Who Enlisted in St. Louis City and County. [A necrology of soldiers from WWI is maintained by the Missouri Historical Society Library in their reading room.]

Bantin, James, editor. A Guide to Civil War Collections: Western Historical Manuscript Collection. 1st ed. Columbia, Missouri: Western Historical Manuscript Collection, 1995.

Bartels, Carolyn M. The Civil War in Missouri Day by Day, 1861–1865. Independence, Missouri: Two Trails Publishing, 1992.

Complete List of the St. Louisans in First Draft for National Army: Names in Alphabetical Order. St. Louis: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1917. [This publication includes the names of those called for the first draft for World War I in 1917.]

Concannon, Marie, compiler. Index of Residents, State Federal Soldiers’ Home of Missouri, St. James, Missouri, 1899–1946. Columbia, Missouri: State Historical Society of Missouri, 1998.

Concannon, Marie. Index of Missouri Military Pensioners 1883. Columbia, Missouri: State Historical Society of Missouri, 1997.

Fox, Peggy Barnes. Missouri Confederate Pensions and Confederate Home Applications Index. Hillsboro, Texas: Hill College Press, 1996.

Fusco, Tony. A Pictorial History of Jefferson Barracks. St. Louis: T. Fusco, 1969.

Fusco, Tony. The Story of the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. St. Louis: T. Fusco, 1967.

Gerteis, Louis S. Civil War St. Louis. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2001.

Goodwin, David L. Ghosts of Jefferson Barracks: History & Hauntings of Old St. Louis. Alton, Illinois: Whitechanel Production Press, 2001.

Hewett, Janet B., editor. The Roster of Confederate Soldiers, 1861–1865. Wilmington, North Carolina: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1995–1996.

Hewett, Janet B., editor. Roster of Union Soldiers, 1861–1865. Wilmington, North Carolina: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1997–2000.

Kollbaum, Marc E. Gateway to the West. St. Louis: Friends of Jefferson Barracks, 2002.

Northcott, Dennis. In-Progress Guide to Civil War Manuscript Collections in the Missouri Historical Society Archives. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society, in progress.

Parker, Edward. Missouri Union Burials—Missouri Units. Columbia, Missouri: State Historical Society of Missouri, 1988.

Parkin, Robert. Missouri Rangers in the Indian Wars, War of 1812. St. Louis: privately printed, 1961.

Weant, Kenneth. Mormon & Iowa Wars (September 1838 to December 1839): Index for Missouri Militia Muster Records. Arlington, Texas: K. E. Weant, 2005.

Winter, William C. The Civil War in St. Louis. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society Press, 1994.

Last modified: 22-Apr-2023 11:26