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United States Military Records

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Military records are from times of war and times of peace. They identify individuals who served in the armed forces or who were eligible for service. Military records can help you learn more about your ancestors who served their country. These Wiki pages teach terminology and describe the contents, uses, and availability of major sets of records created mostly by the federal government. You can use them to learn about federal and nationwide sources. The Wiki pages discuss only sources that identify personal information about individuals in the armed forces and their units. They do not discuss historical sources about military institutions, weapons, battles, or tactics. The Wiki pages for the separate states have more information about state military records.

Beginners' Corner

1. What are United States military records?
   
2. What time periods do they cover?
   
3. What can I find in them?
   
4. How do I access them?
   
5. Search strategies
   

For a more complete beginning introduction, see U.S. Military Records Class Handout.

Getting started with U.S. Military Records research

If you are just beginning research, you may need some introductory information before using this set of Wiki pages. You may want to see the Wiki article Guide to Research. 

• Getting started
• Tips for beginners
• What's the next step?
• When could my ancestor have served?
• U.S. Military Records Class Handout

The Basic Search Strategies page of this set suggests steps you should take to find your ancestors in military records. This section is especially valuable if you are just beginning your research. The Record Selection Table can help you choose types of records to search. The Family History Library's collection is described on that page, and there is also a page explaining how to use the FamilySearch Catalog to find specific records.

Information found in military records

• Evidence of military or patriotic service 
• Residence at time of military service or pension  
• Soldier's birth information 
• Family relationships 

Research Tools

Click the button below to see links to online databases and indexes about U.S. military personnel, records, and conflicts involving the United States.

• Record Selection Table
• Search Strategies
• Ages of Servicemen
• Military Terms and Abbreviations
• State Records

• NARA Collections on Ancestry.com - search for NARA collections by NARA title, NARA series number (ex. M313) or Ancestry.com title. 
• National Archives Military Records - National Archives page explaining some of their records available for the different wars. 
• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System. Free National Park Service site with a nationwide index to Union and Confederate servicemen, including U.S. Colored Troops (USCT). 
• Ancestry.com ($) A subscription site with records from most major American wars, including DAR Rolls of Honor, the Civil War Collection, and World War I Draft Registrations. Also includes selected Loyalist and Confederate sources. 
• Fold3.com ($) (formerly Footnote) Subscription site to digitized and indexed National Archives documents including Civil War Service Records, Civil War Widows Pensions,  Mormon Battalion Pension Files, Pension Index-Civil War to 1900, Revolutionary War Pensions, Southern Claims Commission, WWI and WWII records. 

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

• HeritageQuestOnline. Search selected records from the Revolutionary War era pension and bounty-land warrant application files. Only at libraries. 
• Register of Revolutionary War Records FamilySearch Digital Library (Family History Library) (Salt Lake City: FHL, 2006) Shows National Archives and other sources available through the Family History Library. 
• Veterans History Project (Library of Congress) 
• National Veterans History Archival Institute 
• National Archives 
• Pritzker Military Museum and Library Their collection includes over 45,000 books includes military histories, unit histories, military rosters, cruise books (similar to high school yearbooks), photographs, guides to uniforms, equipment, insignia, and ships for many of the world's militaries.
• New Horizons Genealogy 
• Cyndi's List U.S. Military Links 
• Mary's Genealogy Treasures 
• For Further Reading 
• See More
  

Wiki articles describing online Military collections are found at:

• United States, Civil War Service Records of Union Colored Troops - FamilySearch Historical Records 
• United States, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers - FamilySearch Historical Records 
• United States Civil War Soldiers Index (FamilySearch Historical Records 
• United States, Muster Rolls of the United States Marine Corps (FamilySearch Historical Records) 
• United States, Records of Headstones of Deceased Union Veterans - FamilySearch Historical Records 
• United States Registers of Enlistment in the U.S. Army - FamilySearch Historical Records 
• United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards - FamilySearch Historical Records
• 1942 United States World War II Draft Registration Cards 1942 at FamilySearch — index and images

See also Military Records in the FamilySearch Learning Center.

Wars

Colonial Wars,1607 to 1763 Revolutionary War,1775 to 1783 War of 1812,1812 to 1815 Mexican War,1846 to 1848 Civil War,1861 to 1865 Indian Wars,1780s to 1890s

Spanish-American War, 1898 Philippine Insurrection,1899 to 1902 World War I,1917 to 1918 World War II,1941 to 1945 Korean War,1950 to 1953 Vietnam War,1964 to 1972

Record Types

Aircraft Accidents Awards Biographies Bounty Land Warrants Casualty Records Cemetery Records Census Records

Draft Records Pension Records Prisoners of War Service Records Society Records Soldiers Homes Unit Histories

Online Records

• 1775 - 1783 - United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783 — images
• 1798 - 1937 - United States Muster Rolls of the Marine Corps, 1798-1937 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1798 - 1914 - United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1818 - 1872 - United States Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818-1872 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1855 - 1891 - United States Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1861 - 1865 - United States Civil War Service Records of Union Colored Troops, 1863-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861 - 1865 - United States Civil War Soldiers Index, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861 - 1910 - United States Navy Widows' Certificates, 1861-1910 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861 - 1917 - United States Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861 - 1934 - United States Civil War Widows and Other Dependents Pension Files, 1861-1934 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861 - 1934 - United States General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1862 - 1865 - Georgia, Andersonville Prison Records, 1862-1865 at FamilySearch — images
• 1864 - 1866 - United States Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1864-1866 at FamilySearch — index
• 1861 - 1866 - United States Union Provost Marshal Files of Individual Civilians, 1861-1866 at FamilySearch — images
• 1861 - 1866 - United States Union Provost Marshal Files of Two or More Civilians, 1861-1866 at FamilySearch — images
• 1861 - 1865 - United States Confederate Navy and Marine Service Records, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — images
• 1861 - 1865 - United States Records of Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — images
• 1861 - 1865 - United States Confederate Officers Card Index, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — images
• 1865 - 1867 - United States Civil War Confederate Applications for Pardons, 1865-1867 at FamilySearch — index
• 1866 - 1938 - United States National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1879 - 1903 - United States Records of Headstones of Deceased Union Veterans, 1879-1903 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1887 - 1942 - United States Remarried Widows Index to Pension Applications, 1887-1942 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1889 - 1904 - United States Index to General Correspondence of the Pension Office, 1889-1904 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1890 - United States Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1907 - 1933 - United States Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1925 - 1949 - United States Headstone Applications for U.S. Military Veterans 1925-1949 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1942 - United States World War II Draft Registration Cards 1942 at FamilySearch — images
• 1789 - 1989 - Guide to the Records of the U.S. House of Representatives at the National Archives, 1789-1989 (Record Group 233) - contains documents of the sort found in the regular pension files

State Military Records

Alabama    Alaska    Arizona    Arkansas    California    Colorado    Connecticut    Delaware    District of Columbia    Florida    Georgia    Hawaii    Idaho    Illinois    Indiana    Iowa    Kansas

Kentucky    Louisiana    Maine    Maryland    Massachusetts    Michigan    Minnesota  Mississippi    Missouri    Montana    Nebraska    Nevada    New Hampshire    New Jersey    New Mexico    New York    North Carolina

North Dakota    Ohio    Oklahoma    Oregon    Pennsylvania    Rhode Island    South Carolina    South Dakota    Tennessee    Texas    Utah    Vermont    Virginia    Washington    West Virginia    Wisconsin    Wyoming

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

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