South Dakota Military Records

Many military records are found at the National Archives, the Family History Library, and other federal and state archives. For South Dakota, the following sources are also very helpful:

Online Resources
The United States Military Records page provides more information on federal military records and search strategies.

United States Military Online Genealogy Records
 * — index and images
 * https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1932393 Dakota Territory Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865], index
 * SD WWI Honor Roll.
 * at FamilySearch — index
 * U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Korean War for Home-State-of-Record: South Dakota
 * at FamilySearch — index and images
 * U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Vietnam War for Home-State-of-Record: South Dakota

Forts
Fort Bennett in North Dakota: Textual records of this fort, 1870-1891, 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).

Fort Dakota --1865-1869

Fort Hale -- (Lower Brulé Indian Reservation) (1870 - 1884), near Reliance Originally named Post at Lower Brulé Indian Agency or Fort Lower Brulé, located 15 miles south, then moved to the current site in 1870, opposite Crow Creek; Renamed in 1878. The exact site, northeast of town, is now under water. The remains of soldiers buried at Fort Hale were relocated to Fort McPherson National Cemetery on July 30, 1891.

Fort Hartford --

Fort Kiowa -- (1822 - 1825), Fort Lookout A Bernard Pratte and Co. fur trade post originally called Fort Lookout (1). It was a 140-foot square palisade with a blockhouse and watch tower.

Fort Meade -- (Veterans Administration) (Fort Meade Cavalry Museum) (South Dakota Military Academy - South Dakota Army National Guard) (1878 - 1944), Fort Meade Built to defend the gold-mining camps of the Black Hills against the Lakota, and to restore peace, if necessary, on the Indian reservations to the east. Originally called Camp Ruhlen and located on the western side of Bear Butte. Later moved to its present location and renamed Camp Sturgis, and later renamed again. The primary post for actions in the "Ghost Dance War" of 1890 which culminated in the Wounded Knee Massacre; retained because of its location on the railroad and with good routes to reservations when most forts in South Dakota were closed in the 1890's. Used for training and as a POW camp in WWII. The Veterans Administration acquired the site in 1944 to use as a hospital, and a large permanent, modern hospital was built north of the main part of the post, preserving the historic portions of the post, including construction from the WWI and WWII era. Virtually all of the 1880's Officers' quarters and barracks remain in their original setting. The lone survivor of the Battle of Little Bighorn, a horse named Comanche, was retired here. The Old Fort Meade Museum is located here. In the 1980's, the South Dakota Army National Guard established its leadership institute, later named the South Dakota Military Academy, on the old post. At the south end of the original military reservation (now a BLM site) is located the Black Hills National Cemetery, just off I-90; the old post cemetery, now closed for burials, is the Fort Meade National Cemetery. (information provided by Nathan A. Barton, CE, PE, DEE, member of South Dakota State Historical Society and Council on America's Military Past)

Textual records of this fort, 1878-1917, 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).

Fort Manuel (1812 - 1813), near Kenel A St. Louis Missouri Fur Co. trading post, also known as Arikara Post (1). Sakakawea (or Sacagawea) died here in 1812. Her monument is near Mobridge. The post was abandoned after attacks by Indians and the deaths of 15 of the traders. Old Fort Pierre -- (1831 - 1857), A Bernard Pratt and Co. fur trade post located on the west-side of the Missouri River about three miles above the mouth of the Bad (Teton) River, originally called Fort Pierre Chouteau or Fort Chouteau, and built to replace Fort Tecumseh. It was renamed in 1833. The military purchased the fort in 1855 and renamed it Fort Bennett (1). The fort no longer exists. Some materials were salvaged for the construction of

Fort Randall -- (1856 - 1892), near Pickstown This was the state's first permanent white settlement and was located on the southern side of the dam. Only the chapel was spared from the damming of the river, which was restored in 1950 from original plans. This was the longest serving post on the Missouri River and was built to replace Fort Pierre (1). It became General Sully's base of operations against the Sioux in 1863 - 1865. During 1870 - 1872 the post was rebuilt at the present site, 1/4 mile from the original location and just downstream. Textual records of this fort, 1856-1892, 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).

Fort Robinson -- Nebraska - The post began in 1874 as a temporary cantonment during the turmoil of the frontier Indian Wars. Through the years Fort Robinson was continually expanded and became one of the largest military installations on the northern Plains. The post survived the frontier period and was use by the U.S. Army after World War II. Fort Sisseton -- Textual records of this fort, 1864-1889, 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).

Fort Sully -- Textual records of this fort, 1863-1894, 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).

Fort Thompson - (Crow Creek Indian Reservation) (1864 - 1867, 1870 - 1871), Fort Thompson A Federal 300-by-400 foot stockade located at the mouth of Soldier Creek, originally named Post at Crow Creek Indian Agency and became a subpost of Fort Sully (2) in 1870. The government turned the fort over to the Crow Creek Agency in 1871. It was dismantled in 1878.

Fort Totten -- in North Dakota

Fort Whetstone--1870-1872

References

Encyclopedia of Indian Wars Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850-1890. By Gregory F. Michno. Mountain Press publishing Co. Missoula, Montana C. 2003 ISBN 0-87842-468-7

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). 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:


 * (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. (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. Digital version available at Internet Archive.

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

Civil War (1861 to 1865)

 * [[Image:]] See Dakota Territory in the Civil War for information about South Dakota Civil War records, websites, etc. with links to articles about the Dakota Territory 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.


 * — index

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)

 * 1861-1941 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Grand Army of the Republic founded in 1866 - 1956, was the largest veteran’s organization in the country after the Civil War. It was a fraternal organization members were veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, Marines and Revenue Cutler Service who served in the American Civil War. The group supported voting rights for black veterans, and lobbied the U.S. Congress to establish veterans' pensions. In 1890 the membership was 490,000.

In 1888 there were 111 posts and 2,908 members in the state of South Dakota

GAR Posts in the State of South Dakota

The FamilySearch Catalog list records of the South Dakota Grand Army of the Republic.

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
With the death of the last member of the Grand Army of the Republic the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was formed.

Indian Wars (1780s-1890s)
The library has enlistment registers for soldiers who served in the regular army from 1798 to 1914. Many of these soldiers served in the western states, including South Dakota, during the Indian Wars. The enlistment registers provide the soldier's rank, unit, commanders, physical description, occupation, and birthplace. The records are arranged by year and alphabetically by surname.

The library has an index of soldiers who applied for pensions between 1892 and 1926, for service in the Indian Wars from 1817 to 1898. The pension records are available only at the National Archives.

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.

Indexes


 * (NARA T288). (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. 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.)


 * (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. (How to use this collection.)

A roster of the officers and enlisted men of the First Infantry Regiment, South Dakota Volunteers is in Doane Robinson, History of South Dakota, Two volumes (B.F. Bowen &amp; Co., 1904; Family History Library and.

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, South Dakota, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1987-1988. Also available at:


 * at FamilySearch — index and images — free


 * at FamilySearch — index and images


 * at FamilySearch — index

See WWI Draft Records for more information.

For a published roster of soldiers who died in the war, see W. M. Haulsee, F.G. Howe, A. C. Doyle, Soldiers of the Great War, Three Volumes. (Washington, D.C.: Soldiers Record Publishing Association, 1920; and.


 * AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY SOUTH DAKOTA | WORLD WAR I - South Dakota State Historical Society
 * The Black Hills South Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918-1919.Buckbee-Mears Co., c1920 FHL Digital Images
 * John Linn Murphy. The American Legion in South Dakota : first quarter century. South Dakota : American Legion, 1949 FHL Digital Images

World War II (1941-1945)
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.


 * (FamilySearch) - free
 * (images with partial index) (FamilySearch) - free

FamilySearch Catalog
 * South Dakota in World War II : an account of the various activities of the people of South Dakota during the period of World War II, both in South Dakota and where South Dakotans and South Dakota units were active throughout the world; v. 01 Pierre, S.D.: South Dakota World War II History Commission, 1947? FHL Digital Book

Also available at


 * Ancestry ($)
 * Fold3 ($).

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.

National Guard
South Dakota National Guard Museum, Pierre

Websites

 * South Dakota Military Veterans Cemeteries and other Military Records
 * Veterans List: Provided by the Moody County Historical Society, South Dakota and contains veterans from the Civil War to the Vietnam War and has a total of 1,200 records.