Winning the Battle with
Military Records
US Military Records
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Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR)
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Pre-WWI
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1775 – 1912
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Official Military Personnel File (OMPF)
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1917 – present
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Pension Records
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Bounty Land Records
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Draft Registrations
Compiled
Military Service Records
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An envelope containing a set of cards that
provide an overview of an individual’s service in a military company
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Envelope labeled with the soldier’s name, rank,
& military unit
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Information on each card taken from enlistment
books, muster rolls, hospital rolls, descriptive books, prison records, payment
vouchers, discharge papers, etc.
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May contain mustered in & out dates,
biographical information, medical information, etc.
According to Family
Tree Magazine:
“In the aftermath of the Civil War, clerks of the
War Department Record and Pension Office painstakingly copied information from original
records onto the cards to expedite the processing of pension claims. Rather
than sift through more than 500,000 rolls and books to verify a man’s service,
pension officials could now find what they needed in minutes. Family historians
reap the same benefits today.
“Once the Pension Office completed Union Civil War
CMSRs, clerks did the same thing for men who’d served in the Revolutionary War,
War of 1812, 19th-century Indian wars and Mexican-American War. Service records
for Confederate soldiers, the Spanish-American War, and the Philippine
Insurrection were created a bit later. By the time the CMSR record-keeping
system was discontinued before World War I, clerks had created about 58 million
cards.
“Note that this massive collection primarily
covers those who served in volunteer military units, which were typically
raised at the local or state level in times of war. During the Civil War, these
units included
men who were drafted as well as those who enlisted
voluntarily. With the exception of the Revolutionary War, few CMSRs exist for men
who served in the regular Army (career soldiers). All these
pre-WWI service records are now held at the
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D.C.
“How trustworthy are these records, many of which
were created long after the wars were over? CMSRs are derivative sources, as
they were transcribed from original rolls or books. But their information is
highly reliable….Clerks took great care with the transcriptions, and the
original rolls rarely contain any more details about a soldier than what you’ll
find on CMSR cards.”
For more information, click here
Finding
CMSRs
Revolutionary War CMSRs
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Not all survived
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Deteriorated or lost
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Destroyed when British burned Washington, D.C.
in 1814
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All surviving records found on fold3.com
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Free 7-day trial
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Free access at FHC
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Free weekends and holidays
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Records might also be on ancestry.com
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Be flexible with spelling and/or use wildcards
(* and ?)
War of 1812, Indian Wars, and Mexican-American War
CMSRs
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Might be online
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Follow directions to order from NARA
Civil War CMSRs
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All confederate CMSRs online
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All union CMSRs online
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Some only show an index card
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Follow directions to order from NARA
Spanish American War CMSRs
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Follow directions to order from NARA
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Florida CMSRs on fold3.com
Philippine War CMSRs
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Not online
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“Consider making a trip to the National Archives
or hiring a professional researcher”
Order CMSR from Nara
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Link on handout
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Form NATF86
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Print and mail or order online
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$30
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2-3 months (faster if submitted online)
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Receive printed copy, electronic copy, or CD
Reality
Check
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Use of compiled military service records may
prove disappointing
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Records for early wars contain little or no personal
information
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Records of two (or more) men with same name who
served in the same military unit may be filed together as one
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Men signed up for short tours of duty (30 days,
60 days, etc.)
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May have re-enlisted and placed into a different
military unit
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Your man’s name may be listed in multiple CMSRs
Finding Military Records 1917 - Present
Order Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) from
NARA
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For all information and full set of instructions click here
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Housed in St Louis
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Print and mail or order online and fax
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Fees vary
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Availability dependent on relationship to
veteran
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Response time dependent on complexity of request
Online NARA
Military Records
To see available online records click here
Military
Pension Records (Pre-WWI)
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Index available on ancestry.com and
familysearch.org – keywords “general index to pension files” in card catalog
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Applications and supporting documents available
from NARA
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Many Revolutionary War pension files destroyed
by fire
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Confederate pension files maintained by the
state, some searchable online or browsable at familysearch.org
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Can provide wealth of genealogical information
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Narratives of events during service
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Marriage, birth and death certificates
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Pages from family bibles and family letters
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Depositions of witnesses, affidavits
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Discharge papers
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| Pension Index Card Use info to order pension file from NARA |
Order entire pension file from Nara
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Link on handout
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Form NATF85 – very helpful information in
instructions
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Print and mail or order online
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Fee varies
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Faster if submitted online
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Receive printed copy, electronic copy, or CD
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Some did not apply for a pension
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Not all veterans qualified (application still
available)
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Information only as reliable as the informant
was honest or informed
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Veteran’s wife, mother or children may have
applied after his death
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Federal government did NOT provide benefits to
Confederate veterans until 1959 and then to only a few
Bounty Land
Warrants
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Gave its holder the right to free land in the
public domain as a result of military service
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Given to veterans or their survivors based on
service performed from 1775 - 1855
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Often in lieu of monetary payment for military
service
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Federal land most often given was located in
Ohio, Illinois, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas
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State land also given in New York, Pennsylvania,
and Virginia (records kept in local courthouse)
Bounty Land
Warrant Applications
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Some more informative than others
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Information may include date of birth, place of
present and past residences, maiden name of spouse, date and place of marriage,
name of minor children or other heirs, date and place of death
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Applications are available even if the claim was
not granted
Bounty Land
Records
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Some warrants and applications available online
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Order from NARA using Form NATF85
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Use separate forms for multiple requests
For more information click here
Samples of supporting documentation which could be found in pension and bounty land warrant files:
Samples of supporting documentation which could be found in pension and bounty land warrant files:
World War I Draft Registration Cards
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Primary source document
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Accurate as far as draftee was honest
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Selective Service Act 18 May 1917
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First registration: 5 June 1917, men 21–31
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Second registration: 5 June 1918, men who turned
21
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Supplemental second registration: 24 Aug 1918,
men who turned 21
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Third registration: 12 Sep 1918, men 18-20 &
31-45 not previously registered
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Originals at NARA in Morrow, GA
For more information click here
World War
II Draft Registrations
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Some states searchable on ancestry.com
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Some states browsable on familysearch.org
Military
Grave Marker Applications
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Family must request veteran grave marker - non-military
cemetery (for more information click here)
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Application may contain genealogical clues
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Searchable on ancestry.com 1925-1963
For more information click here
State
Militia
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State Archives usually located on the state
university campus or in the state’s capital city
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Google “[state name] state archives” (ex. “Texas
state archives”) or “[state name] military genealogy”
Links:
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