New York State Bureau of Military Statistics Accounts Submitted by Local Officials Detailing Monies Raised and Expended and Men…

Organized into two subseries: 1. Records Collected Pursuant to Chapter 113, Laws of 1863; 2. Records Collected Pursuant to Chapter 690, Laws of 1865.

Alphabetical by county and therein alphabetical by town or city within each subseries.

Oversize items from both subseries are stored in Box 23.

These records were initially compiled pursuant to Chapter 113, Laws of 1863 which required the Bureau of Military Statistics, in addition to other duties, to "collect and preserve...an account of the aid afforded by the several towns and counties of this state."

In response to this directive, the bureau printed up several different forms designed to accumulate the data required by the statute. Many of these forms are contained within the series. In 1865, the Legislature further specified the type of information which the bureau was to collect. (This statute, Chapter 690, also changed the name of the Bureau of Military Statistics to the Bureau of Military Record. However, Chapter 665 of the Laws of 1866 changed the name back to the Bureau of Military Statistics). Through additional blank forms distributed to local officials the bureau was to obtain a "detailed statement of moneys raised and of moneys paid for every purpose connected with the war, by towns, cities and counties, as well as by loans and by tax, classified by years and objects, the number of men raised..., the number of men to whom bounty has been paid, and the rate of bounty per man..." Furthermore, the law compelled town clerks, town supervisors, county treasurers, mayors, and common councils to answer these questionnaires and return them to the bureau.

This series consists of various types of printed forms, reports, incoming correspondence, lists of men who were mustered into the service of the United States government, and an assortment of printed material submitted by local officials to the Bureau of Military Statistics between 1863 and 1868. Both subseries are incomplete and the location of records pertaining to missing counties is unknown.

Subseries 1--Records Collected Pursuant to Chapter 113, Laws of 1863. This subseries contains a variety of records. These include questionnaires entitled "Detailed Account of Aid Afforded by Cities and Counties" (Form C.C.), "Inquiries Relating to aid furnished by the several towns of the State to Volunteers, the families of Volunteers, etc." (Form D), "Detailed Account of Aid Afforded by Town In Men, Money, Hospital and other Supplies, etc., Since the Commencement of the Rebellion" (Form D.D.), and "Supplemental Inquires Relating to Men furnished the Government and aid rendered to Soldiers, the families of Soldiers, etc., by the several Towns of the State during the period between July 1, 1863 and December 31, 1863" (Form H); examples of local bounty posters and bounty bonds; copies of local newspapers; reports from local aid societies; lists of persons to whom the bureau mailed various forms; abstracts compiled by the bureau from returned questionnaires; lists of names and addresses of town supervisors; lists of names of deceased soldiers with names and addresses of friends; lists of names of soldiers either discharged or in the service of the U.S. along with their post office address; names of soldiers and their units who died in service from wounds or sickness and have not been returned home; town lists providing name, rank, company, and regiment of men enlisted up to various dates; and subscription lists providing names and amounts pledged by individuals to defray costs of bounties.

The bulk of the records contained in this subseries are the questionnaires mailed to local officials by the bureau. The forms provide detailed information, usually at the town level, on the following: quotas of men assigned by the federal government; number of men furnished; regiments and companies to which they were generally assigned; amounts of moneys raised by taxes, loans and otherwise on the property of the county; implementation of the draft; meetings, conventions, and fairs held in connection with the raising of volunteers; effects of the war on pauperism, crime, courts, banking interests, and general business interests; amounts of moneys raised by private subscription (including names), aid furnished by churches, schools, academies, or literary societies to families of volunteers, volunteers in hospitals, or in the service; names and addresses of men discharged from the service due to wounds; information respecting deceased, returned, and returning volunteers; and biographical material on volunteers.

Subseries 2--Records collected pursuant to Chapter 690, Laws of 1865. These consist of three forms sent by the bureau to town officials. The forms (which have no identifying letter) deal with amounts of moneys raised through taxes, town bonds or notes, and county bonds between 1861 and 1866; how their money was expended (i.e., cancellation of loans, reimbursement of tax papers, bounties, recruiting fees, or other expenditures, etc.); quotas of men assigned to the town between July, 1862 and December, 1864; men furnished between 1861 and 1864; units entered into by the men furnished by the town, enrollment and draft results as relating to the town; and implementation of the draft in the town. In most respects, this subseries contains the same type of information found in the records collected by the bureau between 1863 and early 1865. The main difference in content is that the later forms provide information for the years 1865 and occasionally 1866.

High resolution images of selected original documents in this series are available in State Archives Digital Collections.

13774Series 13774, Town and city registers of men who served in the Civil War ("Town Clerks' Registers"), contains related records.

Collation date 1863-1868.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.