Military Records
Genealogical Tips
For those researching family histories, military service records are a tremendously valuable and reliable source. Military records document a person's military service as well as their life outside of the military.
These records are varied and extensive. Muster rolls, discharge papers, pension files, and regimental histories, may include hints of the patterns of migration, births, marriages, deaths, divorces, and more.
Brush up on your History
Determine the war in which your ancestor may have been involved and review general history of that war and specific battles. You need to know patterns of enlistment, types of military units and organizations, states that were involved, the time period and where your ancestor lived at that specific time. If your ancestor lived in Massachusetts in the 1770s, it is likely they participated in the Revolutionary War. If the person lived in California in the 1860s, they may or may not have been involved in the Civil War.
You should not assume an ancestor was uninvolved because they lived far from a conflict location.
Conflict |
Dates |
| Colonial Wars |
1607-1774 |
| French & Indian War |
1754-1763 |
| Revolutionary and Frontier Wars |
1775-1811 |
| War of 1812 |
1812 |
(Wisconsin Involvement) |
| Winnebago War |
1827 |
| Sac and Fox War |
1831 |
| Black Hawk War |
1832 |
| Mexican-American War |
1846-1848 |
| Civil War |
1861-1865 |
| Spanish-American War |
1898-1899 (1901) |
| Philippine Insurrection |
1899-1902 |
| WWI |
1914-1918 |
| WWII |
1941-1945 |
| Korean War |
1950-1953 |
| Vietnam War |
1961-1975 |
Learn About Military Records
- Neagles, James C. U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present , Ancestry, 1994.
- Cerny, Johni; Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt; Thackery, David, editors. Research in Military Records in The Source , Ancestry, 1997. Chapter 9, pp. 289-334.
- Meyerink, Kory L. ed. Printed Sources: a Guide to Published Genealogical Records. Salt Lake City, Utah : Ancestry, 1998.
Research Tips
Use pension records of brothers, uncles, cousins, and neighbors. These may contain testimony that refers to your direct lineage.
Remember to research military activities or involvement during peacetime as well as wartime. Review the chart below as a guide to the conflict in which your ancestor may have participated or observed, on the battlefield or home front:
If born between . . . |
Conflict |
| 1720-1763 |
American Revolution |
| 1740-1791 |
Indian Wars of 1790-1811 |
| 1762-1795 |
War of 1812 |
| 1796-1828 |
Blackhawk War |
| 1806-1849 |
Civil War |
| 1848-1880 |
Spanish-American War |
| 1875-1902 |
World War I |
| 1895-1930 |
World War II |
| 1910-1935 |
Korean War |
| 1940-1957 |
Vietnam War |
Except for a few records on the appointment of militia officers, the Library-Archives generally lacks personnel records from the Winnebago, Black Hawk, and Mexican Wars.
It is crucial to note that, except for World War I, our holdings consist of records of military personnel in the service of the State (National Guard), and not of those state residents directly called to duty in military units of the Federal Government. Moreover, most military personnel records are confidential by law until they are 75 years old. |
