HOW TO FIND MILITARY RECORDS On the Path WARWJealous of genealogists with ancestorsR in major, record-generating US wars? Don’t be. We’ll help you trace people who served in 10 lesser-known military confl icts. BY MAUREEN A. TAYLOR 3 IF AMERICA’S HISTORICAL military conflicts could have sibling rivalry, they’d all be jealous of the Revolutionary A US Army surgeon treats wounded soldiers in a fi eld hospital during the Spanish-American war. War, the Civil War and World Wars. Information abounds about how to research ancestors who served in these wars— as you might expect, because of the masses who fought and Search strategies the comparatively heavy toll taken on our country. Knowing where to look for military records is half the battle. But less-famous confl icts, such as the Mexican War and If an ancestor fought in a Colonial war—that is, any war tak- Indian Wars, were just as devastating to those who fought ing place before the American Revolution—you’re more likely and died. Genealogical records of those soldiers are no less to locate state militia pay lists, muster rolls and military hos- telling than records of the “wars of the century.” pital records in state archives and military historical societies Of course, the notoriety of the Revolution, Civil War and covering the war or the place where your ancestor enlisted. other large-scale confl icts makes their records more accessi- For example, the New England Historic Genealogical Society ble. Finding resources for other wars will require digging for <www.americanancestors.org> has a subscription database details, studying US history and requesting offl ine records. of 40,000 names of Massachusetts soldiers throughout the But you can do it—and we’re here to help, with our guide to Colonial period. It’ll be easier to fi nd records if you can learn fi nding genealogy records of 10 “small” military confl icts. which regiment or company your ancestor was part of. PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF CONGRESS LIBRARY LC-USW33-042486 DIVISION, 42 Family Tree Magazine 3 DECEMBER 2010 DDEC10FTEC10FT WWARSARS FFEATURE.inddEATURE.indd 4422 99/8/10/8/10 110:17:510:17:51 AMAM If your ancestor was in the British Army, you may find King Philip’s War information at the British National Archives in Kew. See its ■ YEARS: 1675 to 1676 muster rolls and pay lists fi nding aid at <www.nationalarchives. ■ OVERVIEW: In 1675, Wampanoag TIP: Your gov.uk/catalogue/rdleafl et.asp?sLeafl etID=16> and information leader Metacomet (known to the Eng- ancestor’s on additional British Army records at <www.nationalarchives. lish as King Philip) organized several state archives gov.uk/catalogue/researchguidesindex.asp#b>. southern New England tribes against or historical For most wars after the Revolution and the birth of the the colonists after three Indians were society may federal government, you’ll consult the National Archives executed for killing a colonist. Half of have records and Records Administration (NARA) <archives.gov>, which New England’s towns saw armed con- of his military has compiled service records, pension fi les and other federal fl ict. In King Philip’s War: The History service, records. Surviving service and pension records are on micro- and Legacy of America’s Forgotten Con- especially if fi lm and/or paper at NARA. The FHL and other large librar- flict (Countryman Press), authors Eric he served in a ies may have copies of NARA microfi lm. See the box on page Schultz and Michael J. Tougias estimate state militia or 45 for information on ordering NARA records that aren’t that more than 1 percent of colonists guard, or in a microfi lmed; you’ll need to know the soldier’s name, the war and 15 percent of the American Indians state unit that he served in and his state of residence. involved died. King Philip was killed in was federalized Because many records have been indexed or digitized, August 1676, yet the war continued in during wartime. though, start your search online. For example, subscription northern Maine (then part of Massachu- site Ancestry.com <ancestry.com> has a digitized version of setts) until a treaty was signed at Casco NARA microfi lm T288, General Index to Pension Files, 1861– Bay in 1678. Learn more at the Society of Colonial Wars for 1934, as well as books of transcribed muster rolls and rosters. Connecticut website <www.colonialwarsct.org/1675.htm>. (Your library may off er Ancestry Library Edition free.) Olive ■ RESEARCH TIPS: Lists of participants and deaths are in Tree Genealogy <www.olivetreegenealogy.com> and Online publications such as King Philip’s War by George William Ellis Military Indexes <www.militaryindexes.com> may direct you and John Emery Morris and The History of the Great Indian to other online sources. War of 1675 and 1676 by Benjamin Church, Thomas Church The fact that not everything is online hurts a bit more for and Samuel Gardner Drake (access both on Google Books lesser-known wars: Shorter campaigns and fewer soldiers through our Google Library <bit.ly/ftm-google-library>). mean fewer descendants clamoring for records. You’ll fi nd Soldiers in King Philip’s War by George Madison Bodge yourself scrolling microfi lm, turning book pages and penning (reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co.) has more than record requests. The FamilySearch wiki <wiki.familysearch. 5,000 names from muster rolls, payrolls, biographical and org> gives an overview of each war in this article, with links genealogical sketches and other records. Bodge summarizes to records you can access on microfi lm through the FHL. the war’s history, naming many soldiers, in A Brief History of Just type the name of the confl ict into the search box. You King Philip’s War, 1676-1677, online at <freepages.genealogy. can rent FHL microfi lm through local Family History Cen- rootsweb.ancestry.com/~massasoit/bodge.htm>. ters <www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhc/frameset_fhc.asp>. The state archives or libraries of Rhode Island <www.rihs. Search WorldCat <worldcat.org>, a catalog of thousands of org>, Connecticut and Massachusetts may have town or col- libraries’ holdings, for books with indexed records from the ony documents prosecuting military actions, muster rolls and war you’re interested in. Borrow titles from your library or interactions with Indians. The Massachusetts State Archives through interlibrary loan. Seek publications of groups such has a database of Colonial records from 1629 to 1799 <www. as the General Society of Colonial Wars <www.gscw.org>. Also sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcsrch/RevolutionarySearchContects.html>. look for regimental histories in book collections on Heri- Type in a name and choose King Philip’s War from the drop- tageQuest Online (available through subscribing libraries), down menu; you’ll get a summary of the record and informa- Ancestry.com and Google Books <books.google.com>. tion on its location at the archives. Free Web Content For Plus Members ShopFamilyTree.com ■ Photo of a Spanish-American War nurse ■ Online military records ■ Online Military Records webinar <familytreemagazine.com/spanish- <familytreemagazine.com/article/ recording <shopfamilytree.com/product/ MORE american-war-nurse> operation-online-records> online-military-records-webinar> ■ Top 10 Military Research Websites ■ Clues in military photos ■ Family Tree Essentials CD ONLINE <familytreemagazine.com/article/ <familytreemagazine.com/article/ <shopfamilytree.com/product/family- 10-military-research-web-sites> photo-detective-military-training> tree-essentials-cd> ■ Timeline of US military confl icts ■ Researching Colonial ancestors ■ Family Tree Legacies <shopfamilytree. <familytreemagazine.com/article/ <familytreemagazine.com/article/ com/product/family-tree-legacies> inside-sources-us-military-campaigns> deep-roots> 43 < familytreemagazine.com> DEC10FT WARS FEATURE.indd 43 9/8/10 10:18:02 AM French and Indian War ■ YEARS: 1754 to 1763 TIP: To see a list of NARA’s military records microfilm, ■ OVERVIEW: The French and Indian War is the North go to <eservices.archives.gov/orderonline>; click Microfilm American component of the Seven Years War, a series of at the top of the page, click Advanced Search, select Military worldwide conflicts between Great Britain and France. Service Records from the Subject Catalog pull-down menu, Though the war’s name refers to the French and their Indian and click Search. allies, native tribes participated on both sides. Battlefi elds stretched along the frontier of French and British colonies from Nova Scotia south to Virginia. After a series of disas- article on these French spoliation claims and the resulting trous campaigns in 1757, Britain managed to turn the tide of records <archives.gov/publications/prologue/1991/spring/ the war by capturing Montreal in 1760. french-spoliation-claims.html>. The war resulted in Britain’s colonial dominance in North America. The Treaty of Paris required France to cede Canada War of 1812 to Great Britain (with the exception of two coastal islands) ■ YEARS: 1812 to 1815 and transfer Louisiana west of the Mississippi to Spain. ■ OVERVIEW: US and British diff erences didn’t stop after Great Britain also gained control of Florida from the Span- the American Revolution. British trade restrictions, impress- ish. France would regain control of Louisiana, then sell it ment (capture and forced service) of American sailors into to the United States as the Louisiana Purchase. For more the Royal Navy, and England’s alliance with American Indian information, see Robert Leckie’s A Few Acres of Snow: The tribes caused continued tensions. Britain blockaded Atlantic Saga of the French and Indian Wars (John Wylie) and peruse seaboard ports, attacking Navy and merchant vessels. Naval the site for PBS’ “The War That Made America” <www.pbs. battles took place in the Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico and St.