Part I- List of American Wars

 

Part II-Types of Military/Veterans Records

 

Compiled Service Records

 

May contain records of where and when a soldier enlisted or was discharged and by whom. It may list dates of muster, locations where musters were taken, officers, pay, possible aliases, promotions, languages spoken, if taken prisioner, if wounded, if dead.

Pension Records

 

Applications originated in the county court where one resided. The application was forwarded to Washington, DC through an agent.

May contain any application for a pension by the serviceman or his widow. It will state whether the pension was granted or rejected. Pensions for service may have dates of enlistment, discharge, battles and any other dates and places recalled, including, officers and servicemen. Sometimes other servicemen gave affidavits saying they served with the soldier. Usually members of the community would say they knew the applicant and know him to be a truthful man.

Pensions for widows will have to state the soldier’s service, the name of the widow, marriage date and place of marriage, places resided and any dependent children.

The last Revolutionary War widow died in 1906

Bounty Land Warrants

 

Created by the Continental Congress to reward persons, in the form of land, for serving in the various wars.

Military reserves were set aside, reserved for those with Bounty Land Warrants. Often specific reserves were set aside for soldiers who served from a particular place.

The Federal Government awarded bounty lands as did states.

Generally, land was awarded according to rank:

• 100 acres for each noncommissioned officer or soldier

• 150 acres for an ensign

• 200 acres for a Lt. and proportionate amounts up to 500 acres for ranks to Col.

• 850 acres for Brigadier General

• 1100 acres for Major General

March 3, 1855 Congress passed a law authorizing 160 acres to any soldier regardless of rank. It allowed any soldier or widow or orphans of a soldier to get up to 160 acres.

1856 Congress passed a law allowing extended benefits to naval and marine officers, enlisted men, their widows and minor children.

 

Unit Histories

 

Many unit histories compiled by officers or men who served in a given unit.

Information on military units may be obtained though official records generated by the unit.

 

Part III-Colonial Wars (1607-1774)

 

Service Records

 

Few records about the soldiers were ever created. Those records that do survive are in the State Archives or in a local court’s records.

Much of what has survived has been published

Post Military Veterans Benefits

Few records exist

Most records that do exist are published

A recent book is that by Lloyd D. Bockstruck about Military Bounty Lands Granted by Individual States.

 

Part IV-Revolutionary War/Frontier Conflicts (1775-1811)

 

Compiled Service Records

 

Indexed and microfilmed

May contain name, rank, military organization, date of musters, date of enlistment, captain, when last paid, sometimes physical description

 

Post Military Benefits

 

Pensions

 

S-Soldier; W-Widow; R-Rejected

These have been digitized and are online

 

Bounty Lands

 

Application

Warrant

Survey

Patent

Warrant could be given away, sold or patented

 

Loyalists-Tory-Royalists

 

Comprised about 1/3 the American population. In some areas they were the majority.

Many went to Canada (Ontario and the Maritimes), West Indies, Britain.

Many belonged to Episcopal/Church of England

Some, or their families, returned to US after 1800 in the 1800-1825 era

Loyalists who left US usually well documented in their new residence due to their claims for losses in the US.

 

Germans

 

Augmented British Forces

About 7,000 of 32,000 troops remained in US after war

Originated mainly from:

Hessen-Kassel, Hessen Hanau, Braunschweig, Ansbach-Bayreuth, Waldeck and Anhalt-Zerbst

 

Part V-Post Revolutionary Period (1812-1860)

 

War of 1812, Indian Wars, Mexican War

Records similar to Revolutionary War records

• Compiled Military Service records

• Pension Records

• Not microfilmed

• Abstracted and published by Virgil White

• Bounty Land Warrants

 

 

Part VI-Civil War Era 1861-1865

Union Records

 

Compiled Service Records

Records contain enlistment papers, muster records, prisoner of war papers, death records.

Indexed by state then by military unit within the state

United States Colored Troops indexed separately from white records. USCT contain members from all states.

Pension Records

Indexed but Not microfilmed

 

Draft Records 1863-1865 (Began March 1863)

Age 20-45 including aliens

1) Consolidated Lists arranged by state then congressional district. Contain name, place of residence, age as of July 1, 1863, marital status, plac of birth, if volunteered, his unit.

2) Descriptive Rolls may give additional information

3) Case files on drafted aliens

Confederate Records

 

Compiled Service Records

Union captured some records when units surrendered

Many other records turned over to US after War

Records lent or given to US government after 1880

Many records still in state archives

 

Pension Records

US Government never issued Confederates pensions

Individual states granted pensions to confederates

Burials-Cemeteries

National Cemeteries for Union soldiers only

Many states,, counties or cities set up state Confederate cemeteries

 

Veterans Homes

US maintained soldiers homes for union soldiers

States set up homes for Confederate soldiers and sometimes widows

Civilian Records

1867 Voters lists of Southern States

Pardons

Southern Claims Commission 1871-1880

Civilian Claims or Contracts

Adjutant (US/Confederate or State) General Records

 

Patriot-Lineage-Hereditary Groups

SCV, UDC, GAR, etc

 

Censuses

 

1890 Special Schedule fromUS Census. AL-Kansas and half of KY missing due to fire. States KY to Wyoming survive. Some published. Microfilmed

1910 asks if one is a veteran of the Union or Confederate army or navy

Special Project-Civil War Soldiers Systems Database

Begun in 1993. Joint venture of National Archives, National Park Service, National Genealogical Society, Federation of Genealogical Societies.

 

Part VII-Modern Wars 1898-Present

 

Service Records

WWI Draft Records

WWII Enlistment Records

Discharge Papers

Burial Records

Casualty Lists

 

Part VIII Military Resources

 

Ancestry.com Fold3.com and Rootsweb.com and other places on the Internet have links to numerous military sites

Wars in General/More than one War

 

Cyndislist- http://www.cyndislist.com/military.htm

Olive Tree Military Records http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/mil/index.shtml

Thought . Com  Military History https://www.thoughtco.com/military-history-4133285

Illinois Online Soldier Database http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases/home.html

Researching Texas Military History
http://www.thc.state.tx.us/public/upload/researching-military-history.pdf

Texas State Library and Archives http://www.tsl.texas.gov/

Texas General Land Office http://www.glo.texas.gov

Texas General Land Grant Search  http://www.glo.texas.gov/history/archives/land-grants/index.cfm

 

Colonial Wars

 

French and Indian Wars French- http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/mil/usa/frind/

 

Revolutionary War

 

Revolutionary War Pensions- See Heritage Quest on your Library webpage

Valley Forge Muster Rolls http://www.valleyforgemusterroll.org/

Loyalist Musters Rolls http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/loy/muster/44reg.shtml

 

War of 1812

Prologue Artlicle By Stephen Butler on War 0f 1812 http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1991/winter/war-of-1812.html

War of 1812 Page-Canadian- http://www.warof1812.ca

Prologue Article by Ruth Priest Dixon-Seamen’s Protection Certificates- http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1992/spring/seamans-protection.html

Indian Wars

Florida Indian Wars http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cmddlton/flwr.html

 

Texas Revolution

List of San Jacinto Veterans- http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/Library/Veteran_Bios/

Roster Texas Army of 1836 http://www.earlytexashistory.com/Tx1836/txindex.html

Texas Land Grants http://www.glo.texas.gov/history/archives/land-grants/index.cfm

Texas Land Grand Surname Index  http://www.glo.texas.gov/history/archives/surname-index/index.html

Early Texas History Page http://www.earlytexashistory.com/Tx1836/index.html

Texas Navy Website https://texasnavy.org

 

Mexican War

PBS Mexican War Page http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/index_flash.html

Aztec Club http://www.aztecclub.com/

Descendants of the Mexican War http://www.dmwv.org/

 

Civil War

Florida Pension applications https://www.floridamemory.com/collections/pensionfiles/

The Civil War Home Page http://www.civilwarhome.com/

PA CW Soldiers Cards http://www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp?view=ArchiveIndexes&Archi veID=17

Civil War Soldiers Service Database https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm

Grand Army of the Republic GAR http://www.loc.gov/rr/main/gar/

National Museum of Civil War Medicine http://www.civilwarmed.org/

Sultana Disaster Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Sultana

Those on the Sultana http://www.angelfire.com/ks/windshipgenhelp/sultana.html

History Detectives-Sultana Sabotage Story http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigation/civil-war-sabotage/

OR- http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html

 

Spanish American War

Prologue Articles Look for Spainish American War    https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/index/1998.html#S

Researching a Spanish American War soldier http://www.spanamwar.com/geneaol.htm

Researching a Phillipine Insurection Soldier – Search for Phillipine  https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/index/2000.html#P

WWI

John Michael Neill’s Article on WWI and WWII Draft Records
(Shows samples) http://www.rootdig.com/adn/selectiveservice.html

Florida WWI Draft Registration http://www.floridamemory.com/Collections/WWI/

 

WWII

John Michael Neill’s Article on WWI and WWII Draft Records
(Shows samples) http://www.rootdig.com/adn/selectiveservice.html

Defense Prisoner of War- Missing in Action  (Write in Prisoner of War or other questions about prisoners of war)     https://publicaccess.dtic.mil/psm/api/service/search/search?site=default_collection&q=prisoner+of+war

Pyrimid of Hero Medals

http://www.homeofheroes.com/medals/index.html

Recipients of Major US Medals

http://www.homeofheroes.com/verify/index.html

DD 214 for VVA

http://www.vva.org/Membership/Guide-to-Understanding-an-Applican1.pdf

Welcome to DD 214

http://www.dd214.us/

Military Records at NARA

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/about-service-records.html

Military Health Records

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/medical-records.html

Pre WWI Military Records

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/pre-ww-1-records.html

Military Records NOT at NPRC

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/frequently-requested-records.html

VETERANS CEMETERIES

National Cemetery Administration http://www.cem.va.gov/

National Gravesite Locator Database http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/

State Veterans Cemeteries http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/grants/veterans_cemeteries.asp

Arlington National Cemetery Grave Locator http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Find-a-Grave

Use Cyndislist.com  and Search Engines such as Google.com and Dogpile.com  Ancestry.com   and Fold3.com