Utah Military Records: Difference between revisions

Military records identify thousands of individuals who served or who were eligible for service. Evidence that an individual actually served may be found in family traditions, census records, naturalization records, biographies, cemetery records, and records of veterans’ organizations. Your ancestors will be more interesting if you learn about their military service and the history of their units. Military records can also give birth dates, marriage dates, death dates, spouse's and children’s names, and localities of residence throughout the life of the family.  

Many military records are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives, the National Archives—Denver Branch, and the Utah State Archives. The Family History Library also has military histories for the various military engagements. [[United States Military Records|U.S. Military Records]] provide more information on federal military records and search strategies.  

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasant_Grove,_Utah Fort at Battle Creek] --  During the Walker Indian War in the 1850s, citizens of what is now Pleasant Grove, Utah Valley, built a fort with walls two or three feet thick and six feet tall that occupied an area the size of sixteen city blocks. The settlers in the area at the time built homes inside the fort.  The town was previously called Battle Creek after a battle which took place there in 1849 between Mormon settllers and a small band of Ute Indians.  

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Fort Cedar Fort] 

*Fort Crittenden -- Camp Floyd was renamed Fort Crittenden in 1860 and abandoned in 1861.  

The [http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/ Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System] allows name searching for soldiers. The result set gives the regiments for the soldiers. Then you can check the Wiki regiment pages to determine counties. Often knowing the counties that had men in a regiment will help you determine if a soldier was your ancestor.  

=== Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902)  ===

*''Military Records, Spanish-American War, 1898–1899'' (Utah). Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966. (Family History Library {{FHL|160742|title-id|disp=film 485751}}.) It contains soldier's names, rank, age, place of birth, and occupation. The muster-out rolls have date last paid, destination, and place of discharge. Published histories of Utah volunteers include:  

*Prentiss, A''. The History of the Utah Volunteers in the Spanish-American War and in the Philippine Islands.'' Salt Lake City, Utah: W. F. Ford, 1900. (Family History Library {{FHL|167097|title-id|disp=book 979.2 M2p; film 1697617}} item.) This source includes the names of volunteers for wars from 1898–1901. It gives biographical sketches of officers and men from Utah. There is a roster of men listing name, rank, and residence along with the official reports. This book is online at the [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/FH28&CISOPTR=1237 BYU Family History Archives] website.  

*United Spanish War Veterans, Department of Utah. ''Muster Rolls of Members, 1929–1957''. ({{FHL|1666085|disp=FHL film 1666085}}) - Lists the veteran’s name, age, residence, final discharge date, and unit. Some entries may contain additional data.