Genealogy is where you confuse the dead and irritate the living!
There is a thrill in discovering an ancestor who was in the
military—perhaps he was a privateer fighting for the American
Revolution, a soldier marching into the gap at Cold Mountain or a
pilot flying cover for the D-Day invasions. Wherever a military
ancestor played a part in the forming of the United States, there is
a special feeling for him. This article focuses on the American
military records and in writing this article I have used the pronoun
‘he’ rather than ‘he/she’, although women have increasingly served
in the military.
A.
Getting started
To begin you will need to know as much as possible about your
ancestor: his full name, possible wars he fought in, whether he was
Army or Navy or another branch, his unit and rank.
1. Full name: – last name [surname], first name and
hopefully, middle name or initial. The use of middle names became
common around the mid-1800s. For example, there are many William and
John first names and the middle name or initial helps to eliminate
duplicates.
2. Create a timeline: Create a timeline for your
ancestor for the years he was between 18 and 40 along with the
locality where he lived at the time. Then, using these websites—The
War List1 or The Indian Wars2, list the
various military actions that took place during that time period.
Also, Plano Harrington Library has several reference books available
about the various military wars
3. Branch of the military: You will need to determine
which branch of the military your ancestor chose to enlist in:
militia/National Guard, US Army, US Navy, US Marines, the Air Force,
the Coast Guard or the US Maritime/Merchant Marine Service. The
following is a general overview of when various military branches
were established.
In 1670 Captain Benjamin Church organized a company of troops and
designated them ‘Rangers’. This became the earliest American
military unit. In 1747 the Rangers were incorporated into the
British Army as “His Majesty’s First Independent Company of American
Rangers,” demonstrating that though serving the crown, these were
Americans soldiers. During the Revolution, the Rangers fought with
the American militia and the Continental Army units. After the war,
the Rangers were disbanded until the War of 1812 when they were
resurrected and used along the frontier with the cavalry units. In
1942 the current US Rangers were established as commando units in
the regular army.3
The first militia was organized by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in
1636 to fight the Pequot War of 1637. They were local units
comprised of able-bodied men from 16 to 60 and were a type of a
standing army that met regularly to train in the use of firearms and
military maneuvers. In 1792, Congress passed a law that required all
males between the ages of 18 to 45 to enroll in their state’s
militia. These units became known as the volunteer militia and were
the predecessors of the National Guard.4
The Continental Congress established the Continental Army on June
14, 1775. Most of the regiments in the new army were from the
states’ former militia. On 2 June 1784 Congress ordered the
discharge of all remaining men except for 80 caretakers for Fort
Pitt and West Point as an economy measure. The next day, the
Congress created the regular army and under Josiah Harmer, the First
American Regiment, slowly organized and achieved permanent status as
an infantry regiment of the new Regular Army.5
The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy,
which the Continental Congress established on 13 October 1775 by
authorizing the procurement, fitting out, manning, and dispatch of
two armed vessels to cruise in search of munitions ships supplying
the British Army in America. After the Revolution the Continental
Congress sold all the surviving ships of the Continental Navy and
released the seamen and officers. It wasn’t until April 30, 1798
that Congress established the US Navy.6
The US Marines began on November 10, 1775 when the Continental
Congress meeting in Philadelphia passed a resolution stating, "two
battalions of Marines be raised" for service as landing forces with
the fleet. The last of the Navy's ships were sold after the end of
the Revolutionary War and the Marines went out of existence. It
wasn’t until July 11, 1789 that the Marines were re-established.7
The Coast Guard began on August 4, 1790 when Congress authorized the
Revenue Marine/the Revenue Cutter Service and the construction of
ten vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws, prevent smuggling, and
protect the collection of the federal revenue. The name was changed
in 1915 under an act of Congress when the Revenue Cutter Service
merged with the Life-Saving Service to become the US Coast Guard.8
The US Maritime Service’s first sea engagement was on June 12, 1775
and it is considered the start of the merchant marine's war role.
The thirteen Colonies, having declared their Independence, had only
31 ships comprising the Continental Navy. To augment their naval
power, they issued Letters of Marque on a per-voyage basis to
privately owned; armed merchant ships and gave commissions to their
masters as privateers. The privateers were contracted to search out
British merchants, board them, take their cargo and capture their
crews and passengers for whom they received bounty monies.
By 1777 George Washington's armies totaled about 11,000 men. At the
same time there were 11,000 privateers at sea intercepting British
shipping in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and even between Ireland and
England. About 55,000 American seamen served aboard the privateers.
When captured by the British Navy, they were given a choice: join
the British Navy or prison. Their captivity was aboard prison ships,
mostly abandoned ships moored in New York harbor. About 11,000
privateers died of disease and malnutrition, their bodies dumped
onto the mud flats of Wallabout Bay, where Brooklyn Navy Yard now
stands. There are several genealogy books available listing these
casualties.
Privateers were frequently used during the War of 1812. The War was
fought with merchant ships, because the U.S. had almost no Navy.
9
The United States Air Force was originally part of the Army Air Corp
and became a separate military organization on September 18, 1947.
4. Regiment or Ship: Having determined which branch of
the military your ancestor may have served in, it will be necessary
to determine their regiment or ship for the majority of the record
indexes are based on these categories. Knowing where your ancestor
lived will help to identify the regiment or militia as these
generally were drawn from the local population. The same would apply
to the ship, especially with the Merchant marine, as local merchants
tended to provide the necessary monies to outfit the privateers in
the early eras. It is recommended that once an individual's regiment
or corps has been identified a researcher's initial approach should
be to the appropriate regimental or corps website or museum, which
will provide more details about the specific regiment.
5. Military rank: The next step is to determine his
rank in the unit, especially whether he was an officer or
non-commissioned personnel. The dividing line of rank separates many
of the military records.
B.
What types of records are available?
There are four primary categories of records available:
1. Military Service Records. These provide a basic view of
your ancestor’s service from the date of enlistment to the date of
discharge, which units he served in, where he served, dates of
promotions, and any specialized qualifications he earned. These
service records are from the regular military. Depending upon the
time period of service, the records may include payroll statement,
muster rolls, hospital records, prisoner-of-war records, enlistment
and discharge documents.
In 1800 and 1812 fires in the government records department
destroyed most of the Army and Navy records for that period. In
1874, an effort was made to rebuild the records by collecting
various military documents from several sources and creating a
folder for each serviceman. These are called the Compiled Military
Service records and are available for the American Revolution, War
of 1812 and the Civil War.
2. Pension records and Veteran’s Claims. These are of
veterans who applied for a pension or made a claim to the US
government between 1775 and the present. Also the records and claims
may be from the widow of the serviceman, or a dependent under the
age of 16 of a deceased veteran. Among the records are the
application and several depositions from friends and fellow
servicemen who served with the applicant as well as a confirmation
or denial from the Secretary of War regarding the date of service.
Among the widow’s records are generally information about when and
where the marriage took place and other confirming evidence of
marriage, as well as various depositions and examiner’s records. The
records are arranged alphabetically by veteran surname and can be
accessed by using the name index that has been microfilmed as Old
War Index to Pension Files (NARA T316, 7 rolls). The index also
indicates the veteran's name, unit, and state from which the claim
was made, and type of claimant, whether widow, child, or other heir.
Veterans’ claims increased during and after the Revolution. There
were requests for payment for supplies, equipment and bonus monies.
For example, among the town papers of Uxbridge, Massachusetts is a
request for reimbursement for “One thousand, seven hundred and ten
pounds it being money advanced to the several soldiers hereafter
named [viz:]…for bounty and mileage money.”
There is a list of private claims to the House of Representatives of
the US from the 1st to the 31st Congress,
which along with the date are listed the names of the claimant, the
claim, who brought it before the house, and how it was disposed. One
claimant listed is a John Bowen (Mass.) for bounty on fishing
schooner Joanna. The claim was laid on the table.
3. Draft Registration Cards: During the Civil War, the
government enacted a draft registration law in March 1863. This
required men between the ages of 20 to 45 to register with the local
office. Three types of records were created:
a.
Consolidated lists–Each entry gives the name, place where living,
age as of July 1 1863, occupation, marital status, state territory
or county of birth, and, if a volunteer, the military organization
he enlisted in. The records are arranged by state and either
congressional or enlistment district.
b.
Descriptive rolls–a personnel description of the men eligible for
service,
c.
Case files on drafted aliens–lists only those alien men who were
drafted and released from 1861 to 1864. These files are in
alphabetical order in Record Group 59 at NARA .10
There were three World War I draft registration periods: June 5,
1917, June 5, 1918 and September 12, 1918. Those men born between
Sept 11, 1872 and September 12, 1900, who were not already in the
military, were required to register for the draft, regardless of
their declared nationality. The information included on each
registration differs somewhat but the general information shown
includes order and serial numbers (assigned by the Selective Service
System), full name, date and place of birth, race, citizenship,
occupation, personal description, and signature. If the person was
not a citizen, they had to list their country of allegiance. As a
result, these cards include almost any immigrant born between 1875
and 1900, whether they had been naturalized or not. You will need to
determine the draft board number as these cards are filed by draft
board within a state 11
There were five periods for the World War II draft registration
beginning with October 16, 1940 for all men between 21 to 36 years
old. A third draft February 14-16, 1941 was for all men who were 20
before December 31, 1941, and not older than 45 by February 16,
1942. The fourth draft on April 25-27, 1942 was for all men
who were 45 before Feb 16, 1942 and not older than 65 on or before
the April 27, 1942. The next draft extended to men born after
January 1, 1922 and before June 30, 1921, while the last draft in
December 1942 included all men who were 18 by December 31, 1942.
These cards include almost the same data as those of WWI. Each
registrant was asked his full name, residence, mailing address and
telephone number, birth date, birthplace, age, name of employer and
place of employment, name and address of next of kin, and physical
description. The cards are filed alphabetically by state.12
Until recently, the registration cards for this war were stored in
the National Archives regional centers and were not generally
accessible, but now some regional centers are processing them and
making them ready for viewing by researchers. The cards that are
publicly available are from the fourth registration done in 1942.
For example, the Great Lakes regional archives at Chicago already
has processed and made available the cards for Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Inquiries should be made at the
regional archives nearest the place where registration occurred.
Other Selective Service System documents of a local or regional
nature, dating from 1940, may be found in some National Archives
regional centers and sometimes fragments can be found among the
holdings of state archives. Included in some of these holdings are
lists of names of individuals who were sent to conscientious
objectors' work camps in lieu of military service.
4. Bounty Land Warrants: The use of land grants to encourage
enlistments or to reward a person who provided military service to
the colony began in colonial times when the legislatures would give
land for such service by passing a private act. The Continental
Congress promised bounty land to soldiers of the Continental Army
with the amount of land depending upon their rank and length of
service. After the Revolution, several individual states also
provided bounty land to their veterans. The national 1788 act
provided that the veteran could sell his warrant and not wait to
take the land, although not until 1830 did Congress provide federal
lands where the bounty warrants could actually be used. However, the
land provided was divided into large tracts. As the bounty warrants
were for a small amount of land, i.e., a private could receive 120
acres, most of the warrants were sold to speculators who could thus
accumulate the amount of land for a tract cheaply.
After the War of 1812, Congress enacted legislation to reward
military service by entitling veterans to claim land in the
northwest and western territories. This so-called "bounty land" was
not granted outright to the veterans, but was instead awarded to
them through a multi-step process beginning with a bounty land
warrant
Bounty land warrants weren't automatically issued to every veteran
who served. The veteran first had to apply for a warrant, and then,
if the warrant was granted, he could use the warrant to apply for a
land patent. The land patent granted him ownership of the
land. Basically, the warrant was a piece of paper which stated that,
based on his service, the veteran was entitled to X number of
acres in one of the bounty land districts set up for veterans. These
land districts were located on pubic domain land. The warrants,
themselves, were not delivered to the veterans; the veteran actually
received was a notification telling him that Warrant #XXX had been
issued in his name and was on file in the General Land Office.
No bounty land was available for service after 1855. However, Civil
War veterans received special homestead rights: in 1860 the right to
claim 160 acres, in 1870 a veteran could claim 160 acres within
railroad grant areas and by 1872 Congress allowed the veteran to
deduct the years of service from the five-year residency required
for homesteading.
C. Where are the records?
Military research, by nature, requires multiple sources in order to
locate and confirm data. When requesting a record, the more data you
can provide, the easier it will be to locate the record. Among the
varied types of sources, some will require a subscription to their
website, such as Ancestry.com or a fee for a document, such as
military service records. The websites listed are but a small sample
of those available for military research.
U.S. Military Records: A Guide to
Federal and State Sources by James C. Neagles
available at libraries is also very helpful13.
1. State libraries and archives
can provide the researcher of military history with untold
treasures. These are particularly good for local information, such
as lists of state or local militiamen. Most such organizations have
very useful Web pages that contain important finding aids, online
catalogs to their collections, and searchable data files. This
category would also include the Reconstruction Court records, which
can provide information about a Confederate soldier. While a fire in
1973 at the National Personnel Record Center destroyed many of the
records from World War I, many state archives have records of those
who served from their state. After World War I, veterans had to
register their discharge with the local county courthouse.
Examples include The
New York State Library
which has a small collection of links relating to
military history including a link to "Military History of New York
State Militia Forces and Personages," a set of links to significant
military data pertaining to New York including numerous photographic
images. The
Tennessee State Library and Archives provides a "Military
History" link under its "Tennessee History and Genealogy" section.
Information on soldiers from Tennessee stretches from the Vietnam
era back to the War of 1812.
www.state.tn.us/sos/statelib/pubsvs/intro.htm#military records.
The Tennessee State archives military records
www.archives.state.al.us/referenc/military.html. Alabama
Department of Archives and History
2. National governmental organizations. The National
Archives is one of the richest in documents on veterans’ military
service records, pension records and bounty land warrants. The staff
responds to inquiries submitted by mail, phone, e-mail, or fax.
This is for single inquiries only, not extensive research. The
National Park service has a website with an index of Civil War
soldiers from both sides, if you have the name, branch of service
and regiment.
www.archives.gov—the National Archives
www.cr.nps.gov/military.htm—the
National Parks Service
3. State and County websites provide a listing of
veterans from a state or county who have served in a military
action. These are generally listed under war and regiment.
http://offserv.libcoop.net/mtc/wwirecords.asp—World
War I Records from Macomb County, Michigan.
http://www.census-online.com/links/NY/Seneca/—A list of
Rev War Veterans in Seneca County NY from the 1840 census.
4. Military schools and colleges that maintain military
collections. Among these are The Citadel, in Charleston, South
Carolina, and Virginia Military Institute (VMI), in Virginia, as
well as the Air Force Academy, Naval College, and West Point. A
researcher can find an increasing number of diaries transcribed, and
even digitized, on the Web sites of university libraries, military
institutes, and other specialized repositories. The
National Union Catalog of Manuscript
Collections (NUCMC) is a good way to find diaries and
letters hidden in repositories all over the country.
www.vmi.edu/archives/ Virginia Military Institute. You
can search for a name in the genealogical resources where there are
alumni biographical records and online class rosters. Their
online historical rosters database
is the best place to start your search. The database includes the
names of all students who were enrolled at VMI—whether or not they
graduated—through the Class of 1925. You can also confirm the
attendance of an individual who may have enrolled after 1925 by
contacting VMI.
http://library.msstate.edu/sc/manuscripts/CivilWar.asp
Mississippi State University Libraries: Bibliography of Civil War
Manuscripts: Special collections–soldier’s letters and family papers
pertaining to the Southern War for Independence. From the home page,
select Genealogy, then Collections, and then Civil War.
5. Museums: official histories of the armed forces,
general histories, campaign histories and some technical works as
well as numerous regimental histories can be found in the various
military museums. For example, The Center of Military History has a
list of Army Campaigns which contains names and dates of major
battles; a “Master List of Army Records” which provides a list and
location of available military records; and a Medal of Honor
Recipients list dating from the Civil War to the present and which
includes name, rank, organization, place and date of the
circumstances that earned them the honor, where they entered the
service, date and/or place of birth and a paragraph
describing how the recipient won the citation.
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/ The Center of Military
History
http://www.history.navy.mil/ The Navy History Center
6.
Military organizations:
Each one has a website, and several have specific regimental sites
that provide information and history of the regiment.
http://www.army.mil/ The Army home page
http://www.navy.mil/ The Navy
http://www.usmc.mil/ The Marine Corp
7. Genealogy specific search engines. These have
multiple links that you can follow for your specific ancestor. Among
these are:
http://www.lineages.com/rooms/—The
Military Research Room is a
resource with historical information (war chronologies) and
research tips that will help you find your ancestor's military
records.
8. Private sponsored websites: Enthusiasts
provide the largest group of websites, books and periodicals. These
tend to be very specific and focus on a single topic, such as
available records from the Creek War, regiment, or a ship.
http://www.gendergap.com/military.htm—Women
in the military
http://www.crwws.com/Genealogy/kingphilip.htm—King
Phillips’ war veterans
9. Internet forums, such as RootsWeb Mailing Lists,
provide informational data such as where can I find a record? You
can either browse or register to receive a particular list. If you
register for the list, you may email your question to the list. In
time you will receive an answer to your question or you may also
find ‘lost cousins’ from someone who is researching the same
military ancestor that you are.
http://rootsweb.com/ the Root Web home page.
10. The Family History Library has military records on
microfilm. Check the call number of the specific film that is needed
from the online FHL catalog. You can order the microfilm from the
nearest family history center for a small fee and can then view the
film and print a copy of the record at the center.
11. Local libraries. The genealogy section usually has
locality specific data about veterans that have served from the
area. The librarian is a good source for asking for information on a
specific topic, such as what militia group from here served in the
Civil War? Also many libraries are part of an inter-library loan
program in which you can borrow books from other libraries and, if
available, they will be sent to your home library for your use.
http://planolibrary.org/newgenealogy2.htm Gladys
Harrington Library genealogy collection; TexShare databases;
ProQuest/HeritageQuest
http://dallaslibrary.org/ the Dallas Public Library–one
of the top ten genealogy library collections in the US
http://www.cooklib.org/Genealogy/4military.htm Cook
Memorial Library military sites go back to the French and Indian war
with some rosters available for that war and up to the Vietnam War
including a list of some servicemen believed to be held in Russia
from the Vietnam era.
12. Veterans Cemeteries: If your ancestor was a
casualty due to war wounds, there are specific websites that may
list him. Among these are Arlington Cemetery, American Battle
Monuments, and Veterans Cemeteries. The American Battle Commission
maintains a listing of those interred at the American military
cemeteries overseas and those Missing in Action from World War I,
World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
www.arlingtoncemetery.com/contents.htm—Arlington
Cemetery
www.abmc.gov—American Battle Monuments Commission
www.interment.net/us/nat/veterans.htm—United
States Veterans
Cemeteries. Listed by state
13. General Search engines. Usually entering an inquiry
such as [US +”(name of war” +veteran] will provide multiple websites
for research. Ex: US +WWII +veterans. If you are looking for a
specific state, replace the US with the state’s name, i.e., Texas
+WWII +Veterans
www.genealogy-search-help.com/
Free genealogy site using Google
Google.com
Dogpile.com—a meta-search engine
Mamma.com—a
meta-search engine
14. Organizational publications: The publications of
genealogy societies and patriotic organizations are another group of
records frequently bypassed in the pursuit of military data about
our ancestors. The records of these organizations, though, can offer
great amounts of identifying information about veterans. Most
researchers are familiar with the larger patriotic organizations
such as the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of Union
Veterans of the Civil War, and the United Daughters of the
Confederacy. However, smaller, not so well know organizations also
collect, preserve, and disseminate military information.
www.chesapeake.net/DAR/
the website of the DAR
www.dmwv.org—Descendants of Mexican War Veterans
D. How do I get a copy of the record?
Information on how to obtain a record may be provided on the website
or a telephone call can solicit the information. Generally the
organization will request that you obtain their form for requesting
the record. Other times, a written request that provides the data
required and the reason for requesting the record will suffice. A
fee will usually be required for copying the record. When
corresponding with non-governmental agencies, be sure to enclose a
SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope)
E. Footnotes
1.
www.historyguy.com/american_military_history.html—the War
List
2.
www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1008.html
the Indian Wars
3.
www.grunts.net/army/rangers.html
US Ranger history
4.
www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/arng-history.htm
Army National
Guard History
5.
www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/revwar/contarmy/ca-fm.ht
Military history of the Continental Army
6.
www.history.navy.mil/birthday.htm
US Navy Birthday
7.
www.grunts.net/usmc.html
Marine Corp History
8.
www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/collect.html US Coast Guard
History
9.
www.usmm.org/revolution.html—US
Merchant Marine during Revolution War
10.
The Source: A Guidebook of American
Genealogy, pp 290-294. Edited by
Loretto D. Szucs and Sandra H. Luebking, Chapter 9, "Research in
Military Records," by John Cerny; revised for the current edition by
Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck and David Thackery (Salt Lake City, UT:
Ancestry, 1997)
11.
www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/military/wwi_
draft_registration_ cards.html NARA World War I draft
registration
12.www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/military/
NARA World War II draft registration
13.
U.S. Military Records: A Guide to
Federal and State Sources by James C. Neagles
(Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, 1994)
Recommended citation:
"Researching Military Records," by Clare Molina. Collin County,
Texas History and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of Plano
Libraries, Inc., <www.GenealogyFriends.org/Research>
[Accessed Fri February 13, 2004].
Post Office Box 860477, Plano, Texas 75086-0477, USA
www.genealogyfriends.org
GenFriends@
GenealogyFriends.org
Genealogy Friends of the Plano Library, Inc. is a non-profit organization certified under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. All contributions are directed to the improvement and expansion of the Plano Genealogy Library, W. O. Haggard Library.