Which side of the civil war did your ancestors fight on?

49 comments

1. My ancestors were more likely to be part of the Mexican-American War than the Civil War.

2. I don’t think any of my ancestors were in the US at the time of the Civil War.

3. They probably weren’t here yet, and if they did, it was probably the north.

4. Union, at least one guy

5. 7 of my 8 great grandparents arrived in the US after the War. The remaining one’s family left Tennessee in the early 1800s due to slavery (according to official county records from 1883) and ended up in Iowa.

6. The Cavaliers

7. I had ancestors that fought on both sides.

8. Not the winning one.

   Well…mostly anyway. Depends on which branch you chase.

9. My people didn’t arrive until later- my da’s side arrived almost right after, my ma’s not until the 20s or so.

10. Both, that branch of my family lived in Kentucky.

11. I mean my family was in the US during this time due to the annexation of the southwest, but I don’t think rural Mexicans – Americans who probably didn’t speak English and only had a bit over 10 years of citizenship were that involved in the war.

12. Neither.

    The first of my ancestors to actually reach the United States stepped off a boat at Ellis Island in 1910.

13. Both. Dad’s family were Union, Mom’s were Confederate.

14. My ancestors hadn’t immigrated to the US yet.

15. They all came over during or after the war. None of them ever fought to my knowledge.

16. The Union.

    Only 1 dude though, and “ancestor” is a loose term. We may share a great great great great grandparent, maybe.

17. Despite a majority of my ancestors having been in the US since the 18th century, I was only ever able to find evidence of two fighting for the CSA in the Civil War. Weirdly enough, they were both from my maternal grandfathers side of the family.

    I did, however, find a notarized slave ledger on a way distant grand cousin from right before the Civil War.

18. I was born in China so I highly doubt any of my ancestors were out their fighting in the civil war

19. Both! My mom’s side is alleged to be related to Stonewall Jackson in some form (dubious), but my dad’s side fought for the Union. My grandfather even still had the musket our ancestor from Pennsylvania fought with. That is until he sold it without telling anyone else in the family -_-

20. Of the family we know were here, they fought for the Union.

    However I don’t know about all branches of my family yet. So it’s possible we had some on the other side.

21. Neither side.

22. Roundheads

23. We might have had someone here at the time but all the ancestors I know of came over starting just after the war ended. Everyone was in Chicago though so if there was someone they would have been in the Union.

24. The only one I know of was for the North. He was captured and sent to Andersonville. Became a GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) member.

25. Didn’t, neither side had immigrated yet.

26. My family has been living in Massachusetts since they landed here in 1620, so if I had any ancestors that fought, they were most definitely in the Union army.

27. Six of my eight great grandparents emigrated from Europe after the American Civil War, so none of those lines of my family tree would have been involved. Of the other two, I don’t really know for certain, but one was from Ohio and one was from Virginia, so its possible I had ancestors on both sides.

28. Most of mine fought for the south.

29. Adopted from a foreign country, but the family I am a part of had a member of a Pennsylvania regiment. Their name is on the monument at Gettysburg.

30. Both. US Navy and Confederate Army.

31. My ancestors were in Poland at the time. It’s my understanding they didn’t like the Russian czar.

32. We have no family stories of anyone serving either army during the Civil War. At the time of the war, at least half of my ancestors were already in Utah, which at the time was neither a state nor really trusted.

33. Two that fought for the union. None that we know of for the confederacy. Though one branch that moved north may have had distant relatives that were confederates. Confederate grave markers in the area they were from have the family surname all over them. But they would have been very distant cousins and once you cast that wide a net we all end up being related.

    One of my ancestors was a POW from the second battle of Franklin and was sent to the infamous Andersonville Prison. He survived but was never well afterwards and died not long after being released.

34. My ancestors were not in the United States during that time. Then again they didn’t arrive here until the 1960s or 70s.

35. Neither, they were in Europe

36. Neither as far as I know. I believe all of my ancestors on both sides of the family arrived in the US in the late 19th century.

37. They were either in Utah, overseas, or New Mexico, so I doubt they fought in the war

38. Definitely Confederacy on one side (well, one side of one side), maybe Union on the other but I’m not sure. I know for 100% fact that my mom’s mom’s ancestors were Confederates, and 100% fact my dad’s dad’s ancestors were not in the country at the time (my granddad was the first generation born in the US on that side.)

    Mom’s dad’s family is French Canadian if you go back far enough and are Wisconsin-based now, they might have come down before the Civil War, not sure. Dad’s mom’s family is New England old money (actual old money, think less Rockefeller and more Dutch trader) so they certainly were on the Union side at the time, but they might have been too bougie to actually do any fighting.

39. Neither. My ancestors were in Europe at the time.

40. My family wasn’t here yet.

41. Neither side of the *American* Civil War, as none of them were in the US at the time. However, a couple of them fought in the *Chinese* Civil War.

42. None, because my ancestors were either not in the US or were just farmers/tradespeople in some northern cities. They were definitely pro-north for the ones who were in the US at the time though.

43. My ancestors arrived 25 years after the first American civil war ended.

44. I’m actually the grandchildren of immigrants (moms family came from Mexico, my dad’ mom is from Germany and his dad is from Ireland) so my ancestors weren’t part of the civil war

45. None of us were here then

46. I have a lot of ancestors who fought for the confederacy.

47. On the topic of the American Civil War, I’ve always wondered what the sentiment is towards it nowadays.

    For example, do people from former Confederate States regret the conflict and their ancestors’ actions or is there still a sort of proud identity around those states? Or is the whole Northern/Southern thing relegated to history and everyone just has exactly the same sense of being united Americans?

    I hope this makes sense, I’ve always wondered about how the whole North and South/Union and Confederacy this is viewed nowadays.

48. I have ancestors that fought on both sides, which makes sense considering Kentucky was a border state.

49. Be me at civil war reenactment as a kid, reaches for union cap at gift shop, my dad be like “why do you want a yankee hat? you’re from South Carolina” me be like “well wasn’t the union like, the good guys in the civil war?” dad “it was called the war of northern aggression” dies of cringe