Wednesday, June 5, 2019

U. S. Military Records





It seems appropriate in the days after Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day to learn about U.S. Military Records. Military records are some of my favorite to research. The documentation of an individual's life when it is intersecting with big historical events is intoxicating!

Here is some of the information you can learn from your ancestor's military records:
  • Age, including date and place of birth.
  • Dates and places of marriages.
  • Dates of birth of children.
  • Physical description, including any distinguishing scars or birthmarks.
  • Residence
  • Medical conditions and wounds.
  • Military Unit membership.
  • Participation in battles, campaigns, etc.
My Great Great Grandfather, James
Tanner on the right. He is in a Civil
War Navy Captain's uniform. His 
son, George Tanner is in his World 
War I US Army uniform.




How do you know if an ancestor served in the military?
  • Family stories and traditions
  • Photographs
  • Published histories
  • Cemetery markers
  • Biographies
  • Membership in a veteran’s organization




These sources could provide additional clues to possible military service:
  • Age at the time of major conflicts - https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Ages_of_Servicemen_in_Wars
  • Census records that have military service information:
    • 1930 Census asked if a person was a U.S. veteran who had served in any of the following wars: Civil War, Spanish-American, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer, Mexican Expedition, and World War I.
    • 1910 asked if they were a veteran of the Civil War
    • 1890 Census had special schedules that listed Union Civil War veterans or their surviving spouses.
    • 1840 Census lists Revolutionary War pensioners, or their widows, on the second page.

Once you have discovered an ancestor who was in the military, you need to know what types of records are available and where to find them.

There are two major types of military records: service records document the day-to-day records of an individual's service; and pension records, which document the benefits a person takes advantage of after their service has ended.

Each type of record produces very different information that a genealogist would be interested in. The service record will tell where the person served and in what capacity, at what rank, if he/she had any awards or medals, what training was received and their medical records. It generally does not have any information about family members or the military members movements after they left the service. That is where the pension records come in. I LOVE pension records!

Military Service Records…

  • Are the day-to-day records of a military members’s service.  
  • They include enlistment papers, military rosters, draft records, payrolls, and hospital rolls. 
  • They rarely contain a lot of family information, but do include vital information about the soldier, including a description. 
  • Access to recent military service records are restricted for privacy reasons and are only available to the member or next of kin. 
  • Enlistment papers record the soldier’s name, age, marital status and the date and place of enlistment. The soldier’s name then goes on a muster roll (attendance sheet) for the organization that he/she joined. 
  • Draft, conscription or Selective Service records The federal government has been registering men for military service since 1863. Draft registration cards list name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, and physical description. 
  • Discharge papers are not part of the military service records that the federal government maintains, but they do contain a lot of valuable information. Discharge papers, for service from 1865 to the present, include duty assignments (locations), training, any discipline or commendations received and date and location of discharge. Discharge papers are usually found with family members. Copies of veteran’s discharge records can sometimes be found in the County Recorder’s Office, but only if the veteran filed a copy. Otherwise, the discharge papers remain in the veteran's hands.
U.S. Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

Draft Registration list for Lawrence & Gallia County, Ohio from the Civil War.
This document DOES NOT mean that these men served. In fact, William TAGG (red arrow) is my 3X great uncle,
and he never served. Most likely he was deferred because of a physical disability or a "substitute" soldier was
paid to take his place.

U.S Naval Discharge From the Civil War:

James TANNERs discharge from the U.S. Navy 

DD-214 Modern U.S. Military Discharge Papers:

I found this DD 214 on Wiki Commons and thought it would be more interesting
than a copy with all the personal information redacted.
This person is deceased.
  • Other service records that may exist are pay rolls, order books, hospital records, prisoner of war records, promotions, desertion records and records of court martial. 
  • State Records would cover service in state militias, volunteer regiments or National Guard units. These are usually held by state archives, historical societies or by the state adjutant general.  
The set of the Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of 
the Rebellion (Civil War) was created in the late 19th century. It has been digitized and
is available online: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000454243

This page from the book listed above gives a brief history of the 91st Ohio Volunteer Infantry.


And this brief excerpt shows some basic information for my 3X great grandfather, Jame TAGG.

Where to find Military Service Records:

  • Military Service Records have been microfilmed and are available from the National Archives: 
  • Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm 
  • DAR – Daughters of the American Revolution www.dar.org and http://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search/ 
  • World War I Draft Cards lists the full name of the registrant, current address, age, birth date, if a U.S. citizen, race, location of employment, name and address of kin, marital status and how many dependents he supports. The back side notes the physical description of the draftee. The registrant did not have to register in his county of residence. 
  • Access to some of these records are available on popular genealogy sites such as: 
  • Records relating to the following groups of military personnel are at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO: 
    • U.S. Army personnel separated after 1956. Records for 1912 through 1956 were destroyed by a fire in 1972. Many of these records are being reconstructed from other sources. 
    • U.S. Air Force personnel separated after 1956. Earlier records for Army Air Corps and the Air Force were destroyed by fire in 1972. 
    • U.S. Navy officers separated after 1902 and enlisted men separated after 1885. 
    • U.S. Coast Guard officers separated after 1928 and enlisted personnel separated after 1914. 
  • Requests for information about veterans should be submitted using Standard Form 180 to the following address: 
                  National Personnel Records Center (MPR)
                  9700 Page Ave.
                 Louis, MO 63132
Fold3 and Ancestry Library Edition are databases that are available from the Medina County District Library
website: www.mcdl.info  under the Your Library 24/7  and the Online Learning Link. Ancestry LE is only
available from inside the Library, while Fold3 can be accessed from home. 

Pension records and bounty land records

  • These records focus on the benefits that a soldier receives after his/her service. They often contain a great deal of family information, including names of spouses and children, places of residence, occupation, and health status. 
  • If the service was for the Confederacy or for a state militia, the records will be held at the state level, not by the federal government. 
  • Pensions and bounty lands were granted to officers, disabled veterans, needy veterans, widows or orphans and veterans for major military actions. 
  • But not every veteran applied for or received bounty lands or pensions. Prior to the Civil War, the veteran had to prove financial need to receive a pension. 
  • Most veterans who served in the Union forces during the Civil War did receive some kind of pension. 
  • Pension records can include the soldier’s name, his rank and military unit, his wife’s name, date and location of the marriage, residence, age, children, occupation, health status and date and place of death.

Pension application for Christian Young for Revolutionary War Service. It continues for 8 pages giving a detailed account of his service. He listed his place and date of birth and death, but no other family information.

Bounty Land Warrants

  • Land warrants were offered for service in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, the Mexican War and Indian Wars between 1790 and 1855. 
  • Bounty land could be claimed by the veteran or by his heirs. 
  • Often, the veteran never lived on the land, but sold it for profit. 
  • Bounty land warrants and applications for the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 have been microfilmed.
This document was obtained from the Bureau of Land Management site:https://glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx


Where to find pension & bounty land records:

Other Sources of Military Information

  • General Histories can give you detailed information on a particular battle or war and contain information on which military units participated. Histories of the war or the battles that your ancestor participated in can give insight into the conditions he/she endured.


Map of Fort Montgomery where Christian Young served during the Revolutionary War.

Atlas of the American Revolution Kenneth Nebenzahl

Washington’s Headquarters at Newburgh, New York

Washington's Headquarters in Newburgh (Images of America: New York) by A. J. Schenkman
                      U.S. Army Military History Institute
                      Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013-5008
                      717-245-3611

Veteran's Burial Information can be found at these sites:

  • WW2 Casualties Database https://www.ww2research.com/ww2-casualties-database/  
  • Cemeteries The first National Military Cemetery was created in 1862. The National Cemetery System has a card index that identifies most soldiers buried in the National Cemeteries. Write to:    
                 National Cemetery System
                Department of Veteran Affairs
                810 Vermont Ave. N.W.
                Washington, D.C. 20422
                Or go to: www.cem.va.gov
  • Some states and counties have grave registration records that identify the graves of soldiers buried in local cemeteries. These are found at the in the county’s recorder’s office, the state archives or state historical society. 
  • Findagrave - www.findagrave.com A volunteer web site that has transcriptions & some photos of tombstones. 
  • Veteran’s Homes Congress established the first federal home for disabled veterans in 1866. In 1930, these homes combined with other agencies to form the Department of Veteran Affairs. Their records are held by the National Archives and their branch locations. Some states, like Ohio, also have established and still operate homes for disabled veterans. 
  • If your ancestor's service was for the Confederacy or for a state militia, the records will be held at the state level, not by the federal government. Foreign military service records are generally available from the foreign government.

So what kind of genealogical information have I uncovered in military records??


This spike from the Chevaux-de-frise was raised from the bottom of
the Hudson River and is on display at Washington's Headquarters in
Newburgh, New York. Perhaps my ancestor worked on this very spike?
1. My Revolutionary War Ancestor, Christian Young, in his pension application, reveals all the different places he served and the battles he participated in. He also mentions that he helped build the chevaux de frise (barrier made of spiked posts) across the Hudson River that was supposed to keep (it failed) the British from sailing up the Hudson from New York City, which they occupied. This was while he was stationed at Fort Montgomery. He goes on to tell how he and others from the fort escaped when the British over-ran the fort. They crawled through the trees and rocks to a ship waiting just off shore.


2. In James Tanner's (pictured at the top of this blog) Civil War pension records, I discovered that his rank was never higher than Common Seaman, despite the stories he told his grandchildren and the photo he posed for with his son. I also discovered why it was so difficult to pin him down in the census records. From his pension record, I learned he moved every 18 months. I later learned from a cousin that he worked for the railroad and that was why he moved so often. His record also revealed what ships -- actually,boats, river boats, he served on.
The Grampus


These are the two ships James Tanner served on. The Grampus was a training ship.



The Peosta was a steamboat outfitted as a gun boat. It patrolled the Tennessee River.
The Peosta

3. James McComas' pension record revealed that his wife, my 4X great aunt, Mary Ann, died of typhus, a disease quite probably brought home from the returning Civil War Soldiers. (I thought it likely that she died of exhaustion after giving birth to 11 children in less than 20 years!) 

4. Later in James' record, Mary Ann's brother, James Tagg, my 3X great grandfather, served as a notary, taking James McComas' statement for his pension record. After several pages of recording the statement, fatigue must have set in. The 73 year old slipped into the English accent of his youth by writing "he as ad"  when he clearly meant "he has had"!  


This Affidavit from the pension file for James McComas and is dated 1893. In it, George Corn is
attesting to James McComas' disability, but the writing is done by my 3X great grandfather, James Tagg.
He had immigrated from England to America in 1836, nearly 60 years before when he was 12 years
old. But from his writing, we can tell he still retained some vestiges of his English dialect.
James Tagg's signature is on the following pages and identifies him as the Notary Public that took the
testimony. I had thoroughly researched his life, but did not know he was a Notary until finding
this document!


That kind of personal detail you can't find in many records!!

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1 comment:

eabn said...

Another example of the outstanding research you do week after week. Yes, I have relatives who served. My Uncle Deane was a favorite. He was very young but served in a code breaking unit in Africa. His older brother Don was Navy serving in both Atlantic and Pacific. He is buried in a tiny family cemetery in Iowa. I hope to visit Deane's grave in Arlington. Thank you, again.

WHERE IS MAX DEANE RINNER BURIED?
Memorial Change Request
BURIAL
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, VA 22211
(703) 607-8000
PLOT
Columbarium 9 N05-4-4
WHEN DID MAX DEANE RINNER PASS AWAY?
DEATH DATE
May 11, 2012
HOW OLD WAS MAX DEANE RINNER WHEN DIED?
BIRTH DATE
May 22, 1926
AGED
85

June 5, 2019 at 10:30 AM

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