State of Tennessee Department of State Tennessee State Library and Archives 403 Seventh Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0312 TENNESSEE NATIONAL GUARD ADJUTANT GENERAL’S OFFICE MILITARY RECORDS 1800-1980 RECORD GROUP 216 Processed by: Ted Guillaum Archival Technical Services Section Updated by: Kimberly Mills Wires Zachary Keith September 2019 MICROFILMED CONFIDENTIALITY RESTRICTIONS for Record Group 216 TENNESSEE NATIONAL GUARD ADJUTANT GENERAL’S OFFICE MILITARY RECORDS CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: Records in this collection that are 70 years old or older are open to the public and may be copied for patrons. However, any records dated 1950 or later are restricted until they meet the 70 year requirement. It should be noted that all Veterans have access to their own records regardless of the date. SERIES I - Tennessee National Guard, Service Record Abstracts, 1818-1916 All records in this series are open to the public. Original records are in Box # 1-10 Microfilm Rolls #2-4 Sub Series 1 - Tennessee Soldiers of Seminole War, 1818 All records in this series are open to the public. Original records are in Box # 1-2 Microfilm Rolls #2-4 Sub Series 2 - Tennessee Soldiers of Seminole War, 1836 All records in this series are open to the public. Original records are in Box # 3 Microfilm Rolls #2-4 Sub Series 3 - U. S. Army officers - Tennessee, 1861-1866 All records in this series are open to the public. Original records are in Box # 4 Microfilm Rolls #2-4 Sub Series 4 - National Guard, State of Tennessee 1887-1916 All records in this series are open to the public. Original records are in Box #4-10 Microfilm Rolls #2-4 SERIES II - Tennessee State Militia and National Guard, Servicemen’s Records, 1812-1958 **Sub-Series 9 listed below include confidential records and are closed to the public. Sub-Series 1 - Tennessee War of 1812, Officers and Enlisted Men All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 6-12 Sub-Series 2 - Tennessee Civil War Veterans, Union Army, 1861-1865 All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 13-20 Sub-Series 3 - Spanish American War by Regiments, 1898-1899 All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 21-23 2 Sub-Series 4 - Officers and Enlisted Men, Tennessee National Guard, 1900-1941 All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 24-36 Sub-Series 5 - Tennessee National Guard Enlisted Men’s Service Records, 1903-1917 All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 37-53 Sub-Series 6 - Enlisted Men’s Service Records, 1903-1949 All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Roll # 54 Sub-Series 7 - Enlisted Men’s Service Records, 1903-1917 All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Roll # 55 Sub-Series 8 - Officer Service Records, 1903-1940 All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 56-78 Sub-Series 9 - Officer Military and Physical Qualifications, 1955-1958 All records in this sub-series are closed to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 79-80 Sub-Series 10 - U. S. Army and Marine Corps, World War I, 1914-1919 All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 81-101 Sub-Series 11 - Navy Service Records, World War, 1914-1919 All records in this sub-series are open to the public. Original records are in Box # 1-11 Microfilm Rolls # 102-104 Sub-Series 12 - Medals Awarded, World War I, 1914-1919 All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 105 Sub-Series 13 - Enlisted Service Men’s Records, 1920-1940, Tennessee National Guard All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 106-132 Sub-Series 14 - Physical Exams, 1940-1941, Enlisted Men’s Service Records, Tennessee National Guard All records in this sub-series are open to the public. No original records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 133-135 3 SERIES III - Officers and Enlisted Service Records, 1900-December 6, 1941 All records in this series are open to the public. Original records are in Box # 10-102 Microfilm Rolls # 136-206 SERIES IV - Officers and Enlisted Service Records, 1914-1918 No orginal records available. Microfilm only. Microfilm Rolls # 207-221 SERIES V- Officer and Enlisted Men’s Service Records, 1949-1969 The majority of these records are closed and cannot be opened until January 2039, however any records dating 1949 are open to the public. Original records are in Box # 1-39 Microfilm Rolls # 222-262 SERIES VI - Bound Military Records, 1812-1961 All records in this series are open to the public. (Later volumes in this series are special orders and therefore have no confidentiality restrictions) Original records are in Box # 1-39 (contain bound volumes) Microfilm Rolls # 263-326 Series VII-Tennessee State Guard, Officers Records Cards, 1941-1947 All records in this series are open to the public. Original records are in Box # 1 of 1 Microfilm Rolls # 327 Series VIII- Adjutant General’s Files, 1810-1980 This series includes both open and closed records. Original records are in Box # 1-32 plus oversize folder Microfilm Rolls # 1-9 are open. Microfilm Rolls # 10-11 are closed. Microfilm Rolls # 12-13 is open. Microfilm Rolls # 14 is closed. Microfilm Rolls # 15-16 are open. Microfilm Rolls # 17 is closed. Microfilm Rolls # 18-21 are open. 4 NOTICE This collection came to us from the Adjutant General’s Office, Department of the Military, on February 18, 1994. It contains service records from 1800 to December 6, 1941, and AGO records from 1887 to 1954. One additional AGO record includes a listing of awards and medals from 1863-1963. These records contain 115 cubic feet of original service record documents, 130 rolls of microfilmed service records filmed by the military in the 1950’s, 15 rolls of microfilm records of World War I officers and enlisted men’s sergice records, 39 cubic feet of military and state personnel records from 1949 through 1969, and 182 bound volumes of military records from 1812 through 1959. There are restrictions on the use of some of these records. Some of the records in this record group are confidential until the expiration of seventy years of existence, as provided by Tennessee Code Annotated § 10-7-504(3). Please see the Manuscript desk with any questions or requests. 5 Historical Sketch of the Tennessee National Guard The official military history of the State of Tennessee dates back to June 1, 1796, when President George Washington signed the Act of Congress admitting Tennessee as the sixteenth State of the Union. But the actual military history of “The Volunteer State” dates back to territorial days and the Revolutionary War. The first recorded “call for volunteers” in Tennessee history is found in the records of Colonel John Sevier, Washington County, Tennessee Territory, on March 19, 1780. He wanted “100 good men.” Two hundred answered. In 1803, by Act of the Tennessee Legislature, the Militia of Tennessee was reorganized, and the Militia of Washington County became known as the “First Tennessee Regiment.” In 1812, the “First Tennessee,” under command of Colonel William Hall, was sworn into Federal service on December 10, on orders of General Andrew Jackson, and took part in the expedition to Natchez. In 1813, the First Tennessee Infantry was called into service by Brigade Order issued by General Issac Roberts, and mobilized at Fayetteville, Tennessee, and mustered into Federal service on September 26, participating in the following battles: Talladego, Enotochopoo, Tohopeka and the Battle of New Orleans. The regiment was mustered out of Federal service May 13, 1815. In 1818, the First Tennessee Infantry reported at Fayetteville, Tennessee under command of Colonel R. H. Dyer, and participated in numerous engagements during the Seminole War. In 1836, the First Tennessee participated in the Second Seminole War and the Cherokee War, under command of Colonel A. M. Bradford. In June, the same year, the regiment assembled at Fayetteville, and on October 13, a battle was fought on the Withlacoochee, and another battle, on November 13, near the same place. There were also battles in the Wahoo Swamp on November 18 and 21. It was not until the declaration of the War with Mexico in 1846 that the term “Volunteer State” became the by-word for Tennessee. A Tennessean, James K. Polk, was President. Congress issued an immediate call for 50,000 volunteers. The Tennessee quota was 2,600 but 30,000 responded. All could not be accepted. Local balloting was resorted to in order to determine which of the original volunteers would be accepted. The “campaigning” for this privilege was sharply and seriously conducted among individuals as a race for high political office. In 1814 when General Andrew Jackson was ready to march to New Orleans to fight the British under Lord Packenham, opportunities to enlist were so eagerly sought that the men paid bonuses for the privilege of volunteer service. By an act of the 45th General Assembly in 1887, the Tennessee State Guards were reorganized, and the First Regiment became known as the First Regiment of Infantry, Tennessee National Guard.