To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

RALEIGH — Historians are combing through thousands of pages of Civil War-era documents, searching for the stories of North Carolina soldiers.

Looking ahead of the War's 150th anniversary, historians hope to get an accurate count of the number of soldiers from the Tar Heel State that died in the War. North Carolina is believed to have lost the most Confederate soldiers. Historians have typically used the number 40,275 casualties, which came from an 1866 report.

N.C. Department of Archives and History Researcher Josh Howard is going line by line through war rosters, archived documents, letters and newspapers, putting each one in a database in order to verify that number.

"It's proper that we do this for the citizens of North Carolina and to honor those who lost their lives," said Howard.

Researchers estimate they'll find about 33,000 to 36,000 Confederate North Carolinians killed, and about 2,000 who fought for the Union. But they are not undertaking this daunting task alone, as they are getting some help from the Garner Chapter of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans.

Charles Purser, one of the volunteers, said that he is doing it because he loves North Carolina history.

"It's just a labor of love," Purser said. "I enjoy doing it. It's just another story we'd like to add to our North Carolina history."

If you have any information about one, or about an N.C. Confederate or Union death, please contact the researchers at 919-807-7310.