United States Army

United States

Military Records

U.S. Army

United States Army - Introduction

The United States Army was created when Congress created a permanent military under the Act of 29 September 1789. The Army has participated in every war the United States has entered.

• Continental Army. 3/2/1781-1783
• Army of the United States. 6/3/1784-9/4/1792
• Legion of the United States. 1791-1797

The following books discuss the Army’s history and development.

• Coffman, Edward M. The Old Army: A Portrait of the American Army in Peacetime, 1784–1898. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. (FHL book 973 M2cof.)
• Ganoe, William A. The History of the United States Army. New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1942. (FHL book 973 M2gw.)
• Jacobs, James Ripley. The Beginning of the U.S. Army, 1783–1812. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1947.
• Weigley, Russel F. History of the United States Army. New York: Macmillan. 1967. (FHL book 973 M25we.)
• Richard M. Lytle. The Soldiers of America's First Army, 1791. Rowaman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2004.

Army Records

Service Records

Compiled service records were never created for all enlisted personnel, but enlistment papers and other records are available at the National Archives and elsewhere.

Army Enlistments, 1798-1914

Online Resources

• United States, Registers of Enlistments in the U. S. Army, 1798 - 1914 at FamilySearch - How to User this Collection; index and images
• U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 at Ancestry - index and images ($)

Digital Images of Microfilm

• Registers of enlistments in the United States Army, 1798-1914 on FamilySearch Catalog, digital copies of 81 microfilms; Registers from 1798 to 30 June 1821 are arranged in alphabetical order. Those for later years are arranged by the initial letter of the soldier’s surname, then chronologically by month and year of enlistment.

Information about the Records
The "Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914" (NARA M233) consists of U.S. Army registers that recorded the name and other information on soldiers that enlisted between 1798 and 1914.

The registers do not specifically indicate which wars a soldier may have served in. However, they often give information indicating where the soldier was stationed and when and how he was discharged as well as other information in the remarks section of the registers.

Content available in registers varies by year. Information that can generally be found includes:

Name When and where enlisted Where stationed Term of enlistment Birthplace Age

Occupation Physical description: height, weight, eye color, hair, complexion, Regiment and company Company commander Rank Date of discharge Additional remarks

Volunteer Army Service Records, 1784-1811

An act of Congress in 1784 reduced the standing army to 20 men. Since the Revolution was over by that time, military units were mainly needed to quell Indian raids and disturbances. State and local militias usually handled the local problems. Enlistment in the standing army was commonly for short periods of time, the average being about 90 days.

• Compiled service records of volunteer soldiers who served from 1784-1811 at FamilySearch Catalog
• Many records may no longer be available because of a 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.

The service records may contain:

Abstracts of payrolls
Abstracts of muster rolls
Provision and clothing receipts
Receipts for pay
Accounts for rations
Correspondence

Discharge Certificates

Discharge certificates cover some of the soldiers discharged from those serving from the Army. Not all soldiers are found in these records

• List of Company/Detachment Commanders/officers - gives name, rank, and regiment; Appendix II; incomplete
• List of Soldiers by Name - gives name, year, regiment, and company. -Appendix III; Incomplete
• More information from the National Archives.

Pension Records

Online Pension Indexes

• United States, War of 1812 Index to Pension Application Files, 1812-1910 at FamilySearch - How to Use the Collection;
• War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 1812-1815 at Fold3.com - (Free collection)
• U.S., War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 1812-1815 at Ancestry.com ($)

Also available through Indiana Society of War of 1812 (Free) and at

Online Copies of Pension Records

A large portion of pension records are digitized and online:

• War of 1812 Pension Files at Fold3.com — images, incomplete (Free collection)

Order Copies from National Archives

Copies of military pension application files can be obtained three ways from the National Archives (NARA):

• Ordered online from NARA
• Ordered by mail using the NATF Form 86.
• Visiting the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. in person and request to see the original compiled military service records.

Pension files are available for Army enlisted men and officers. Check for evidence of a pension application in the previously described microfilm indexes for the War of 1812 through the Philippine Insurrection. Refer to the article of the specific war served, then look under the heading “Pension Records.”

Old War Pension Files

An index to pensions awarded to soldiers based on army service between 1783 and 1861, including the Indian wars, is listed below:

• The "Old War Index to Pension Files, 1815-1926" (NARA T316) includes pensioners of the U.S. Army. The records are available online. They relate mainly to pensions based on death or disability incurred in service between the years of 1816-1861 and cover regular army, navy and volunteer soldiers.
• White, Virgil D.Index to Old Wars Pension Files 1815–1926. 2 vols. Waynesboro, Tenn.: National Historical Publishing, 1987. (FHL book 973 M22wh.)

Historical Registers or Dictionaries of the Army

• The "Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army..." by Francis B. Heitman lists Regular Army and volunteer officers from 1789 to 1903 in two volumes giving a brief history of the officers service and awards received. Casualties (including prisoners of war) from 1789 to 1902 are also listed as well as a chronological list of battles, actions, etc., in which troops of the Regular Army have participated. This book is the work of Francis B. Heitman, a private compiler, purchased and published under an act of Congress approved March 2, 1903.

• United States. Adjutant General's Office. Register of the Army of the United States|The Army register, of the United States|Army register|Official Army and Air Force register. Washington, D.C. : publisher not identified, 1802. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Adjutant General's Office,1860- FHL Digital images

• Chares K. Gardner, A dictionary of all officers : who have been commissioned, or have been appointed and served, in the army of the United States, since the inauguration of their first president, in 1789, to the first January, 1853 ... including the distinguished officers of the volunteers and militia of the states ... navy and marine corps, who have served with the land forces2d ed., with emendations and a Supplement New York, New York : D. Van Nostrand, 1860 FHL Digital Images

• Thomas H.S. Hamersly, compiled, edited and published, Complete regular army register of the United States : for one hundred years (1779 to 1879) Together with the volunteer general staff during the war with Mexico, and a register of all appointments by the President of the United States in the volunteer service during the rebellion, with the official military record of each officer. Also, a military history of the Department of War, and of each staff department of the army. With various tables relating to the army and other important military information, compiled from the official records Washington : T.H S. Hamersley, 1880.

African American Army Servicemen

• A helpful source for African-American soldiers is: Schubert, Frank N. On the Trail of the Buffalo Soldier: Biographies of African Americans in the U.S. Army, 1866–1917. Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 1995. (FHL book 973 Sch78o.) Contains short biographical sketches listing rank and unit served with; few contain birth and other personal data. The source of the original information is cited.
  

Additional Collections

National Archives

• Records of United States Army Continental Commands, 1821-1920RG 393
• Carded Medical Records of the Regular Army, 1894 - 1912 RG 94 NAID 655639
• Aloha South, comp. Records of the headquarters of the Army. Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1970

FamilySearch Catalog - United States. Adjutant General's Office

• Letters sent by the Office of the Adjutant General, main series, 1800-1890, M565
• Registers of letters received, 1812-1889 ; Letters received by the Office of the Adjutant General, main series, 1805-1821, 1822-1860, 1861-1870, 1871-1880
• Letters received by the Commission Branch of the Adjutant General's Office, 1863-1870 M1064
• Index to general correspondence of The Adjutant General's Office, 1890-1917 M698
• General orders and circulars of the War Department and headquarters of the Army, 1809 - 1860, M1094

Other Record Types

• Aircraft Accidents
• Awards
• Biographies
• Bounty Land Warrants
• Casualty Records
• Prisoner of War Records
• Soldiers Home Records
• Unit Histories

Libraries, Archives, and Museums

• U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center  (USAHEC)
  950 Soldiers Drive
  Carlisle, PA 17013-5021
  Information desk: (717) 245-3972
  Email: usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.ahec-ves@mail.mil
  Hours: See their website. They have winter and summer hours
  Online collections
  
  The Military History Institute is the United States Army's preeminent museum and research complex dedicated to educating and preserving the legacy of the men and women who have served their nation as soldiers. Its holdings include, books, clissified and unclassified government documents, photographs, letters, and diaries. Other offerings include exhibits as well as historical and educational programs: lecture series, workshops, school programs, historical demonstrations, and several annual and special living history events. All USAHEC sponsored events are free to the public. The site has a number of online digital collections.
  

National Archives - Related Collections

• Returns from Regular Army artillery batteries and regiments, June 1821-December 1916. NARA Publication M728, 52 rolls
• Returns from Regular Army engineer battalions, September 1846-June 1916, NARA Publication M690, 10 rolls
• Returns from Regular Army cavalry regiments, 1833-1916, NARA publication, M744, 117 rolls
• Returns from Regular Army infantry regiments, June 1821-December 1916, NARA publication, M665, 300 rolls
• Returns from Regular Army coast artillery corps companies, February 1901 - June 1916, NARA publication, M691
• Historical information relating to military posts and other installations ca. 1700-1900, M661
• Returns from U.S. military posts, 1800-1916, NARA M617
• Records relating to Kansas forts, NARA T837

Order of Battle

• Order of Battle 1919-1941. volume 1. The Arms: Major Commands and infantry Organizations.
• Order of Battle 1919-1941. Volume 2. The Arms: Cavalry, Field Artillery, and Coast Artillery,1919-41.
• Order of Battle 1919-1941. Volume 4. The Services: Quartermaster, Medical, Military Police, Signal Corps, Chemical Warfare, and Miscellaneous Organizations,1919-41.

Further Reading

• Dawson, Joseph G. III. The Late Nineteenth Century U.S. Army, 1865–1898: A Research Guide. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1990. (FHL book 973 M23ln.) A comprehensive bibliography of sources for the Indian Wars, Reconstruction, forts, and the Army on the western frontier.

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Family History Library

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

The collection is free on this subscription website.