Daily AncestorPvt.
Pvt. is short for private, the lowest rank of enlisted soldier.
Pvt. is the usual abbreviation of private in muster rolls, pension files, service records and gravestones.
Most soldiers in any American war served as privates. Pte. is the British form and is rare in American records. A pension or service file for a private still names the company and regiment, which you need to find unit histories and rosters.
As seen in a recordSoldier's entry in a service record index
Pvt. Zach. Pruitt, Co. H, 4th Tenn. Inf.
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Daily Ancestor. "Pvt.." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/abbreviations/pvt. Last checked 2026-10-01.