Just just What army documents does NARA have actually?
The nationwide Archives holds Federal service that is military through the Revolutionary War to 1912 within the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. See information on holdings.
Army documents from WWI – present are held into the nationwide Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC), in St. Louis, Missouri, See information on holdings.
The National Archives will not hold state militia documents. For those documents, you need to contact the State that is appropriate Archives.
Just how can Military reports aid in my genealogy research?
Army documents can frequently offer valuable info on the veteran, and on all family members. As an example:
- Put together Service Records:Compiled service documents include an envelope containing card abstracts extracted from muster rolls, returns, spend vouchers, along with other documents. They are going to offer your ancestor’s ranking, unit, date mustered in and mustered away, basic biographical information, medical information, and information that is military.
- Pension Applications and Pension Payment Records:The National Archives comes with retirement applications and documents of retirement re payments for veterans, their widows, along with other heirs. The retirement documents within the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. depend on solution into the military associated with the united states of america between 1775 and 1916. Pension application files frequently give you the most information that is genealogical. These files usually contain supporting papers such as: narratives of events during solution, wedding certificates, delivery documents, death certificates, pages from family Bibles, household letters, depositions of witnesses, affidavits, release documents and other supporting documents.
- Bounty Land: Bounty land warrant application files relate solely to claims considering wartime solution between 1775 and March 3, 1855. A search of these records may be worthwhile if your ancestor served in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, early Indian Wars, or the Mexican War. Bounty land documents usually have papers much like those in retirement files, with plenty of genealogical information. Lots of the bounty land application files associated with Revolutionary War and War of 1812 solution have now been with the retirement files.
Just how do I start?
There isn’t any easy explanation for how to start research in armed forces documents. Your quest course depends on aspects such as for example: just just what branch of solution your ancestor ended up being in, which conflict, what dates, whether Regular Army or even a volunteer product, whether your ancestor had been an officer or personnel that are enlisted and whether there was clearly a retirement application.
The approach to investigating records of enlisted women and men, officers, and also for the different branches associated with the armed forces is described in this essay: a summary of Records in the National Archives Relating to Military provider.
Compiled Military Service Records for Volunteers: whenever researching volunteers whom served within the armed forces for the war that is particular begin with the compiled armed forces service documents. Start with looking the name that is appropriate on NARA microfilm. In the event that compiled armed forces service records haven’t been reproduced on microfilm, researchers may request to look at initial documents during the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.
Regular Army: considering that the War Department failed to compile service that is military for people who served within the Regular Army, begin pursuit with:
- Enlisted Males – Regular Army Enlistment Papers, 1798-1894
- Officers – Francis B. Heitman’s Historical Join
- Dictionary for the united states of america Army, from the Organization, 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903 (2 vols september)
Bounty Land : most of the bounty land application files concerning Revolutionary War and War of 1812 solution have already been with the retirement files. There is a number of unindexed bounty land warrant applications predicated on solution between 1812 and 1855, which includes disapproved applications according to Revolutionary War solution. This show is arranged alphabetically by title of veteran.
Find out more about starting research in armed forces documents when you look at the Prologue article, a summary of Records at the National Archives associated with Military provider.
How do I search the records that are military?
The nationwide Archives holds Federal service that is military in 2 repositories:
- The National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., for Revolutionary War – 1912
- Nationwide Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC), in St. Louis, Missouri, for WWI – present.
Additionally check out the Microfilm Catalog, or contact the Regional Archives in your town, while the Regions might also have the army solution documents that you are searching for on microfilm.
Military Resources
- General Information About Military Reports Analysis
- Branches of Service
- Info on Certain Wars
- Military Resources on other web sites
General Information About Military Reports
- Military Service Records at the nationwide Archives, a guide information paper
- A synopsis of Records in the National Archives associated with Military provider, a write-up in Prologue Magazine
- Military Reference Reports
- General local hookups in Barrie Canada Index to Pension data, 1861-1934(See also descriptive pamphlet for Microfilm T-288)
- 20th-Century Veterans’ Service Records Safe, Secure-and Available, a write-up in Prologue Magazine concerning the National Personnel Records Center
- Buying information for army solution documents
- Genealogical CD-ROMs with military records into the Archives Library Ideas Center, when you look at the National Archives Building, Washington, DC
- Microfilm catalog of Military Service Reports
To find this catalog on the web:
- Through the Microfilm that is main Catalog, click Advanced Re Search (beside the Re Re Search switch)
- When you look at the righthand line, under Subject Catalog, select „Military Service Records”
- Hit ” Search”