• United States
• Connecticut From the best Authorities Delineated & Engraved by A. Doolittle N. Haven.
• Delaware, from the best Authorities. W. Barker, sculp. Philada.
• Georgia, from the latest Authorities. W. Barker, sculp.
• Kentucky, Reduced from Elihu Barker’s Large Map. W. Barker sculp.
• The State of Maryland, from the best Authorities by Samuel Lewis. W. Barker sculp.
• The State of Massachusetts, Compiled from the best Authorities By Samuel Lewis.
• Maine The Province of Maine, From the best Authorities by Samuel Lewis
• North Carolina The State of North Carolina from the best Authorities, &c. by Samuel Lewis.
• New Hampshire The State of New Hampshire. Compiled chiefly from Actual Surveys. By Samuel Lewis,
• New Jersey The State of New Jersey Compiled from the most Authentic Information. Compiled by Samuel Lewis.
• New York The State of New York Compiled from the best Authorities, By Samuel Lewis.
• Pennsylvania The State of Pennsylvania reduced with permission from Reading Howell’s Map, by Samuel Lewis. Smither Sculp.
• Rhode Island The State of Rhode Island compiled from the Surveys and Observations of Caleb Harris, By Harding Harris. J. Smither sculp.
• South Carolina The State of South Carolina: from the best Authorities, By Samuel Lewis.
• Tennessee A Map of The Tennessee (sic) Government formerly Part of North Carolina taken Chiefly from Surveys by Genl. D. Smith & others. J.T. Scott sculp.
• Virginia The State of Virginia from the best Authorities, By Samuel Lewis.
• Vermont Vermont From actual Survey Delineated & Engraved by Amos Doolittle N.H.

• CSS Albemarle, Albemarle type. Sunk by spar torpedo in Roanoke River near Plymouth NC 28 Oct 1864 (0 killed). Raised by Union 21 Apr 1865. Sold to be broken up 15 Oct 1867.
• CSS Arkansas, Arkansas type. Destroyed to prevent capture above Baton Rouge LA 6 Aug 1862. Wreck located in 1981 under a rock levee at Baton Rouge.
• CSS Atlanta. Captured by USS Weehawken and Nahant in Wassaw Sound near Savannah River 17 Jun 1863, taken into Union service; see USS Atlanta.
• CSS Baltic. Armor removed Jul 1864. Surrendered at Nanna Hubba Bluff in Tombigbee River AL 10 May 1865. Sold to be broken up 31 Dec 1865.
• CSS Charleston. Destroyed to prevent capture in Cooper River above Charleston Harbor 18 Feb 1865. Wreck removed shortly after 1870.
• “Cheops,” Stonewall type. Never delivered to the Confederacy; sold to Prussia 29 Oct 1865, named Prinz Adalbert. Sold to be broken up 1878.
• CSS Chicora, 150′ type. Destroyed to prevent capture in Cooper River above Charleston Harbor 18 Feb 1865. Wreck removed shortly after 1870.
• CSS Columbia. Ran hard aground on a sunken wreck near Fort Moultrie in Charleston Harbor on 12 Jan 1865. Refloated by Union 26 Apr 1865. Sold to be broken up 10 Oct 1867.
• CSS Eastport. Captured by Union while still incomplete 8 Feb 1862; see USS Eastport.
• CSS Fredericksburg. Destroyed to prevent capture in James River near Drewry’s Bluff 4 Apr 1865. Wreck still partially existing.
• CSS Georgia. Scuttled to prevent capture near Old Fort Jackson below Savannah 20 Dec 1864. Wreck still exists in poor to fair condition and some artifacts have been recovered.
• CSS Huntsville, Huntsville type. Scuttled in Spanish River above Mobile Bay 12 Apr 1865. Further fate unknown.
• CSS Jackson (“Muscogee”). Destroyed to prevent capture in Chattahoochee River 17 Apr 1865. Wreck raised in 1963 and is on display at Woodruff Museum (Confederate Naval Museum) in Columbus GA.
• CSS Louisiana. Destroyed to prevent capture near Fort St. Philip below New Orleans 28 Apr 1862. Wreck magnetically located 1981.
• CSS Manassas. Disabled, abandoned, burned, and sunk at the passing of the New Orleans forts 24 Apr 1862 (0 killed). Wreck magnetically located 1981.
• CSS Milledgeville. Destroyed to prevent capture when nearly complete near Savannah 20 Dec 1864. Further fate unknown.
• CSS Mississippi, “Laird ram.” Seized prior to completion by UK 9 Oct 1863; entered service with Royal Navy as HMS Wivern. Sold to be broken up 1922.
• CSS Mississippi. Burned and set adrift from New Orleans before completion 25 Apr 1862. Hulk floated down to Southwest Pass and grounded. Salvaged by Union and taken to Brooklyn Navy Yard for scrapping.
• CSS Missouri. Surrendered at Alexandria LA 3 Jun 1865. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• CSS Mobile. Destroyed before completion at Yazoo City MS 21 May 1863.
• CSS Nashville. Surrendered at Nanna Hubba Bluff in Tombigbee River AL 10 May 1865. Sold to be broken up 22 Nov 1867.
• CSS Neuse, Albemarle type. Destroyed to prevent capture in Neuse River near Kinston NC 14 Mar 1865. Wreck raised in 1964, on display at Kinston NC.
• CSS North Carolina, “Laird ram.” Seized prior to completion by UK 9 Oct 1863; entered service with Royal Navy as HMS Scorpion. Sunk as target ship at Bermuda 1901; further fate unknown.
• CSS North Carolina, 150′ type. Accidentally sank at moorings off Smithville NC (present day Southport) 27 Sep 1864. Partially salvaged by Confederates during war and again in 1868. Hulk burned 7 Sep 1871. Fragments still exist on bottom.
• CSS Palmetto State, 150′ type. Destroyed to prevent capture at mouth of Town Creek above Charleston Harbor 18 Feb 1865. Wreck removed prior to 1870.
• CSS Raleigh, 150′ type. Ran hard aground in Cape Fear River near New Inlet 7 May 1864. Wreck salvaged by Confederates. Fragments still exist on bottom.
• CSS Richmond, 150′ type. Destroyed to prevent capture in James River near Chaffin’s Bluff 3 Apr 1865. Wreck still partially existing.
• “Santa Maria” or “Frigate No. 61.” Never delivered to Confederacy; sold to Denmark December 1863, named Danmark. Sold to be broken up 1907.
• CSS Savannah, 150′ type. Destroyed to prevent capture near Savannah 21 Dec 1864. Further fate unknown.
• CSS Stonewall, Stonewall type. Sold to the Spanish Captain-General of Cuba at end of the war, turned over to USA. Sold to Shogun of Japan, renamed Kotetsu, arrived at Yokohama 24 Apr 1868, seized by Imperial forces. Service in Japanese Civil War (Meiji Restoration). Renamed Adzuma, 1871. Discarded 1888. Broken up 1908.
• CSS Tennessee, Arkansas type. Destroyed before completion at Memphis 5 Jun 1862.
• CSS Tennessee. Captured at Battle of Mobile Bay 5 Aug 1864, taken into Union service; see USS Tennessee.
• CSS Texas. Never completed.
• CSS Tuscaloosa, Huntsville type. Scuttled in Spanish River above Mobile Bay 12 Apr 1865. Further fate unknown.
• CSS Virginia II. Destroyed to prevent capture in James River near Drewry’s Bluff 3 Apr 1865. Wreck still partially existing.
• CSS Virginia. Destroyed to prevent capture near Craney Island VA 11 May 1862. Remains removed in 1870s.
• CSS Wilmington. Destroyed before completion Jan 1865.

Union Ironclads

• USS Agamenticus, Monadnock Class. Survived war. Renamed Terror 15 May 1869. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Ajax (ex-Manayunk), Canonicus Class. Commissioned after war’s end. Sold to be broken up 10 Oct 1899.
• USS Atlanta (ex-CSS Atlanta). Survived war. Sold to Haiti 4 May 1869, renamed Triumph. Lost at sea off Cape Hatteras Dec 1869. Wreck has never been located.
• USS Baron de Kalb (ex-St. Louis), “City” Class. Struck a mine and sank in Yazoo River 13 Jul 1863 (0 killed). Wreck partially salvaged during war. Recently located, plans underway for partial salvage.
• USS Benton. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Cairo, “City” Class. Survived war. Stuck a mine and sank in Yazoo River 12 Dec 1862 (0 killed). Wreck located in 1956 and raised in 1965; from 1980 on display at Vicksburg MS.
• USS Camanche, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 15 Feb 1899.
• USS Canonicus, Canonicus Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 19 Feb 1908.
• USS Carondelet, “City” Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865. Hull used as wharfboat on Ohio River until washed downstream in a flood Apr 1873. Remains destroyed by dredge 1982.
• USS Casco, Casco Class. Completed as torpedo boat. Renamed Hero 15 Jun 1869. Sold to be broken up 1 Apr 1875.
• USS Catawba, Canonicus Class. Never commissioned. Sold to Peru, renamed Atahualpa. Service in War of the Pacific. Scuttled at Callao 16 Jan 1880. Raised 1880 and hulked; discarded about 1910.
• USS Catskill, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 4 Dec 1901.
• USS Chickasaw, Milwaukee Class. Survived war. Sold 12 Sep 74 at New Orleans to the New Orleans Pacific Railroad. Acquired by the Texas & Pacific Railroad in 1881 and converted to a sidewheel railroad ferry. Renamed Gouldsboro 1882. Rebuilt twice between 1881 and 1938; hull virtually replaced 1910. Active until 1941. Some discussion about making the ship into a museum at Mobile AL but nothing came of it; broken up 1944.
• USS Chillicothe. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Chimo, Casco Class. Completed as torpedo boat. Renamed Piscataqua 10 Aug 1869. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Choctaw. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 28 Mar 1866.
• USS Cincinnati, “City” Class. Rammed and sunk at Battle of Plum Point Bend, 10 May 1862 (1 killed). Raised and repaired. Sunk by gunfire from Vicksburg 27 May 1863 (18 killed). Raised and repaired. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 28 Mar 1866; hull sank near Cache River below Mound City IL in 1866, further fate unknown.
• USS Cohoes, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up Jul 1874.
• USS Dictator. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 27 Sep 1883.
• USS Dunderberg. Never commissioned. Repurchased by builder 2 Mar 1867, sold to France July 1867, renamed Rochambeau. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Eastport. Captured incomplete from Confederacy and completed by Union. Destroyed to prevent capture in Red River 26 Apr 1864. Recently located.
• USS Essex (ex-New Era). Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Etlah, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.
• USS Galena. Armor removed mid-1863, recommissioned as a wooden sloop. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 1872.
• USS Indianola. Rammed and sunk near New Carthage MS 24 Feb 1863 (1 killed). Wreck refloated by Union forces 5 Jan 1865, sold to be broken up 19 Nov 1865.
• USS Iris (ex-Shiloh), Casco Class. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Class. Never completed.
• USS Keokuk. Sank off Charleston 8 Apr 1863 after being struck over 90 times the previous day (0 killed). Both XI-inch Dahlgrens salvaged by Confederates 1 and 5 May 1863. Wreck probably still exists under silt off Sullivan’s Island; one Dahlgren on display at White Point Gardens (Battery Park) in Charleston.
• USS Kickapoo, Milwaukee Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.
• USS Klamath, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.
• USS Koka, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up Oct 1874.
• USS Lafayette. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 28 Mar 1866.
• USS Lehigh, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 14 Apr 1904.
• USS Louisville, “City” Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Mahopac, Canonicus Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 25 Mar 1902.
• USS Manhattan, Canonicus Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 24 Mar 1902.
• USS Marietta, Marietta Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Apr 1873.
• USS Miantonomoh, Monadnock Class. Commissioned after war’s end. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Milwaukee, Milwaukee Class. Struck a mine and sank in Blakely River above Mobile Bay 28 Mar 1865 (0 killed). Wreck raised 1868 and scrapped; some iron may have been used to build Eads Bridge at St. Louis.
• USS Modoc, Casco Class. Completed as torpedo boat. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up Aug 1875.
• USS Monadnock, Monadnock Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Monitor. Sank in gale off Cape Hatteras, 31 Dec 1862 (16 killed). Wreck located September 1973, some artifacts recovered. Upside down and not in good condition.
• USS Montauk, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 14 Apr 1904.
• USS Mound City, “City” Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 9 Nov 1865.
• USS Nahant, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 16 Apr 1904.
• USS Nantucket, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 14 Nov 1900.
• USS Napa, Casco Class. Completed as torpedo boat. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 1875.
• USS Naubuc, Casco Class. Completed as torpedo boat. Renamed Minnetonka 10 Aug 1869. Sold to be broken up 1875.
• USS Nausett, Casco Class. Sold to be broken up Aug 1875.
• USS Neosho, Neosho Class. Survived war. Renamed Osceola 10 Aug 1869. Sold to be broken up 17 Aug 1873.
• USS New Ironsides. Survived war. Caught fire and burned up at League Island Navy Yard 16 Mar 1866 (0 killed). Remains sold to be broken up May 1867.
• USS Oneota, Canonicus Class. Never commissioned. Sold to Peru 2 Apr 1868, renamed Manco Capac. Service in War of the Pacific. Scuttled at Arica 7 Jun 1880.
• USS Onondaga. Survived war. Repurchased by builder 2 Mar 1867, sold to France. Sold to be broken up 1903.
• USS Osage, Neosho Class. Struck a mine and sank in Blakely River above Mobile Bay 29 Mar 1865 (4 killed). Raised after war. Hull sold 22 Nov 1867, became merchant ship. Possibly sunk in Sodo Lake near Shreveport LA May 1870. Further fate unknown.
• USS Ozark. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Passaconaway, Kalamazoo Class. Never completed.
• USS Passaic, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 10 Oct 1899.
• USS Patapsco, Passaic Class. Struck a mine and sank in Charleston Harbor 15 Jan 1865 (62 killed). Hulk blasted by wreckers prior to 1870 and possibly again after 1870. Some scattered remains probably still exist between Forts Sumter and Moultrie.
• USS Pittsburg, “City” Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865. Hull used as wharfboat; abandoned on rock bar above Smithland KY Jun 1870; further fate unknown.
• USS Puritan. Never completed.
• USS Quinsigamond, Kalamazoo Class. Never completed.
• USS Roanoke. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 27 Sep 1883.
• USS Sandusky, Marietta Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Apr 1873.
• USS Sangamon, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 16 Apr 1904.
• USS Saugus, Canonicus Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 15 Mar 1891.
• USS Shackamaxon, Kalamazoo Class. Never completed.
• USS Shawnee, Casco Class. Sold to be broken up Aug 1875.
• USS Squando, Casco Class. Renamed Algoma 10 Aug 1869. Sold to be broken up 1 Jul 1874.
• “Stevens Battery.” Never completed.
• USS Suncook, Casco Class. Sold to be broken up Aug 1875.
• USS Tecumseh, Canonicus Class. Struck a mine and sank at entrance to Mobile Bay 5 Aug 1864 (93 killed). Wreck located mid-1960s, some artifacts recovered. Mostly intact, though with a hole in the port bow and filled with mud and silt.
• USS Tennessee (ex-CSS Tennessee). Survived war. Sold to be broken up 27 Nov 1867.
• USS Tonawanda, Monadnock Class. Commissioned after war’s end. Renamed Amphitrite 15 May 1869. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Tunxis, Casco Class. Renamed Otsego 10 Aug 1869. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Tuscumbia. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Umpqua, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.
• USS Wassuc, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 9 Sep 1875.
• USS Waxsaw, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Renamed Niobe 15 Jun 1869. Sold to be broken up 25 Aug 1875.
• USS Weehawken, Passaic Class. Accidentally sank near Charleston 6 Dec 1863 (31 killed). Wreckers salvaged engines and destroyed turret and pilothouse prior to 1870; remainder of wreck removed after 1870.
• USS Winnebago, Milwaukee Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.
• USS Wyandotte (ex-Tippecanoe), Canonicus Class. Commissioned atfer war’s end. Sold to be broken up 17 Jan 1899.
• USS Yazoo, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 5 Sep 1874.
• USS Yuma, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.

Legal records pertaining to people that lived along the Of any navigable waterway the United States, including lakes, rivers, and anals, are likely to be found in admiralty courts. In addition to dockets and case files, a researcher may find evidence such as ship registers, licenses, crew lists, manifests, passenger lists, seamen’s contracts, logbooks, and other correspondence carried by ships.

Records from American admiralty as courts, as well as some English records obtained during the American Revolution, can be found in most branches of the National Archives. Pre-colonial records can sometimes be found in England as well.

To learn more try these books:

• Andrews, Charles M. The Colonial Period of American History. Vol. 4: England’s Commercial and Colonial Policy
  . New Haven: Yak University Press, 1938.
• Eakle, Arlene H “Research in Court Records.” The Source: A Guidebook Of American Genealogy (Third Edition)
  . Rev. ed. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997.
• Szucs, Loretto Dennis, and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. Archives: A Guide to the National Archives Field Branches
  . Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1988.
• Towle, Dorothy S. Records of the Vice-Admiralty Court of Rhode Island 1716-1752
  . Washington, D.C.:  American Historical Association Committee Legal History, 1939.
• Ubbelhide, Carl. The Vice-Admiralty Courts and the American Revolution
  . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1960.

As events unfolded, African Americans constituted a potential source of willing manpower for the Continental Army, but congress and many state political establishments loathed tapping them into them, for political and economic reasons. The southern colonies, where the bulk of the African American population was concentrated, were indelibly intertwined in issues relating to slavery and proved reluctant to sacrifice these economic benefits. Plantation owners were also unwilling to see slaves armed and trained for fear of fomenting an insurrection. For this reason Congress initially outlawed the recruitment of slaves into the armed forces and depended solely upon white volunteers. General George Washington, upon assuming command of Continental forces at Cambridge in July 1775, took this exclusion a step further and forbade the recruitment of blacks in general, slave and free alike. However, as manpower shortages became chronic due to lack of white volunteers, the prospect of African American recruitment became much more palatable, at least in the northern colonies. Several blacks were also successfully employed as spies, with James Lafayette being the most conspicuous example. 

Ironically, the first African American military unit was recruited by Governor John Murry, Lord Dunmore, of Virginia, who issued a proclamation emancipating any slave who joined the British side. Consequently, around 300 former slaves were enrolled in the “Ethiopian Regiment”, which campaigned in Virginia until the British were finally expelled in the spring of 1776. Thereafter, it became standard British policy to recruit blacks for military for service in exchange for freedom, especially in the south. By wars end , the bulk of these were evacuated and resettled in Canada or the West Indies. 

The United States promulgated no consistent policy toward African Americans, and hence many blacks were allowed to serve in the ranks, frequently as paid substitutes for unwilling whites. After 1776, when Congress authorized creation of 88 battalions of troops, state officials simply glossed over the fact that blacks were enlisted whenever the white population failed to provide its quota of troops. Once manpower levels became critical, Washington reversed himself, and on January 2, 1777, he authorized the enlistment of free blacks wherever possible. The practice was most prevalent in New England, where slavery was weakest, and African Americans joined in comparatively large numbers. 

The famous unit to emerge from such practices was the 1st Rhode Island Light Infantry Regiment under Colonel Christopher Greene, which was racially mixed, if heavily black, and led by white company-grade officers. They distinguished themselves during the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778, and repelled several determined Hessian attacks. All told, by war’s end most American units had armed blacks marching directly in the ranks and , when permitted to serve, theey did so with distinction. Many of these soldiers were consequently manumitted from slavery in exchange for their military service. 

The Armies of Spain and France had no such prohibitions against black enlistment, and both Governor Bernardo de Galvez and Admiral Charles-Hector-Theodat, comte d’Estaing, employed considerable numbers of French- and Spanish-speaking blacks in Louisiana, at the siege of Savannah, and elsewhere. In 1779 South Carolina representative and army officer John Laurens extolled the virtues of black soldiery and urged the governments of his native state and Georgia to recruit large numbers of slave’s into the army in exchange for freedom. It was a viable plan to address the chronic manpower shortages, but deep-seated enmity toward African Americans precluded its   adoption. African Americans enlisted in the military faced varying degrees of racial discrimination that militated against promotions and occupations held. Conditions proved far more accommodating in the Continental Navy, state navies, and in privateering, where far less emphasis was placed on race than ability. For many years prior to the Revolution, many free blacks and former slaves were attracted to service in either the merchant marine or the Royal Navy because harsh living conditions aboard were still better than those encountered on land. Consequently, ship crews frequently contained a much higher percentage of  African Americans as pilots, cooks, and gun crewmen, and they served throughout the war.

By 1783 around 5,000 African Americans had served in either the Continental army or navy, acquitting themselves well. They filled a critical niche in manpower needs, anticipating the role they would perform 80 years later during the Civil War, when liberty, denied them during the Revolutionary War, was finally realized.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Several discarded headstones recently discovered in a creek bed near Arlington National Cemetery have left Department of Defense officials scrambling for answers.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell called the discovery “alarming and concerning.”

Pentagon officials as well as officials at the Arlington National Cemetery had no idea about the existence of the headstones until they were made aware by a Washington Post story.

Patrick Hallinan, the incoming superintendent of the hallowed cemetery, will be meeting with officials from the Army Corps of Engineers on Friday. The upcoming meeting will “hopefully provide more clarity to the situation regarding the headstones in the creek bank,” Kaitlin Horst, a spokeswoman for Arlington National Cemetery, told Fox News.

Arlington National Cemetery officials think the headstones were placed there to “prevent erosion on the creek bed,” after being replaced and discarded, Horst said.

“It’s important to the new management to take corrective action but also make sure removing the headstones doesn’t destabilize the environment in any way,” she said.

Click here to read more at MyFoxDC.

One of the headstones in question is inscribed with a cross with a circle around it, a style that was discontinued in the late 1980s, leading officials to believe some of these headstones may have been in that creek bed for several decades.

“This is not part of our current headstone disposal policy,” said Horst.

The discovery is another black eye for the nation’s most sacred veterans cemetery, which recently was revealed to have mishandled more than 200 graves.

Click here to read more at MyFoxDC.

The United States was the first country to call for a regularly held census. The Constitution required that a census of all “Persons…excluding Indians not taxed” be performed to determine the collection of taxes and the appropriation of seats in the House of Representatives. The first nine censuses from 1790 to 1870 were organized under the United States Federal Court system. Each district was assigned a U.S. marshal who hired other marshals to administer the census. Governors were responsible for enumeration in territories.

Sample from US 1790 Census of New Haven County, CT

1790 Federal Population Census Schedule

The 1790 census was begun on 2 August 1790. The marshals were expected to finish the census within nine months of the Census Day—by 1 May 1791. Although most of the returns were in long before the deadline, Congress had to extend the count until 1 March 1792. By that time some people probably were counted who had not been born or present in 1790.

The States covered in this census are Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont

Because of the availability of the printed 1790 census schedules, researchers tend to overlook the importance of consulting the original schedules, which are readily available on microfilm. As in most cases, the researcher who relies on printed transcripts may miss important information and clues found only in the original version.

The 1790 census records are useful for identifying the locality to be searched for other types of records for a named individual. The 1790 census will, in most cases, help distinguish the target family from others of the same name; identify immediate neighbors who may be related; identify slaveholders; and spot spelling variations of surnames. Free men “of color” are listed as heads of household by name. Slaves appear in age groupings by name of owner. By combining those age groupings with probate inventories and tax list data, it is sometimes possible to determine names of other family members and the birth order of those individuals

Questions Asked in the 1790 Census

Name of family head; number of free white males of sixteen years and older; number of free white males under sixteen; number of free white females; number of slaves; number of other persons; and sometimes town or district of residence. The 1790 census instructed the marshals to identify, by age brackets, free white males sixteen years of age or older and those under sixteen. It was designed to determine the country’s industrial and military capabilities. Additionally, the first census was to count the number of free white females; all other free persons regardless of race or gender; and slaves. A twenty-dollar fine, to be split between the marshals’ assistants and the government, would be levied against anyone who refused to answer the enumerator’s questions.

Other Significant Facts about the 1790 Census

The Constitution called for a census of all “Persons . . . excluding Indians not taxed” for the purpose of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives and assessing direct federal taxes. The “Indians not taxed” were those not living in the settled areas. In later years, Native Americans everywhere were considered part of the total population, but not all were included in the apportionment figures until 1940.The government did not provide printed forms or even paper until 1830. It was up to each assistant to copy his census return on whatever paper he could find and post it in two public places in his assigned area. Those who saw and could read them were supposed to check for discrepancies or omissions. The highest pay rate, two cents per person, barely covered expenses, especially where settlers were scattered and living in places that were difficult to find or access.The jurisdictions of the thirteen original states stretched over an area of seventeen present-day states. Census schedules survive for only two-thirds of those states. The surviving schedules were indexed by state and published by the Bureau of the Census in the early 1900s. Bureau of the Census, Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790, 12 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1908), can be found in most research libraries; it has been reprinted by various publishers over the years.

Both the original and printed 1790 census schedules are available on microfilm for Connecticut, Maine (then part of Massachusetts), Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont. The schedules for Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Virginia were burned during the War of 1812 (there are substitutes for most of these). Published and microfilmed 1790 schedules for Virginia were reconstructed from state enumerations and tax lists.

Census research is one of the first and most important steps in constructing a family tree. Everyone from genealogists to historians use the federal census for researching family histories. Deciphering census data, however, is not always easy.

It is usually best to begin a census search in the most recently available census records (1930) and to work from what is already known about a family. With any luck, birthplaces and other clues found in these more recent records will point to locations of earlier residence

 Dear Correspondent,
While I was stationed at Fort Chaffee for basic training Oct 3 – 8 Dec, 1956, I remember seeing a cemetery that had a stone arch at the entrance. As I recall, it was located on the South side of the fort. Can you possibly help me to identify this cemetery?
With kind regards,
John T. Gerlosky, CWO W3 USA Retired

When markers fall, they often lay right where they fell, have several inches of grass growing over them and can be probed for, found and subsequently reset in their original bases (also buried over time). More often than not, down stones wind up elsewhere when cemetery maintenance personnel move them to prevent hitting them with mowing equipment. I estimate that a typical early 19th century cemetery has at least 30% more burials than what is apparent on the surface today, and unfortunately some are far worse than others.

If you can determine for certain that he is buried on the premises, and in what approximate area, then the investigation becomes one of putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Often a location can be determined by the process of elimination if you’re lucky enough to have adequate documentation that was accomplished at an earlier time. We have helped relocate many gravestones in the proper area by the means discussed above and without ever having to resort to subsurface imaging.

If need be, it is possible to identify the location of an unmarked grave using subsurface imaging equipment such as ground penetrating radar, magnetometry and or other means of electromagnetic measurement.

Again, your best bet is to try to prove that your ancestor was actually buried at that particular cemetery. Local genealogists should be able to offer some insight one way or the other.

• Run the cursor over the photograph and the picture.
• Caption will pop up.
• Click  photo to enlarge.

Truly fortunate that so many of these have survived. Probably a million wet plate photos were made during  the civil war on glass plate.  Popular during the war, they  lost their appeal afterwards and so many were sold for the  glass.  Many used in green houses. Over the years the sun  caused the images to disappear.

A compendium of photos from the Civil War  era “Original Civil War Pictures”_
http://www.mikelynaugh.com/VirtualCivilWar/New/Originals2/index.html