More Living Columnists

• Dolores Sanchez Badillo: The view from the fenceline
• Mary Penner: Learning about your past is an awesome journey
• Steve Brewer: Goofy fads can hold fond memories for families

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

In 1930, 88-year-old Confederate veteran Carlton McCarthy applied for a military pension. In response to the question, "What is your usual and ordinary occupation for earning a living," he replied, "Book business, accountant, mayor of Richmond, VA, etc."

McCarthy did have a stint as Richmond's mayor in the early 1900s and he wrote several books, most of them about his experiences in the Confederate Army. On his pension application, he claimed he was totally disabled and had no real assets. The state of Virginia granted him a $30-per-month pension.

In 1882, McCarthy wrote a short book with a long title: "Detailed Minutiae of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865."

McCarthy summed up the Civil War by writing: "A real good hearty war like that dies hard. No country likes to part with a good earnest war. It likes to talk about the war, write its history, fight its battles over and over again, and build monument after monument to commemorate its glories."

McCarthy was right. Recent college graduates may not be able to name the two sides of the Civil War or when it was fought, but that's not because it has faded from the American historical landscape.

On the contrary, there are thousands of books and Web sites devoted to the Civil War. There are Civil War magazines, memorabilia collectors, re-enactors, monuments and battlefield sites all across the country.

And millions of Americans living today have Civil War veterans in their family trees.

One-third of the more than 3 million men who fought in the conflict were from the southern states. Since the Confederacy lost the war, the federal government wasn't about to pony up pensions or benefits for Confederate soldiers.

So it was up to the individual states from the defunct Confederate union to offer pensions to their soldiers.

In 1867, North Carolina and Alabama were the first states to offer veteran pensions. To be eligible for a pension at that time, the soldiers had to have lost an arm or leg during the war.

As the years went by, more southern states offered pensions to veterans and their widows, and more veterans became eligible for pensions as requirements became less stringent.

Check the National Archives for a summary of which states offered Confederate pensions.

Confederate pensions contain many of the same details that you might find in Union pension files. You might find a summary of the soldier's service, his age, birthplace and place of residence when he enlisted. You might also find details of his war injuries.

For soldiers who applied for indigent pensions, you may see a summary of their property and its value. You'll likely get a rundown of their general health and details about their family. One pensioner mentioned his 39-year-old mentally disabled son that he had to care for.

You may also find the date of the soldier's death, which prompted the closure of his pension file.

In a widow's pension file, you'll find her birth date and the place and date of her marriage to the soldier. And, you'll likely find her death date, too.

Confederate pensions were granted by the state in which the soldier lived when he applied. So, your Florida-bred and -born Confederate veteran might have received his pension from Texas if he happened to move there after the war.