Preserving Pennsylvania's Civil War Muster Roles
The Pennsylvania State Archives maintains all of the records created by the regimental units raised by the commonwealth during the Civil War. Unit holdings include muster in and muster out rolls, casualty and deserter lists, official communications, and other records. Most valued among these are the mustering out rolls, which briefly give each soldier’s war story at his time of discharge and, in many cases, beyond it. They are, as historian John B. B. Trussell has noted, “essential for the study” of any regiment’s or company’s actions during the war. In October 2005, the State Archives began an ambitious project to conserve the 2,500 muster out rolls that are part of Records Series 19.11, “Muster Rolls and Related Records” of the Adjutant General’s Office.