This database contains records for 409 alumni of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons who served in the American Civil War from 1861-1865. Information was gathered from Alumni Directories of the College of Physicians and Surgeons from 1866, 1880, and 1891; War Records of Graduates and Students Who Served in the Army and Navy During the Rebellion, a list of Civil War veterans from all of the schools at Columbia compiled by the University in 1898; the alumni section of the Columbia University General Catalog of 1906; Trustee and faculty minutes from the College of Physicians and Surgeons from 1861-1865; and descendants of veterans.

The Alumni directories and catalogs relied on data supplied by the alumni themselves as well as information released by the War Department and individual branches of the military. The authors of those works noted at the time of publication that they “might not yet be complete,” and, while every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, that is still true today.

The database contains information about alumni from the Class of 1821 through the class of 1870. Each record includes the name, date of graduation, branch of the military/unit, and years of service, to the extent it was reported by the alumnus.

A limited number of records, mostly for alumni who died or are thought to have died in service, include notes regarding manner of death if that information was reported to the College; if an alumnus served in the US Navy and the name of his ship(s) was reported or could be found, that information is also included in the notes field.

There is no academic information in the Civil War Veterans database. Please contact the Archives & Special Collections for further information about individual alumni.

Note: 19th century student records are generally very sparse. The individual student records for individuals who graduated between 1858 and 1872 have been lost, but limited biographical and academic information may be found in the student registers from that period. Please contact the archives for more information about the student registers.

As of December 2008, Archives & Special Collections staff has compiled the following statistics:

Total number of alumni veterans: 409 (Union: 400, Confederate: 9)

Total number of alumni who died in service: 19, all Union