United States, Revolutionary War Rolls - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains images of muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other personnel, pay, and supply records of the American Army during the Revolutionary War. The collection is arranged by type of service, military unit, and jacket or folder number. This collection is from Record Group 93, War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, and is National Archives Microfilm publication M246.

To identify state and military units, see the Revolutionary War Rolls Coverage Table.

Sample Image
To see the records indexed and their localities see the coverage table United States, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 Coverage Table

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Information found in this collection may include:


 * Name of soldier
 * Rank, company and battalion
 * Term of service
 * If service was in the field
 * If in command
 * If sick
 * If in the hospital
 * If on furlough

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of the soldier
 * The state and county of residence
 * The approximate dates of military service

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "NARA Roll Number, Type of Service, Jacket Number Range" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details such as a title, an occupation, or land ownership. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information found to locate additional military records
 * Use the information to locate your ancestor in land records
 * Use the information to locate your ancestor and his family in vital records

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby military units.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation

Image Citation