[Research Guidance: U.S. Military Records - Research Outline] Research Guidance Version Of Data : 6/9/2001

U.S. Military Records
Research Outline

MEXICAN WAR, 1846 TO 1848

This conflict between the United States and Mexico resulted from the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845. Thirty-five thousand U.S. Army troops and 73,000 state volunteers fought in this war. Most volunteer regiments were from southern states, such as Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas.

Records for this war are listed in the Locality search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

UNITED STATES - MILITARY RECORDS - WAR WITH MEXICO

Service Records

Service records of volunteers are available at most state archives (see the state research outlines for more information) and at the National Archives.

The following is an index to service records available at the National Archives:

Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served during the Mexican War. National Archives Microfilm Publication M616. (FHL films 1205336–57; computer number 328750.)

The Family History Library also has service records for the following states. (See the Family History Library Catalog for complete film numbers and bibliographic information.)

Mississippi. National Archives Microfilm Publication M863. (FHL films 1205446–54; computer number 328757).
Pennsylvania. National Archives Microfilm Publication M1028. (FHL films 1314139–51; computer number 110857).
Tennessee. National Archives Microfilm Publication M638. (FHL films 882797–811; computer number 279225).
Texas. National Archives Microfilm Publication M278. (FHL films 471519–37; computer number 279718).
Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served during the Mexican War in Mormon Organizations. National Archives Microfilm Publication M351. (FHL films 471465, 471517–18; computer number 279699.) For additional information on this source, see the Tracing L.D.S Families Research Outline (34080).

The compiled service records of other states are available at the National Archives.

Records of Officers

Published rosters of officers can be located in the following sources:

Butler, Steven R.. A Complete Roster of Mexican War Officers, 1846–1848, both Army and Navy, with Alphabetical Indexes. Richardson, Tex.: Descendants of Mexican War Veterans, 1994. (FHL book 973 M2mwb; computer number 727679.) Includes regular army officers arranged by department and regiment, volunteer officers arranged by state and regiment, and Navy and Marine officers arranged by fleet and vessel.

Gardner, Charles K. A Dictionary of All Officers . . . in the Army of the United States. . . . New York: G.P. Putnam and Co., 1853. (FHL book 973 M2g; film 496461 item 1, pp. 527–63; computer number 0271151.) Arranged by unit and rank. It provides the name of the soldier. Some entries contain death dates, wounded dates, and date resigned.

Pension Records

Pensions were first granted to widows and minor children whose husbands or fathers had died in the service and to veterans who were disabled. Pensions based on 60 days of service were first granted to veterans or unremarried widows in 1887. The following are the only pension records that have been microfilmed:

Selected Pension Application Files for Members of the Morman [sic] Battalion, Mexican War, 1846–48. National Archives Microfilm Publication T1196. (FHL films 480129–49; computer number 110863.)

Pension files are available at the National Archives. Below is an index to the names of veterans and widows who applied for or received pensions:

Mexican War Index to Pension Files, 1887–1926. National Archives Microfilm Publication T317. (FHL films 537000–13; computer number 345826.) Alphabetically arranged and includes the veteran’s name, rank, and unit; names of dependents; date of filing and application; certificate numbers; act filed under; and state from which application was made.

Published versions of the above index are listed below:

Troxel, Navena Hembree, and Susan Merrill Warner. Mexican War Index to Pension Files, 1886–1926. 13 vols. Plano, Tex.: N.H. Troxel and S.M. Warner, 1983–92. (FHL book 973 M2mw; computer number 213936.) Entries list either the name of the veteran or widow’s application number or both, state or country, unit served, date of application, and residence at the time of application.

White, Virgil D. Index to Mexican War Pension Files. Waynesboro, Tenn.: National Historical Publishing, 1989. (FHL book 973 M22mw; computer number 556666.) Entries include the name of the veteran and widow, certificate number, date of application, and unit served.

Wolfe, Barbara Schull. An Index to Mexican War Pension Applications. Indianapolis, Ind.: Heritage House, 1985. (FHL book 973 M22w; computer number 423727.) Entries include the name, state where the veteran was living at the time of application, date of application, and application or certificate number.

Cemetery Records

The following is a list of those who died in the Mexican War:

Peterson, Clarence Stewart. Known Military Dead during the Mexican War, 1846–48. Baltimore: Clarence Stewart Peterson, 1957. (FHL book 973 M23pa; film 873756 item 4; fiche 6051240; computer number 271264.) An alphabetical list including the soldier’s rank, company, regiment, and death date.

Veterans’ and Lineage Society Records

Veterans of the Mexican War organized the National Association of Veterans of the Mexican War in the 1870s.

The Aztec Club of 1847 was organized by officers in Mexico City during the war. The following book provides information on this society.

Breithaupt, Richard Hoay. Aztec Club of 1847 Military Society of the Mexican War: Sesquicentennial History, 1847–1997. Universal City, Calif.: Walika Publishing Co, 1998. (FHL book 973 C4b.) Topics covered include biographies of early club members, a chronological list of officers, prominent early members, a register of members from 1848 to 1998, and officers serving in the Mexican War.

Descendants of Mexican War Veterans. This society, established in 1989, publishes the following newsletter and journal:

Butler, Steven R., ed. The American Eagle. Richardson, Tex.: Descendants of Mexican War Veterans, 1991–. (FHL book 973 M25ae; computer number 613394.)

Butler, Steven R., ed. Mexican War Journal: A Publication of the Descendants of Mexican War Veterans. Richardson, Tex.: Descendants of Mexican War Veterans, 1992–. (FHL book 973 M25mv; computer number 666032.)

The address for the Mexican War Veterans organization is:

Descendants of Mexican War Veterans National Office
P.O. Box 830402
Richardson, Texas 75081-0482
Internet: www.dmwv.org

This web site includes information about the organization, how to find your Mexican War veteran ancestor, history of the war, historic sites, graves registry, and links to other organizations and museums.

Sources for Further Reading

Butler, Steven R. “Mexican War Records: A Genealogical Gold Mine.” Genealogical Helper 45. (May–June 1991): 8–9. (FHL book 929.05 G286; computer number 258416.)

Butler, Steven R. “Finding Your Mexican War Veteran Ancestor.” Genealogical Journal 22. (1994): 73–77. (FHL book 973 D25gj; computer number 261185.)

Butler, Steven R.. How to Find Your Mexican War Veteran Ancestor. 2nd Rev. ed. Richardson, Tex.: Descendants of Mexican War Veterans, 1994. (FHL book 973 M27bu 1994; computer number 740917.)

Larson, Carl V., comp. and ed. A Database of the Mormon Battalion: An Identification of the Original Members of the Mormon Battalion. 2nd ed. Salt Lake City: U.S. Mormon Battalion, 1997. (FHL book 973 M2Lar 1997; computer number 821627.) (1987 edition FHL film 1592751 item 5; computer number 461971.) Includes biographical information.

Frazier, Donald S., ed. The United States and Mexico at War. New York: Simon and Schuster Macmillian, 1998. (FHL book 973 M26f; computer number 812740.) Contains short essays with bibliographies of notable persons, places and events between 1821 and 1854. Topics include veteran organizations, pensions, and army life. Appendices include both regular and volunteer U.S. units that fought in the war.

McCaffrey, James M. Army of Manifest Destiny: The American Soldier in the Mexican War, 1846–1848. New York: New York University Press, 1992. (FHL book 973 M2mcc; computer number 102205.) Provides a sketch of the life of the common soldier during the war.

Oberly, James W. “Military Bounty Land Warrants of the Mexican-American War.” Prologue: The Journal of the National Archives 14. (Spring 1982): 25–34. (FHL book 973 B2p; computer number 73342.)

Tutorow, Norman E., comp. and ed. The Mexican-American War: An Annotated Bibliography. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1981. (FHL book 973 H23tu; computer number 518110.) Identifies material found in manuscript collections, government documents, national archives, books, periodicals, theses, and dissertations.

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Version of Data: 6/9/2001]