These are what I call the fab five of beginning African American Civil War Research.  If you have just started your search then these ore the five record types you will encounter with the largest amount of African American family data.  You will use these record more frequently and they will lead you to the solving of some of your biggest family history mysteries.

 

The Freedman's Bureau Records - The big bad granddad of African American family history research, The Freedman's Bureau records document not only the lives of former slaves but their families as well, a decade after emancipation.  Plantation owners, physical descriptions, family groupings and occupations can all be found in the Freedman's