U.S. Civil War in Government Documents: Executive Agency Docs

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For Selective FDLs

To help researchers find government materials published during the Civil War, we present this list of federal agencies which were 1) operational during that time, and 2) had materials printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office. 

Most agencies produced annual reports, and they are a good place to start.  One can discover additional works by looking up the agency's unique SuDoc number in the Checklist of U.S. Public Documents, 1789-1909.  This should reveal a list of all publications from any agency.  Armed with the knowledge of what was published, one can go about finding those items in libraries or online.  Note that documents listed in the Checklist are are in agency order, not chronological order.  

Another possible avenue is to use the CIS Index to U.S. Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1909: Guide to Documents listed in Checklist of U.S. Public Documents, 1789-1909, not printed in the U.S. Serial Set (See our library catalog record for this item). This reference work functions as a subject index to the Checklist of United States Public Documents, 1789-1909.

Many agencies familiar to us today were not yet organized by the time of the Civil War. For example, the nation's first Education Bureau was established by an Act passed in 1867.  The Department of Justice got its start in 1870, and the Department of Commerce wasn't organized until 1903.  Before the establishment of such executive agencies, some of these topics were handled by subject-specific congressional committees.  Incidentally, one finds the same pattern at the state level.  

To find a similar list for Missouri state government agencies active during the Civil War, check our Missouri Historical Documents Browser and click on years 1861, 1863, 1865, etc.

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FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES IN OPERATION 1861-1865

• Department of Agriculture (1862- ) SuDoc: A 1
• Freedman’s Savings and Trust (March, 3 1865-1920) SuDoc: FS 1-- Example: Hathi Trust
• Government Printing Office (1860- ) SuDoc: GP 1
• Department of the Interior (1849- ) SuDoc: I 1
  • General Land Office (1849-1946) SuDoc: I 21
  • U.S. Department of the Interior Library (1849- )SuDoc: I 22
  • Patent Office (1849-1925) SuDoc: I 23
  • Bureau of Pensions (1849-1930) SuDoc: I 24
• United States Marshals Service (1789- ) SuDoc: J 25
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims (1855-1982) SuDoc: Ju 3
• Supreme Court (1790- ) SuDoc: Ju 6
• Library of Congress (1800- ) SuDoc: LC 1
• Department of the Navy (1798-1947) SuDoc: N 1
  • Bureau of Construction and Repair (1842-1940) SuDoc: N 4
  • Bureau of Equipment (1862-1910) SuDoc: N 5
  • Marine Corps (1798-1947) SuDoc: N 9
  • Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (1842-1947) SuDoc: N 10
  • Nautical Almanac Office (1849-1947) SuDoc: N 11
  • Naval Academy (1845-1947) SuDoc: N 12
  • Naval Observatory (1842-1947) SuDoc: N 14
  • Bureau of Naval Personnel (1862-1947) SuDoc: N 17
  • Bureau of Ordinance and Hydrography (1842-1947) SuDoc: N 18
  • Bureau of Supplies and Accounts (1842-1947) SuDoc: N 20
  • Bureau of Yards and Docks (1842-1947) SuDoc: N 21
• The National Academies (1863- ) SuDoc: NA 1
• United States Postal Service (1792- ) SuDoc: P 1
  • Bureau of Finance (1836-?) SuDoc: P 4
  • Division of Dead Letters (1825-1904) SuDoc: P 7
  • Money Orders Division (1864-1951) SuDoc: P 9
• Department of State (1789- ) SuDoc: S 1
  • Bureau of Rolls and Library (1789-1921) SuDoc: S 8
• Smithsonian Institution (1846- ) SuDoc: SI 1
• Department of the Treasury (1789- ) SuDoc: T 1
  • Comptroller of the Currency (1863- ) SuDoc: T 12
  • Commissioner of Customs (1849-1894) SuDoc: T 16
  • Bureau of Engraving and Printing (1862- ) SuDoc: T 18
  • Board of Examiners (1853-1909) SuDoc: T 19
  • Library (1818-?) SuDoc: T 23
  • Lighthouse Board (1852-1903) SuDoc: T 25
  • United States Mint (1792- ) SuDoc: T 28
  • Special Agents Division (1860-1915) SuDoc: T 35
  • Steamboat Inspection Service (1852-1903) SuDoc: T 38
  • Treasurer of the United States (1789-1940) SuDoc: T 40
  • Office of the Solicitor of Treasury (1830-1870) SuDoc: T 44
• Department of War (1789-1947) SuDoc: W 1
  • Subsistence Department (1775-1912) SuDoc: W 5
  • Engineer Department (1802-1947) SuDoc: W 7
  • Military Academy (1802-1947) SuDoc: W 12
  • California Department (1858-1865) SuDoc: W 13
  • Department of the East (1853-1903) SuDoc: W 17
  • Department of the Gulf (1862-1911) SuDoc: W 18
  • Department of the Missouri (1862-1911) SuDoc: W 20
  • Department of Texas (1853-1911) SuDoc: W 24
  • Northern and Northwestern Lakes Survey (1841-1947) SuDoc: W 33
  • Ordnance Department (1812-1947) SuDoc: W 34
  • Pay Department (1816-1912) SuDoc: W 36
  • Provost Marshal General (1863-1947) SuDoc: W 37
  • Quartermaster’s Department (1812-1912) SuDoc: W 39
  • Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (1865-1947) SuDoc: W 41
  • Signal Office (1860-1947) SuDoc: W 42
  • District of Columbia Soldiers Home (1851-1947) SuDoc: W 43
  • Medical Department (1818-1947) SuDoc: W 44
  • Pacific Division (1847-1907) SuDoc: W 51
  • Department of Washington (1861-1869) SuDoc: W 52
  • Atlantic Division (1865-1907) SuDoc: W 64
  • Department of the South (1862-1883) SuDoc: W66
  • Department of Virginia and North Carolina (May 22, 1861-1870) SuDoc: W 67
• Architect of the Capitol (1793- ) SuDoc: Y 3: Ar 2

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Example of search process:

Select an agency, for example the Department of Agriculture.

1. View list of this agency's historic publications in the 1909 Checklist
2. Make note of what you want to see, for example the agency's Annual Report.
3. Find the item...
   • in the library's print collection, OR
   • in Hathi Trust, OR
   • in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set.  We like the College of Wooster's finding aid.
4. Optional: check the  "CIS Index to U.S. Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1909: Guide to Documents listed in Checklist of U.S. Public Documents, 1789-1909, not printed in the U.S. Serial Set."  This source is not freely available online, but you may use a printed copy from a library (See our record)