Beginning Research in United States Military Records

United States

Military Records

Beginning Research

1. What are United States military records?

• Chances are good that one or more of your ancestors served in the military, either at the Federal level, the State level, or perhaps both.

General Types of Military Records

• Service Records: Service records for militia, volunteer, or regular forces document that an individual served in the military and can provide your ancestor’s unit or organization.

• Draft, Conscription, or Selective Service Records:

• Bounty Land Warrants: The federal government provided grants of bounty land for those who served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and Indian wars between 1790 and 1855.

• Pension or Veteran Records: Payments or benefits were given to retired soldiers. However, not every veteran received or applied for a pension.

For other records related to military service, see OTHER TYPES OF RECORDS RELATED TO THE MILITARY.

2. What time periods do they cover?

Military records began as early as the 1600's when the early immigrants were fighting in different wars with the Indians. Early records are frequently organized by a specific war. Starting dates for military branches are:

• United States Army, 1789
• United States Navy, 1775
• United States Marine Corps, 1798
• United States Air Force, 1947
• National Guard: State level records.

3. What can I find in them?

Military records provide a variety of information about an individual and could include their birthplace, age at enlistment, occupation, and names of immediate family members.

• Service Records:
  Name, unit, residence, date mustered in and out, basic biographical, medical and military information.

• Draft, Conscription, or Selective Service Records:
  Name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, physical description, and other information.

• Bounty Land Warrants:
  Covers the same information as Service records as well as information pertaining to the Indian Wars.

• Pension Records:
  Narration of events during service, birth, marriage and death records, may include family bible pages as well as letters.

4. How do I access them?

Online records and indexes

United States Military Online Genealogy Records (includes links to Ancestry.com ($) and FamilySearch)

• Joe Beine’s:
  Llist of online searchable military records.

• Cyndi's list:
  Military-worldwide links.

• Fold3:
  Gives convenient access to US military records, including photos and personal documents of the men and women who served.($)

Ordering military records online

• Military records for the NARA and NPCR can be ordered online by going to eVetRecs.
• To order military service records from Washington, D. C., use NATF Form 86.
• To order military pension files from the American Revolution up to before World War I and bounty land warrant applications before 1856 use NATF Form 85.
• To order military records from St. Louis, use form SF-180.
• NATF Form 85, NATF Form 86, or SF-180 can be found at NATF forms.

5. Search strategies

• The 1910-1940 census records report military service. See, Beginning Research in United States Census Records
• Search all states where your ancestor might have lived.
• Search for spelling variations.

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