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[[Category:The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy]]
 
[[Category:The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy]]
 
{{Template:Military series (The Source)}}
 
{{Template:Military series (The Source)}}
 +
[[Category: U.S. Military Records]]
 
'''This article originally appeared in "Military Records" by [[Lloyd deWitt Bockstruck]], MA, MS, and [[Sandra Hargreaves Luebking]], FUGA in ''[[The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy]]'''''
 
'''This article originally appeared in "Military Records" by [[Lloyd deWitt Bockstruck]], MA, MS, and [[Sandra Hargreaves Luebking]], FUGA in ''[[The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy]]'''''
  
 
Military endeavors span the history of America. From King Phillip's War in 1675'76 to the Gulf Wars of the twenty-first century, every generation of our ancestors who have lived in this country have been involved in or affected by conflict. Participation ranged from 125,000 in the Philippine Insurrection to an estimated five million in the Civil War. Many others who did not serve created draft registration records. Involvement was not limited to white native-born males but included the newly-arrived foreign born of all ethnic groups as well as minorities, American Indians, blacks, and in certain instances, women. The abundance and variety of records generated by military service, the distribution of veterans' benefits, and the interaction with civilians provide a template of rich personal detail about service personnel, their families, and often, the general citizenry.  
 
Military endeavors span the history of America. From King Phillip's War in 1675'76 to the Gulf Wars of the twenty-first century, every generation of our ancestors who have lived in this country have been involved in or affected by conflict. Participation ranged from 125,000 in the Philippine Insurrection to an estimated five million in the Civil War. Many others who did not serve created draft registration records. Involvement was not limited to white native-born males but included the newly-arrived foreign born of all ethnic groups as well as minorities, American Indians, blacks, and in certain instances, women. The abundance and variety of records generated by military service, the distribution of veterans' benefits, and the interaction with civilians provide a template of rich personal detail about service personnel, their families, and often, the general citizenry.  
  
The first indication of an ancestor's involvement with the military may come from family stories or from personal papers that have been retained. If there is no information of this type, or if the reference is so general that it lacks the specifics needed for further research, there are still avenues to explore to determine if there was a history of military service. Particularly for the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, records associated with an individual's death (death certificates, obituaries, funeral or memorial programs, and cemetery records and grave markers) will provide the evidence needed to conduct a search of military records. This chapter also presents ways to locate service, pension, and other types of military records when details such as rank or regiment are yet to be determined.
+
The first indication of an ancestor's involvement with the military may come from family stories or from personal papers that have been retained. If there is no information of this type, or if the reference is so general that it lacks the specifics needed for further research, there are still avenues to explore to determine if there was a history of military service. Particularly for the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, records associated with an individual's death ([http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=34 death certificates], [http://search.ancestry.com/oldsearch/obit obituaries], funeral or memorial programs, and cemetery records and grave markers) will provide the evidence needed to conduct a search of military records. This chapter also presents ways to locate service, pension, and other [http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=39 types of military records] when details such as rank or regiment are yet to be determined.
  
 
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to researchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. Collateral relatives of an ancestor, such as siblings or cousins, may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could assist in finding information on the family of the primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. The wars considered in this chapter are grouped as follows:
 
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to researchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. Collateral relatives of an ancestor, such as siblings or cousins, may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could assist in finding information on the family of the primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. The wars considered in this chapter are grouped as follows:
Line 70: Line 71:
 
|1990'
 
|1990'
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 +
 +
== America's Wars and Conflicts ==
 +
Here is a more comprehensive look at America's Wars and Conflicts for which your ancestor may have participated.
 +
 +
'''Colonial wars: 1620'1774'''
 +
{|
 +
|King Philip's War
 +
|1675'76
 +
|-
 +
|King William's War
 +
|1689'97
 +
|-
 +
|Queen Anne's War
 +
|1702'13
 +
|-
 +
|King George's War
 +
|1744'48
 +
|-
 +
|French and Indian War
 +
|1754'63
 +
|-
 +
|Pontiac's Rebellion
 +
|1763
 +
|}
 +
 +
'''War of Independence: 1775'1783'''
 +
 +
'''Early National Period: 1783-1812'''
 +
{|
 +
|Battle of the Wabash
 +
|1791
 +
|-
 +
|Battle of Fallen Timbers
 +
|1795
 +
|-
 +
|Quasi-War with France
 +
|1798-1801
 +
|-
 +
|Barbary Wars
 +
|1801-1805, 1815
 +
|}
 +
 +
'''War of 1812: 1812-1815'''
 +
{|
 +
|-
 +
|Tecumseh's War
 +
|1811-12
 +
|-
 +
|Peoria War
 +
|1813
 +
|-
 +
|Creek War
 +
|1813-14
 +
|}
 +
 +
'''Continental Expansion: 1816'1860'''
 +
{|
 +
|First Seminole War
 +
|1817-1818
 +
|-
 +
|African Slave Trade Patrol
 +
|1820-1861
 +
|-
 +
|Operations Against West Indian Pirates
 +
|1822-1830s
 +
|-
 +
|Black Hawk War
 +
|1832
 +
|-
 +
|Texas Revolution
 +
|1835-36
 +
|-
 +
|Second Seminole War
 +
|1835-1842
 +
|-
 +
|Mexican-American War
 +
|1846-48
 +
|-
 +
||Apache Wars
 +
|1851-1900
 +
|-
 +
|Third Seminole War
 +
|1855-58
 +
|-
 +
|Utah War
 +
|1857
 +
|}
 +
 +
'''American Civil War: 1861'1865'''
 +
{|
 +
|Dakota War of 1862 (Little Crow's War)
 +
|1862
 +
|-
 +
|Colorado War
 +
|1863-65
 +
|-
 +
|Sioux Indian War of 1865 (Powder River invasion)
 +
|1864-65
 +
|}
 +
 +
'''Post-Civil War Era: 1865'1917'''
 +
 +
{|
 +
|Bozeman War (Red Cloud's War)
 +
|1866'68
 +
|-
 +
|Black Hills War (Pine Ridge Campaign)
 +
|1890-91
 +
|-
 +
|Spanish-American War
 +
|1898
 +
|-
 +
|Philippine-American War
 +
|1899-1913
 +
|-
 +
|Banana Wars
 +
|1898-1935
 +
|-
 +
|The Boxer Rebellion
 +
|1898-1901
 +
|}
 +
 +
'''World War I: 1917'1918'''
 +
 +
{|
 +
|Russian Revolution (Polar Bear Expedition)
 +
|1918-19
 +
|-
 +
|Neutrality Acts
 +
|1920'1941
 +
|}
 +
 +
'''World War II: 1939'1945'''
 +
 +
'''Cold War Era: 1945'1991'''
 +
{|
 +
|Korean War
 +
|1950'53
 +
|-
 +
|Lebanon Crisis
 +
|1958
 +
|-
 +
|Dominican Intervention
 +
|1965-66
 +
|-
 +
|Vietnam War
 +
|1959'75
 +
|-
 +
|Tehran hostage rescue
 +
|1980
 +
|-
 +
|Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury)
 +
|1983
 +
|-
 +
|Beirut
 +
|1983
 +
|-
 +
|Panama
 +
|1989
 +
|}
 +
 +
'''Post-Cold War Era: 1991'2001'''
 +
{|
 +
|Desert Shield-Desert Storm
 +
|1991
 +
|-
 +
|Somalia (Operation Restore Hope)
 +
|1992-93
 +
|-
 +
|Kosovo Conflict
 +
|1999
 +
|}
 +
 +
'''Global War On Terrorism: 2001-'''
 +
{|
 +
|Afghanistan
 +
|2001-
 +
|-
 +
|Philippines
 +
|2002
 +
|-
 +
|Liberia
 +
|2003
 +
|-
 +
|Iraq 2003-
 +
|}
 +
  
 
At least some remnant exists of records for every war that the colonies and states were involved in; but, as with other records maintained in the United States during the first centuries of its existence, there is little uniformity of content or style in those records. The information that follows organizes sources and finding aids by war or conflict. Entries are divided into two principal categories: service records and records of veterans' benefits. This is followed by some categories of miscellaneous records that supply genealogical information.
 
At least some remnant exists of records for every war that the colonies and states were involved in; but, as with other records maintained in the United States during the first centuries of its existence, there is little uniformity of content or style in those records. The information that follows organizes sources and finding aids by war or conflict. Entries are divided into two principal categories: service records and records of veterans' benefits. This is followed by some categories of miscellaneous records that supply genealogical information.
+
 
 
=Colonial Wars (1607'1774)=
 
=Colonial Wars (1607'1774)=
  
Line 83: Line 272:
 
The greatest volume of original military records is held by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Many pre'World War I records can be searched in person at the National Archives. Microfilm copies of significant pre'World War 1 collections and indexes have been microfilmed and many libraries have copies. The library with the largest collection of microfilmed U.S. military records is the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Genealogists who have access to the microfilmed records can search them more efficiently by following the tables presented in this chapter. To effectively use the collection of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City or one of its Family History Centers, check the current 'U.S. Military Records Research Outline' which may be ordered or printed from [http://www.familysearch.org FamilySearch.org]. This provides a cross-reference from the NARA microfilm number to the call number assigned by the Family History Library.
 
The greatest volume of original military records is held by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Many pre'World War I records can be searched in person at the National Archives. Microfilm copies of significant pre'World War 1 collections and indexes have been microfilmed and many libraries have copies. The library with the largest collection of microfilmed U.S. military records is the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Genealogists who have access to the microfilmed records can search them more efficiently by following the tables presented in this chapter. To effectively use the collection of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City or one of its Family History Centers, check the current 'U.S. Military Records Research Outline' which may be ordered or printed from [http://www.familysearch.org FamilySearch.org]. This provides a cross-reference from the NARA microfilm number to the call number assigned by the Family History Library.
  
The scope of content and the complexity of arrangement of the military records most often consulted by researchers is fully explained in Anne Bruner Eales and Robert M. Kvasnicka, ''Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States''.1 Six chapters of this essential Guide are devoted to military records.  
+
The scope of content and the complexity of arrangement of the military records most often consulted by researchers is fully explained in Anne Bruner Eales and Robert M. Kvasnicka, ''Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States''.<ref>Anne Bruner Eales and Robert M. Kvasnicka, ''Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States'' (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2000).</ref> Six chapters of this essential Guide are devoted to military records.  
  
Genealogists most often seek information from three general types of records that are available from NARA: (1) military service records; (2) pension claims files; and (3) bounty-land warrant applications (granted only for service in the Mexican and earlier wars). Once a pre'World War I record (or records) is identified in an index, a photocopy request should be sent to the National Archives and Records Administration. Requests may be made online at the National Archives website, <www.archives.gov>, or by mail using NATF Form 86 for service records and NATF Form 85 for pension or bounty-land files. A search of these records cannot be completed without the full name of the veteran, his branch of service, the state from which he served, and the war in which he served. Expect an eight-week processing time before you receive the records. Details for ordering and printable forms are on the website.
+
Genealogists most often seek information from three general types of records that are available from NARA: (1) military service records; (2) pension claims files; and (3) bounty-land warrant applications (granted only for service in the Mexican and earlier wars). Once a pre'World War I record (or records) is identified in an index, a photocopy request should be sent to the National Archives and Records Administration. Requests may be made online at the National Archives website, <www.archives.gov>, or by mail using NATF Form 86 for service records and NATF Form 85 for pension or bounty-land files. A search of these records cannot be completed without the full name of the veteran, his branch of service, the state from which he served, and the war in which he served. Expect an eight-week processing time before you receive the records. Details for ordering and printable forms are on the [https://www.archives.gov/research/order website].
  
 
In addition to original federal records, there are large collections of military records that document state military activity by service personnel. An example of these are the World War II bonuses that some states paid to veterans. Many of the records held at the state level are being indexed and digitized and placed online by state government repositories. Local and county-wide projects by volunteers and major databases by commercial enterprises have also contributed to the wealth of online resources. Because the list of important websites grows daily, only a few are listed at the end of this chapter.  
 
In addition to original federal records, there are large collections of military records that document state military activity by service personnel. An example of these are the World War II bonuses that some states paid to veterans. Many of the records held at the state level are being indexed and digitized and placed online by state government repositories. Local and county-wide projects by volunteers and major databases by commercial enterprises have also contributed to the wealth of online resources. Because the list of important websites grows daily, only a few are listed at the end of this chapter.  
Line 97: Line 286:
 
Hundreds of volumes pertain to the military history of the United States and to the service and pension/bounty-land programs that were in effect prior to the modern wars. These provide the setting and the conditions, legal and social, which your military ancestor would have experienced; hence, the historical context.  
 
Hundreds of volumes pertain to the military history of the United States and to the service and pension/bounty-land programs that were in effect prior to the modern wars. These provide the setting and the conditions, legal and social, which your military ancestor would have experienced; hence, the historical context.  
  
Records may be identified in two highly recommended sources: James C. Neagles's ''U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources'', ''Colonial America to the Present'' and Anne Bruner Eales's and Robert M. Kvasnicka's ''Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States''.48 Both describe in detail the specific records that hold primary evidence of military involvement. Also useful, although less detailed, are Trevor K. Plante's 'An Overview of Records at the National Archives Relating to Military Service,' and U.S. Military Records in the Research Outline series published online by the Family History Library at [http://www.familysearch.org FamilySearch.org]. The essential website for finding information on federal records and finding aids is the website of the [http:www.archives.orgNational Archives and Records Administration].  
+
Records may be identified in two highly recommended sources: James C. Neagles's ''U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources'', ''Colonial America to the Present'' and Anne Bruner Eales's and Robert M. Kvasnicka's ''Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States''.
 +
 +
Both describe in detail the specific records that hold primary evidence of military involvement. Also useful, although less detailed, are Trevor K. Plante's ''An Overview of Records at the National Archives Relating to Military Service'', and U.S. Military Records in the Research Outline series published online by the Family History Library at [http://www.familysearch.org FamilySearch.org]. The essential website for finding information on federal records and finding aids is the website of the [http://www.archives.gov National Archives and Records Administration].
 +
 
 +
[http://www.archives.gov/publications/ref-info-papers/109/index.html Military Service Records at the National Archives (Reference Information Paper 109)] describes military service records held at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The National Archives is the official repository for records of military personnel who have been discharged from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard.
 +
 
 +
The National Archives and Records Administration, through partnership agreements, has digitized selected NARA microfilm publications and original records, including many military records, and made them available on their partner web sites for a fee. The [http://www.archives.gov/digitization/digitized-by-partners.html Microfilm and Original Records Digitized by NARA's Digitization Partners] list includes all microfilm publications and original records that have been digitized by the partners as of March 2010. The list is updated as additional materials are digitized.
  
 
The final goal, to examine secondary sources, is accomplished by exploring transcripts, indexes, and compilations that bring together a variety of information. These may be published as online databases or in print, CD, or microform editions. While there is no known comprehensive bibliography to compiled sources, a partial list of printed materials and websites is provided at the end of this chapter.
 
The final goal, to examine secondary sources, is accomplished by exploring transcripts, indexes, and compilations that bring together a variety of information. These may be published as online databases or in print, CD, or microform editions. While there is no known comprehensive bibliography to compiled sources, a partial list of printed materials and websites is provided at the end of this chapter.
Line 103: Line 298:
 
=References=
 
=References=
  
Coming soon...
+
<references/>
  
 
=External Links=
 
=External Links=
 +
* [http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/military/ U.S. National Archives - Military Records]
 +
* [http://www.americanwars101.com/ American Wars 101]
 +
* [http://www.militaryindexes.com/ Directory of Online Military Indexes, Records and Rosters of Soldiers]
 +
* [http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=39 Military Records]

Latest revision as of 04:21, 20 October 2016

Researching Military Records
Military-logo.jpg

This article is part of a series.
Overview of Military Records
Service Records
Records of Veterans' Benefits
Miscellaneous Military Records
Additional Sources
List of Useful Military Resources
Topics

This article originally appeared in "Military Records" by Lloyd deWitt Bockstruck, MA, MS, and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, FUGA in The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy

Military endeavors span the history of America. From King Phillip's War in 1675'76 to the Gulf Wars of the twenty-first century, every generation of our ancestors who have lived in this country have been involved in or affected by conflict. Participation ranged from 125,000 in the Philippine Insurrection to an estimated five million in the Civil War. Many others who did not serve created draft registration records. Involvement was not limited to white native-born males but included the newly-arrived foreign born of all ethnic groups as well as minorities, American Indians, blacks, and in certain instances, women. The abundance and variety of records generated by military service, the distribution of veterans' benefits, and the interaction with civilians provide a template of rich personal detail about service personnel, their families, and often, the general citizenry.

The first indication of an ancestor's involvement with the military may come from family stories or from personal papers that have been retained. If there is no information of this type, or if the reference is so general that it lacks the specifics needed for further research, there are still avenues to explore to determine if there was a history of military service. Particularly for the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, records associated with an individual's death (death certificates, obituaries, funeral or memorial programs, and cemetery records and grave markers) will provide the evidence needed to conduct a search of military records. This chapter also presents ways to locate service, pension, and other types of military records when details such as rank or regiment are yet to be determined.

The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to researchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. Collateral relatives of an ancestor, such as siblings or cousins, may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could assist in finding information on the family of the primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. The wars considered in this chapter are grouped as follows:

Colonial wars

King Philip's War 1675'76
King William's War 1689'97
Queen Anne's War 1702'13
King George's War 1744'48
French and Indian War 1754'63
Revolutionary War and frontier conflicts 1775'1811

Post-revolutionary wars to 1848

War of 1812 1812'15
Indian Wars 1815'58
Mexican War 1846'48
Civil War 1861'65
Spanish-American War 1898
Philippine Insurrection 1899'1902

Modern wars

World War I 1917'18
World War II 1941'45
Korean War 1950'53
Vietnam War 1965'73
Gulf Wars & Conflicts (Desert Storm, etc.) 1990'


America's Wars and Conflicts

Here is a more comprehensive look at America's Wars and Conflicts for which your ancestor may have participated.

Colonial wars: 1620'1774

King Philip's War 1675'76
King William's War 1689'97
Queen Anne's War 1702'13
King George's War 1744'48
French and Indian War 1754'63
Pontiac's Rebellion 1763

War of Independence: 1775'1783

Early National Period: 1783-1812

Battle of the Wabash 1791
Battle of Fallen Timbers 1795
Quasi-War with France 1798-1801
Barbary Wars 1801-1805, 1815

War of 1812: 1812-1815

Tecumseh's War 1811-12
Peoria War 1813
Creek War 1813-14

Continental Expansion: 1816'1860

First Seminole War 1817-1818
African Slave Trade Patrol 1820-1861
Operations Against West Indian Pirates 1822-1830s
Black Hawk War 1832
Texas Revolution 1835-36
Second Seminole War 1835-1842
Mexican-American War 1846-48
Apache Wars 1851-1900
Third Seminole War 1855-58
Utah War 1857

American Civil War: 1861'1865

Dakota War of 1862 (Little Crow's War) 1862
Colorado War 1863-65
Sioux Indian War of 1865 (Powder River invasion) 1864-65

Post-Civil War Era: 1865'1917

Bozeman War (Red Cloud's War) 1866'68
Black Hills War (Pine Ridge Campaign) 1890-91
Spanish-American War 1898
Philippine-American War 1899-1913
Banana Wars 1898-1935
The Boxer Rebellion 1898-1901

World War I: 1917'1918

Russian Revolution (Polar Bear Expedition) 1918-19
Neutrality Acts 1920'1941

World War II: 1939'1945

Cold War Era: 1945'1991

Korean War 1950'53
Lebanon Crisis 1958
Dominican Intervention 1965-66
Vietnam War 1959'75
Tehran hostage rescue 1980
Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) 1983
Beirut 1983
Panama 1989

Post-Cold War Era: 1991'2001

Desert Shield-Desert Storm 1991
Somalia (Operation Restore Hope) 1992-93
Kosovo Conflict 1999

Global War On Terrorism: 2001-

Afghanistan 2001-
Philippines 2002
Liberia 2003
Iraq 2003-


At least some remnant exists of records for every war that the colonies and states were involved in; but, as with other records maintained in the United States during the first centuries of its existence, there is little uniformity of content or style in those records. The information that follows organizes sources and finding aids by war or conflict. Entries are divided into two principal categories: service records and records of veterans' benefits. This is followed by some categories of miscellaneous records that supply genealogical information.

Colonial Wars (1607'1774)

Service records of soldiers in the colonial wars will be found in the collections of state and local agencies rather than those of the federal government. Colonial service records, if available, have more historical than genealogical information and usually provide only the name of the soldier and the colonial unit in which he served. They consist primarily of rosters, rolls, and lists that survived the wars and several repository fires. Most of these rosters and rolls have been published and can be found in genealogical and historical libraries throughout the nation.

Despite the scanty genealogical information these records provide, you should not ignore them. They may be sparse, but few records in general exist for this time period that can help you locate an ancestor. The presence of a soldier in a particular unit may be a valuable clue to his place of residence as well as useful in identifying his family in other records of the same location, even though there may be problems in distinguishing between two or more soldiers with the same name.

Early (Pre'World War I) United States Military Records in General

The greatest volume of original military records is held by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Many pre'World War I records can be searched in person at the National Archives. Microfilm copies of significant pre'World War 1 collections and indexes have been microfilmed and many libraries have copies. The library with the largest collection of microfilmed U.S. military records is the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Genealogists who have access to the microfilmed records can search them more efficiently by following the tables presented in this chapter. To effectively use the collection of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City or one of its Family History Centers, check the current 'U.S. Military Records Research Outline' which may be ordered or printed from FamilySearch.org. This provides a cross-reference from the NARA microfilm number to the call number assigned by the Family History Library.

The scope of content and the complexity of arrangement of the military records most often consulted by researchers is fully explained in Anne Bruner Eales and Robert M. Kvasnicka, Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States.<ref>Anne Bruner Eales and Robert M. Kvasnicka, Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2000).</ref> Six chapters of this essential Guide are devoted to military records.

Genealogists most often seek information from three general types of records that are available from NARA: (1) military service records; (2) pension claims files; and (3) bounty-land warrant applications (granted only for service in the Mexican and earlier wars). Once a pre'World War I record (or records) is identified in an index, a photocopy request should be sent to the National Archives and Records Administration. Requests may be made online at the National Archives website, <www.archives.gov>, or by mail using NATF Form 86 for service records and NATF Form 85 for pension or bounty-land files. A search of these records cannot be completed without the full name of the veteran, his branch of service, the state from which he served, and the war in which he served. Expect an eight-week processing time before you receive the records. Details for ordering and printable forms are on the website.

In addition to original federal records, there are large collections of military records that document state military activity by service personnel. An example of these are the World War II bonuses that some states paid to veterans. Many of the records held at the state level are being indexed and digitized and placed online by state government repositories. Local and county-wide projects by volunteers and major databases by commercial enterprises have also contributed to the wealth of online resources. Because the list of important websites grows daily, only a few are listed at the end of this chapter.

Much information appears in manuscript and print form as well. Take full advantage of the excellent histories of military wars and conflicts, the personal written accounts of those who witnessed action, and published lists, such as the many Revolutionary War roster lists and other service records that may be found in historical and genealogical periodicals. For a list of titles of rosters for early wars, consult the chapter reference list.

Additional Sources

There are three goals that will help the genealogist to discover information about a military ancestor: (1) acquire a view of historical context; (2) identify the original records that require searching; and (3) examine secondary sources, such as compilations of material not easily found elsewhere.

Hundreds of volumes pertain to the military history of the United States and to the service and pension/bounty-land programs that were in effect prior to the modern wars. These provide the setting and the conditions, legal and social, which your military ancestor would have experienced; hence, the historical context.

Records may be identified in two highly recommended sources: James C. Neagles's U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present and Anne Bruner Eales's and Robert M. Kvasnicka's Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States.

Both describe in detail the specific records that hold primary evidence of military involvement. Also useful, although less detailed, are Trevor K. Plante's An Overview of Records at the National Archives Relating to Military Service, and U.S. Military Records in the Research Outline series published online by the Family History Library at FamilySearch.org. The essential website for finding information on federal records and finding aids is the website of the National Archives and Records Administration.

Military Service Records at the National Archives (Reference Information Paper 109) describes military service records held at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The National Archives is the official repository for records of military personnel who have been discharged from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard.

The National Archives and Records Administration, through partnership agreements, has digitized selected NARA microfilm publications and original records, including many military records, and made them available on their partner web sites for a fee. The Microfilm and Original Records Digitized by NARA's Digitization Partners list includes all microfilm publications and original records that have been digitized by the partners as of March 2010. The list is updated as additional materials are digitized.

The final goal, to examine secondary sources, is accomplished by exploring transcripts, indexes, and compilations that bring together a variety of information. These may be published as online databases or in print, CD, or microform editions. While there is no known comprehensive bibliography to compiled sources, a partial list of printed materials and websites is provided at the end of this chapter.

References

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External Links