Union Army Project

This site presents medical and mortality statistics and records related to 35,747 white males who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. All were eligible for Federal pensions later in life. These materials a part of a larger study attempting to create "lifecycle datasets" to explore the effects of lifestyle and biomedical interventions on the human life span.

The website presents three datasets based on different sources of information: Military, Pension, and Medical Records. These are compiled from wartime and pension application records; Surgeon's Certificates, with information from detailed physical examinations; and Census Records from 1850, 1860, 1900, and 1910. Individual soldiers were tracked through various data sources with unique Army identification numbers. The site includes a 2,000-word essay that discusses the scientific and historical background for the study and a 700-word summary of significant results.