In honor of the many U. S. veterans that have served in our armed forces throughout the history of this great nation, the African American Genealogy Examiner column today will provide instructions on accessing several free records databases available online at the website of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Many Civil War veterans and their widows or other dependents received pensions from the U. S. government for their support. For those researchers whose ancestors received pensions for service, these files are arguably the single richest record group in terms of information contained within them.