Ordering U.S. Civil War Union pension records from the National Archives is
not cheap, but well worth it. I am able to get to the Archives by subway
so I could read my g-g-grandfather's records in person. He immigrated from
Liscannor in County Clare (not a Callahan) during the potato famine, and was
really sure he was due a pension. There were so many documents that he had
two files with a total of 200 letters he wrote, testimony of witnesses,
doctor's statements, and his children's birth records. They told me where he
was born, where and when his wife was born, his military service (only
served with his unit for two months before being detailed to serve at corps
headquarters), his cause and date of death, and the jobs he had and where he
lived for 30 years. However, a cousin's file had only ten pages that didn't
tell me much. Still worth it.
Robin in Maryland