In an act approved on April 4, 1890, the legislature noted that official records of officers and soldiers of the Mexican War and of the Union forces in the Civil War were in the state archives. The act authorized the governor and the adjutant-general to do whatever would be needed to "procure from the government of the United States" the "authenticated copies of the muster rolls of the several military organizations from Kentucky which rendered service in the Confederate army." They were also empowered to make a roster which would then be "printed and neatly bound by the Public Printer." Up to three hundred copies would then be distributed "among the public offices of the State."
Muster roll for Company A of the 4th Kentucky Cavalry, CSA, dated December 31, 1864. Muster rolls were used by military units to record soldiers' enlistment dates, promotions, payments, and equipment. Kentucky Military History Museum Archives, Kentucky Historical Society Collections.
