Civil War pension files tell powerful stories. I’ve completed a full transcription of Sgt. Washington Marion Crawford’s pension file, revealing his capture, imprisonment, illness, and the lasting impact of war.
heartlandgenealogy.org
From Rapidan to Andersonville
This biography of Washington Marion Crawford was reconstructed from careful transcriptions of his compiled military service record and his Civil War pension file. Rather than relying on secondary summaries, I worked directly from the original documents — muster rolls, prisoner-of-war memoranda, hospital records, medical certificates, pay accounts, and pension applications. Each page was transcribed in archival form, preserving original wording, dates, and remarks.