What does a military service Gold Star mean for Union soldiers in Civil War [closed]

Question

Hoping a civil war buff can provide some insight to me.

In reviewing a civil war memorial on Fold3, it states that a soldier was awarded a Gold Star. I'm curious as to what this means. He survived the civil war and lived until ~1923. However, he may have been an invalid according to pension records.

Also any idea of why he would apply for a pension twice, 1890 and again in 1907?

If anyone has a chance to review my source listings and comment if I provided an inappropriate level of detail from Fold3 in the Annotation I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Comments

I do not know if they even had a "Gold Star in the Civil War". i have presented the Gold Star Flag to many mothers for current times, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Persian Gulf, Lebanon-Grenada. It is for those mothers, or primary parent that raised a son or daughter, who was killed on Active Duty by friendly fire or by War. It is not taken lightly.  As a Past Commander of a VFW Post and a Past Commander of two DAV Chapters, I sadly have had that duty.  I have also spoken at the displaying of the Blue Star and Gold Star Memorials in cities, parks, etc.

---

Thank you for your response. It sounds like the Gold Star in the Civil war may have been invented by Ancestry.com.

---

That is a possibility.

---

The only rationale I can think of for Ancestry saying a Civl War veteran was awarded a Gold Star would be a misinterpretation of the gold (sometimes gray-toned) Grand Army of the Republic star placed next to the headstones of GAR members. These stars denoted membership in the GAR (an exceptionally large and active veterans' organization for veterans of the Union)

Answer 1

The Gold Star was first used in World War I, according to https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/2246026/understanding-the-significance-of-the-gold-star/. The Fold3 page you cite just cites two Ancestry pages, neither of which mentions a gold star. I doubt it's real.

Answer 2

I can answer part of your question, Mary. Civil War veterans applied for pensions based on the laws at the time. The 1890 Act expanded eligibility to veterans who were disabled and unable to do manual labor even if that disability was not a direct result of the war. They just had to have served ninety days and been honorably discharged. The Act of February 6, 1907 further increased pension payments based on age. Your veteran reapplied for a pension to increase his monthly payment.

I'm not sure about the Gold Star, because the Medal of Honor was the only military award authorized by Congress during the Civil War.

Comments

Thank you Star Kline for sharing your insight. I do appreciate it.

Answer 3

The gold star is now meaningless.  Some time in the past, Ancestry started adding those to certain Civil War records. At Fold3, the Civil War Stories file is a summary of records at Ancestry. Fold3 carries over those gold star notations.  They are not military awarded gold stars. You should disregard the gold star.It was something Ancestry created for certain Civil War soldiers.

These are not the same thing as a Gold Star awarded by the Military. They are a fabrication of Ancestry.