Union Provost Marshal Papers:
1861-1866

Source:  Missouri State Archives: Provost Marshal Papers

Records of the Provost Marshal

Description:

The Provost Marshal Papers for the state of Missouri are part of Record Group 109, War Department Collection of Confederate Records in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Although they are records of the Union Army, they were associated with Confederate records in the War Department because they relate, in part, to Confederate citizens and sympathizers.

The National Archives refers to this collection as Union Provost Marshals’ File of Papers Relating to Individual Citizens. This national collection is three hundred rolls of microfilmed documents, 1861-1866. The online database created by the Missouri State Archives is an index of the Missouri portion of the collection.
There are similar documents that refer to more than one citizen, Union Provost Marshals’ File of Papers Relating to Two or More Civilians – this latter collection, however, is not represented in the Missouri State Archives index.

The microfilm collection contains thousands of pages of documents detailing the way the provost marshal affected the lives of Missouri citizens who came into contact with the Union Army. The office of provost marshal generated much paperwork which offers a unique look at a state divided in loyalty and beliefs, and the war society that resulted.

Far from being solely a resource for military research, the provost marshal papers provide information about the role of women during the war, its effect on Missouri’s slavery institution, and the difficulties experienced by war refugees.

The documents on film include correspondence, provost marshal court papers, orders, passes, paroles, oaths of allegiance to the United States, transportation permits, and claims for compensation for property used or destroyed by military forces. Charges could be initiated by anyone, civilian or military. Statements by accusers or witnesses were taken down as evidence; citizens could be arrested, however, simply on suspicion.

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This page was last updated June 7, 2005.