France Military Records: Difference between revisions

=== Military Records of Genealogical Value ===

Military censuses or conscription records may help determine where a person was from. They are not indexed. They are compiled year by year and listed alphabetically in each locality for men who are age 19 and 20. The towns are grouped in cantons and districts. Each department has several districts. Because of this, a search of conscription records can be time consuming. You will need your relative's birth year and birth department before hiring somebody to search conscription records in departmental archives.  

Records of French troop assignments [contrôles de troupes] start in 1716. They are arranged by regiment name and the date each company in the regiment was raised. The list shows where the company was raised, commanders, and number of men. It cites the archive number of the company's records and the types of information in the records (such as names of parents and dates and places of birth). Troop assignments from 1716 to 1789 are listed in:  

Corvisier, André. ''Les contrôles des troupes de l'Ancien Régime (Troop assignments of the Ancien Régime).'' Four Volumes. [S.n.]: Concours du C.N.R.S., 1970. (Family History Library book [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&callno=944+M23c 944 M23c]; not on microfilm.) Volume 2 infantry; Volume 3 cavalry, artillery, militia, French guards, Swiss troops, disabled companies, and colonial navy; Volume 4 indexes by name of the regiment, commanders, or company.  

The military archives in Vincennes have not been microfilmed. The archivists occasionally answer letters, but you must know the exact name of the person, time period, rank, and regiment or ship. Do not expect to obtain much information from before 1800.  

The following books help you locate French military records:  

France. Archives nationales. ''Archives de la marine, série B service général (Navy archive index)''. Paris, France: S.E.V.P.E.N., 1969. (Family History Library book [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&callno=944+A3fn 944 A3fn]; film [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=filmhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&filmno=962225 962225] item 2.) Alphabetical index to places, names, subjects, and ships mentioned in subseries B 1-3.  

France. Ministère de la Marine. ''Officiers civils, 1645-1817 (Index of civilian officers attached to the French navy)''. Paris, France: Chadwyck-Healey France, 1988. (Family History Library fiche [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=filmhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&filmno=6002208 6002208].)  

Bodinier, Gilbert. ''Dictionnaire des officiers de l'armée royale qui ont combattu aux Etats-Unis pendant la guerre d'Indépendance 1776-1783 (Officers in the Royal French Army who fought in the United States during the American War for Independence, 1776-1783)''. Vincennes, France: Service historique de l'armée de terre, 1983. (Family History Library book [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&callno=944+M2b 944 M2b]; not on microfilm.)  

''Les combattants français de la guerre américaine, 1778-1783 (French soldiers in the American Revolution)''. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Originally published as: United States Congress. 58th Congress, Second Session. Senate. Document number 77. (Family History Library book [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&callno=944+M2cf 944 M2cf]; film [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=filmhitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&filmno=547088 547088] item 5.) Includes index.