Missouri Military Records

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Military Records

United States Military Online Genealogy Records

Introduction

Many military records are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives (WW1-Present NARA in St. Louis, Mo.; Pre-WW1 records at NARA in Washington DC), and other federal and state archives. United States Military Records provides more information on the federal military records and search strategies.

Online Resources

United States Military Online Genealogy Records provides more links for nationwide military record collections.

• Missouri National Guard, the Mexican Border, 1916 at Ancestry ($), index
• Missouri State Offices Political and Military Records, 1919 - 1920 at Ancestry ($)
• Missouri Confederate Volunteers at Ancestry ($)
• Missouri, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch; Index and images — How to Use this Collection
• Missouri, Confederate Pension Applications and Soldiers Home Applications at Ancestry ($)
• Missouri Civil War Records at Ancestry ($)
• Missouri Confederate Death Records at Ancestry ($)
• Missouri State Offices Political and Military Records, 1919 - 1920 at Ancestry ($), index
• 1900-1941 Missouri, U.S. Pre-World War II Adjutant General Enlistment Contracts, 1900-1941 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
• 1917-1940 United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection
• Missouri, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection
• U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Korean War for Missouri
• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Missouri
• Vietnam Casualty Lists - Missouri

Forts

Civil War Forts:

• Cape Girardeau - Acutally contained 4 forts (A, B, C and D),
• Curtis, aka Hovey,
• Davidson,
• Dette,
• Hamer,
• Insley,
• New Madrid,
• Thompson,
• Wyman

Other Forts:

• Fort Bellefontaine -- 1805- 1826   First United States fort west of Mississippi river.
• Fort Carondolet
• Fort Celeste -- 1789-
• Fort Orleans-- 1723-1728/9
• Fort Osage --1808-1827; originally named Fort Clark
• Jefferson Barracks -- St. Louis Public Library owns the portion of the NARA microfilm set, Returns From U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916, that includes Jefferson Barracks. Textual records of this fort, 1827-1909, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).

For Missouri the following sources are also very helpful. Most are available at:

Office of the Adjutant General
1717 Industrial Drive
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Copies of many of the records are also available at the Family History Library and the St. Louis Public Library.

Revolutionary War (1775-1783)

An alphabetical list of soldiers, their birth dates, death dates, and military service is Alice Kinyoun Houts, Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Missouri (Worldcat)and FHL book 977.8 M2ha St. Louis Public Library owns NARA's microfilm set, General Index to Compiled Service Records of Revolutionary War Soldiers.

The 1835 Pension Roll

On June 5, 1834, the U.S. Senate required the Secretary of War to submit a statement showing the names of pensioners who were on the pension rolls or had previously been on the pension rolls. For more information on the 1835 Pension Roll see Revolutionary War Pension Records. The 1835 Pension Roll for Missouri is available online:

• Report from the Secretary of War... Vol. III at Google Books
• The Pension Roll of 1835, Vol. IV at Ancestry ($)

War of 1812 (1812-1815)

The War of 1812 between Britain and the United States confirmed the separate existence of the United States and the future Canada.

See the Wiki article, Missouri in the War of 1812, for information concerning military records, histories, links to relevant web sites, etc. for Missouri Territory.

There are helpful nationwide records for soldiers of the War of 1812. For more information, see United States in the War of 1812.

Bounty Land Warrants

• Dunaway, Maxine, compiler. Missouri Military Land Warrants, War of 1812. Springfield, Missouri: Maxine Dunaway, 1985. FHL book 977.8 R2d; Worldcat Lists the name of purchaser, section, township, range, warrant number, patent date, book, and page.

• Military Land Warrants in Missouri, 1819: An Alphabetical Index of Missouri Patentees. 1858. Reprint, not published, 1988. FHL book 977.8 R2ml; Worldcat Lists the date, name of patentee, land warrant number, regiment, and land description.

Mexican War (1846-1848)

The Mexican War was caused by the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845. Most volunteer regiments were from southern states. Records of Mexican War veterans might exist in a state where the veteran later resided.

• Mexican War Index to Pension Files, 1887–1926. (NARA T317). FHL films 0537000–13 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. Also available at:
  

• United States, Mexican War Pension Index, 1887-1926 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection.
  

• Robarts, William Hugh. Mexican War Veterans : A Complete Roster of the Regular and Volunteer Troops in the War Between the United States and Mexico, from 1846-1848… Washington, D.C. : Brentano’s, 1887. FHL book 973 M2rwh Digital version available at Internet Archive.
  

The Missouri Soldier's Database: War of 1812 - WWI is a database from the Missouri State Archives that provides information from service cards created by the Missouri Adjutant General's Office. The service cards include more than 576,00 Missouri soldiers who served in conflicts from the War of 1812 to World War I. The Missouri State Archives has a brief description of Missouri troops in the War with Mexico.

Click on these links to learn more about the Mexican War and about Mexican War pension records.

Civil War (1861-1865)

Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, 10 August 1861

See Missouri in the Civil War for information about Missouri Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the Missouri regiments involved in the Civil War.

The regimental pages often include lists of the companies with links to the counties where the companies started. Men in the companies often lived in the counties where the companies were raised. Knowing a county can help when researching more about the soldiers and their families.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System allows name searching for soldiers. The result set gives the regiments for the soldiers. Then you can check the Wiki regiment pages to determine counties. Often knowing the counties that had men in a regiment will help you determine if a soldier was your ancestor.

FamilySearch Historical Records Online Databases:

• 1861-1865 Missouri, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection
• 1861-1865 Missouri, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection
• 1861-1865 United States Confederate Officers Card Index, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection
• 1863-1865 United States, Missouri, Recruitment Lists of Volunteers for the United States Colored Troops, 1863-1865 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection
• 1911-1938 Missouri, Confederate Pension Applications and Soldiers Home Applications, 1911-1938 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection
• Michigan, Civil War Centennial Observance Commission, Committee on Civil War Grave Registration, Burial Records at FamilySearch; index
• Missouri Confederate Death Records at Ancestry ($)
• Missouri Civil War Records at Ancestry ($)
• History of the First and Second Missouri Confederate Brigades, 1861-1865 : and, From Wakarusa to Appomattox, a military anagrap at Ancestry ($)
• Missouri Confederate Volunteers at Ancestry ($)

Indian Wars (1780s-1890s)

The Missouri Soldier's Database: War of 1812 - WWI is a database from the Missouri State Archives that provides information from service cards created by the Missouri Adjutant General's Office. The service cards include more than 576,00 Missouri soldiers who served in conflicts from the War of 1812 to World War I. The Missouri State Archives gives a brief description of each of the wars. The database includes the following conflicts:

• Black Hawk War, 1832
• Heatherly War, 1836
• Seminole War, 1837
• Osage War, 1837

Spanish-American War (1898)

The Spanish-American War was largely fought in Cuba and the Philippines. Spanish-American War records might exist in the state from which the soldier served or in a state where the veteran later resided.

• Adjutant General's Office. Military records, Spanish-American War, 1897-1898

Indexes

• United States, General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 (NARA T288). at FamilySearch; The index covers veterans of the Civil War, Spanish‑American War, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer Rebellion (1900 to 1901), and the regular Army, Navy, and Marine forces. How to use this collection.

• United States, Index to Service Records, War with Spain, 1898 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection.

In addition to the federal records, the Missouri Adjutant General's office has muster rolls and an index to volunteers FHL films 1021099-100. St. Louis Public Library owns the NARA microfilm set, General Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War with Spain and the Philippine Insurrection. SLPL also provides on its websitea bibliography of items the Library owns about the Spanish-American War, including rosters, general histories, and regimental and battle histories.

Missourians of the Spanish American War

The Missouri Soldier's Database: War of 1812 - WWI is a database from the Missouri State Archives that provides information from service cards created by the Missouri Adjutant General's Office. The service cards include more than 576,00 Missouri soldiers who served in conflicts from the War of 1812 to World War I. The Missouri State Archives has a brief description of Missouri troops in the Spanish-American War.

• James E. Payne. History of the Fifth Missouri Volunteer Infantry. (1899)

Click on the link to learn more about the Spanish American War.

World War I (1917-1918)

World War I was a global war fought on multiple continents with several nations involved. Over four million men and women served from the United States.

• United States. Selective Service System. Missouri, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1987-1988. On Family History Library films beginning with FHL film 1683089 St. Louis Public Library owns the portion of this microfilm set that contains records for men from St. Louis City and County. also available at:
• 1900-1941 Missouri, Pre-WWII Adjutant General Enlistment Contracts, 1900-1941 at FamilySearch; images — How to Use this Collection

• 1917-1918 United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection

• 1917-1919 United States, YMCA World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection

• 1917-1919 United States, World War I American Expeditionary Forces Deaths, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection

• United States World War I Draft Records provides additional information.

The Missouri Adjutant General's office has service files and bonus application papers. The latter often contain family information.

• The Missouri Soldier's Database: War of 1812 - WWI is a database from the Missouri State Archives that provides information from service cards created by the Missouri Adjutant General's Office. The service cards include more than 576,00 Missouri soldiers who served in conflicts from the War of 1812 to World War I. The Missouri State Archives has a brief description of Missouri troops in World War I.

• Missouri and the War
• Report of the Adjutant-General of the State of Missouri - 1917-1920

World War II (1941-1945)

Draft Registrations

• 1940-1945 Missouri, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection

Fourth Registration
On April 27, 1942, the Selective Service conducted the fourth of six draft registrations related to WWII. The "World War II Selective Service Draft Cards: Fourth Registration, 1942" is often referred to as the “Old Man’s Registration” or the “Old Man’s Draft" because it included men with a date of birth from April 28, 1877 to February 16, 1897. Since there is overlap in the WWI and WWII Selective Service registration, men born in the years 1877 to 1900 may have registered twice and have both WWII and WWI draft records.

• 1942 United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection also see: Ancestry ($); and Fold3 ($).

Separation Notices

• 1941-1946 Missouri, Reports of Separation Notices, 1941-1946 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection

World War II United States Military Records provides additional information.

Korean War (1950–1953)

The Korean War was a conflict between North Korea (and its communist allies) and South Korea (with support of the United Nations, primarily the United States). See the Korean War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Vietnam War (1964–1972)

The Vietnam War was a conflict between North Vietnam (and its communist allies) and South Vietnam (with support of its anti-communist allies, including the United States). See the Vietnam War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Militia - National Guard

• Historical annual : National Guard of the State of Missouri. (Baton Rouge, Louisiana:Army and Pub. Co., 1939.) 264p; at FamilySearch
• John Glendower Westover. Evolution of the Missouri Militia into the National Guard of Missouri, 1804-1919. (St. Louis, Missouri:Messenger Printing and Publishing Co., c2005) 200p; FHL 977.8 M2wj at FamilySearch
• Report of the Adjutant-General of the State of Missouri 1897-1898, 564p; 1905-1906 123p; 1915-1916 116p; 1917-1920 285p; at FamilySearch
• Debra F. Graden. Index of the Missouri National Guard Jan. 1, 1917 - Dec. 31, 1920. (Leavenworth, Kansas:Grey Ink, c2001), 763p. FHL 977.8 M22g at FamilySearch
• Missouri. Adjutant General's Office. Military records, 1812-1904. FHL films 1204650-872 at FamilySearch

Additional Records

Divided State: Missouri Military Organizations in the Civil War is an index on the St. Louis Public Library website of books and periodical articles about Missouri military organizations, Union and Confederate. There is also an article on the website about Missouri Union Militia Organizations. Further information about Missouri Civil War soldiers, regiments, and battles can be discovered in The Civil War In Missouri: a Selected, Annotated Bibliography (available on the website of St. Louis Public Library).

The book "A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, V.III" by Frederick H. Dyer, lists on pages 1301-1343 many of the Union units, both federal and local militia, which served in the Civil War. With some units, lists of soldiers and brief unit histories are given. This book is available on FHL fiche 6082513. Portions are also available online.

The Missouri State Archives has state records of volunteers and state militia FHL films 1021080–98, including descriptive muster rolls and enlistment and discharge rolls.

A special 1890 census of Union veterans is at the National Archives and on FHL films 338186-93. A published index to this census is available.

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

The Family History Library has 214 microfilms of records in various collections created by the Missouri Adjutant General's office for service in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, Seminole War, Mormon War, Heatherly War, Iowa War, Mexican War, and Civil War. The records include burial information, state militia rolls, and county enrollments. FHL films 1204650-872

• The service of the Missouri National Guard on the Mexican border, under the President's order of June 18, 1916 : with a roster at Ancestry ($)
• Missouri National Guard, the Mexican Border, 1916 at Ancestry ($)
• Adjutant General's report of Missouri State Militia at Ancestry ($)
• Missouri State Offices Political and Military Records, 1919 - 1920 at Ancestry ($)

National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)

1 Archives Drive

St. Louis, MO 63138

Telephone:  314-801-0800

Fax:  314-801-9195

E-mail: MPR.center@nara.gov

Internet: http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/

This facility holds WW1 records - present. Records 1912-1952 are open to the public. Documents after 1952 are private, but available to decendants.

National Archives Washington D.C.

National Archives and Records Administration

700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20408-0001

Telephone: 202-357-5000

Customer Service Center Telephone: 1-866-272-6272

Lost and Found: 202-357-5023

Email: N/A

Website: http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/washington/

This NARA facility holds military records from the Revolutionary War until 1912.

Websites

• Missouri Digital Heritage
• Missouri State Archives
• St. Louis Public Library
• Access Genealogy
• Missouri Military Records (Missouri Genealogy)
• Ancestry.com (paid site)
• Fold3.com (paid site)
• FamilySearch.org

National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.