Foreign Military Service

Germans frequently served with the armies of foreign countries.

Denmark. Before 1772 the Danish army was made up mostly of German soldiers and officers. After 1772 the army began to recruit more Danes, and by 1803, the army was entirely Danish. If your German relative served in the Danish military before 1803, you may be able to find valuable genealogical information in Danish military records. For more information, see the Denmark Research Outline.

American Revolution. Germans served on both sides of the American Revolution. To find information about Germans who fought for the Americans, see the U.S. Military Records Research Outline.

About 25,000 mercenary troops raised in Germany worked for the British. They may have come from any part of Germany, but they are usually called “Hessians.” Some deserted or were sold to Americans as laborers. Many remained in the United States or went to Canada after the war. The following source is a major index of German mercenaries:

Hessische Truppen im amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg (HETRINA) (Hessian troops in the American Revolution). 6 vols. Marburg: Archivschule, 1971-1976, 1987-. (FHL book 943 M2mg; films 1320516 items 6-7 and 1320542 items 5-6; computer number 296972.) Indexes from this series list each soldier's name, year of birth, place of origin, rank, and military unit and the source of the information.

The following source indexes thousands of American and British records of German mercenaries:

Smith, Clifford Neal. Cumulative Surname Index and Soundex to Monographs 1 through 12 of the German-American Genealogical Research Series. McNeal, Ariz.: Westland Publishing, 1983. (FHL book 973 W2smn no. 13; computer number 257434.) This index lists only the soldier's surname and the series number of the monograph where information about that soldier can be found. Each monograph is individually indexed. The monograph normally lists the soldier's name, rank, and unit. Some of the following may also be listed: birthplace; age; occupation; promotions; where the soldier resided or was recruited; and whether he was wounded, killed, missing in action, captured, deserted, or sold, and where.

American Civil War. About one in ten Union soldiers was born in Germany. Over 200,000 German immigrants to the United States were recruited by the Union, many as they stepped off the boat. Some were drafted. Some Germans served in the Confederate military. To find information about Germans who fought in the Civil War, see the U.S. Military Records Research Outline.

Locating Military Records

German military records can be of great genealogical value, but getting access to them is often a problem. For example, it is very hard to get information from military records through correspondence. Also, the Family History Library has microfilmed only a few German military records. Those that have been microfilmed are hard to read, incomplete for several years, poorly arranged, and not indexed.

If you write to archives for information from military records, you must indicate the regiment or company to which your ancestor belonged. Also include the garrison town or commanding officer's name and your ancestor's rank if you know that information.

Two books help identify where regiments from Preußen were stationed. Although the records they describe were burned in World War II, the garrison towns listed are locations to look for other records:

Lyncker, Alexander von. Die altpreußische Armee 1714-1806 und ihre Militärkirchenbücher (Old Prussian army and its military parish records, 1714-1806). Berlin: Verlag für Standesamtswesen, 1937. (FHL book 943 M2l v.1; film 477806; computer number 123824.)

——. Die preußische Armee 1807- 1867 und ihre sippenkundlichen Quellen (Old Prussian army and its genealogical sources, 1807-1867). Berlin: Verlag für Standesamtswesen, 1939. (FHL book 943 M2l v. 2; film 477807; computer number 123853.)

Records at German State Archives

There is no central archive for German military records. German states each had their own system of keeping military records before 1867. These records are now stored in several German state archives. The following pamphlet lists the archives where existing military records for each state are found:

Reschke, Horst A. German Military Records as Genealogical Sources. Salt Lake City, Utah: Reschke, 1990. (FHL book 943 M2r; fiche 6001596; computer number 592812.)

In 1867 the armies of all but three German states were integrated into the armies of Preußen. From that time, soldiers of any German state (except Bayern, Sachsen, or Württemberg) were recorded only in the military records of Preußen. Unfortunately, the Preußen military records were almost completely destroyed in 1945.

Records at the Family History Library

Only a few German military records are available at the Family History Library. They are mostly military parish registers, a few published officer rolls [Stammlisten and Ranglisten], and regimental histories. German military church records are usually listed in the Family History Library Catalog with other church records. For other German military records, see the Locality Search of the catalog under:

GERMANY - MILITARY RECORDSGERMANY, [STATE] - MILITARY RECORDS