There’s an amazing range of interest groups on Facebook. Some have thousands of members. I’ve found ones that specialize in the Civil War and these groups put you in daily contact with some very knowledgeable history buffs, authors, re-enactors and genealogists.
To find these groups, search on Facebook by keywords. The ones I’ve found helpful are:
- Civil War
- The American Civil War
- Civil War Faces
- The Civil War Buff
- Descendants of Andersonville Prisoners
There are groups for certain regions, certain battles, for Civil War recipes and many more topics. For groups listed as “closed,” you have to get an invitation from someone in the group to join.
You can join a group and then search the back postings using the little magnifying glass. Search by the last name of your ancestor or a battle or a regiment. At first, I like to get acclimated in a group by liking and commenting on a few interesting things. Then you can put a question or share some information you have once they are used to seeing your face on the site.
Be polite and show appreciation when others help you.
Here’s an example of a Civil War interest group on Facebook.
Finding My Civil War Ancestor 