Civil War Veterans in Idaho

General John Green served in the Civil War. ISHS 292

Civil War veterans in Idaho? You bet! After the War, thousands of veterans of the Confederate and Union Armies and their families migrated westward. Over one thousand of these veterans put down roots in Idaho, and many died here.

Several Idaho governors and state legislators were veterans of the Civil War, as were many state and community leaders. Veterans' organizations like the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) created posts throughout Idaho with hundreds of members. To this day, the GAR Phil Sheridan Post meeting hall stands behind the Statehouse in Boise. These veterans were prominent in parades and Veterans Day celebrations around the state and once a year held an annual meeting in selected Idaho communities. In their heyday, hundreds of veterans attended these annual encampments.

Idaho Soldiers Home Administration Building, ca 1915. ISHS 76-114.8c

During the 1890s, when an Idaho Soldiers Home was proposed, the GAR became a prominent supporter of the facility, and when it was built, the facility literally became "home" for many aged veterans. In the early twentieth century, as more and more Civil War veterans died, their deaths became front page news in local newspapers, and the death of Idaho's last living Civil War veteran, Israel Broadsword, made the front pages of newspapers around the state in 1952.

From a variety of records, the staff of the Idaho State Historical Society, a number of intrepid volunteers, and members of the public from around the state have identified over one thousand Civil War veterans who lived or died in Idaho. These records are indexed alphabetically by surname, and whenever possible we have provided dates of their births and deaths, the states from which they served, and the Idaho counties where they resided. For many veterans, more than one record has been uncovered.

Headstone of Adanijah Jordan, Weippe Cemetery. Photo by Linda Morton-Keithley.

If you find a name on the list and would like a copy of the original record, please contact us. We do respond to U.S. mail, e-mail, and telephone requests. Please be aware that we have photocopy and research fees.

To view the Civil War Veterans index, click on the link below. You must have Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download) on your computer to open the file. If you do not have Acrobat and would like us to look up a name for you, or if you encounter any difficulties, click here to review our procedures for submitting a request for assistance. Be advised that the Civil War Veterans index is intended for personal research purposes only and should not be copied or distributed to others in any format, including paper or electronic versions.

Because the index is an ongoing project, we encourage you to check it periodically for updates and additions. We also invite you to contact us with any additional information you may have about a discovered or undiscovered Idaho veteran of the Civil War.

Civil War Index (PDF format; 202 kb)

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Information updated Tuesday, March 13, 2007