Washington Military Records

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Military Records

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Online Resources

• See United States Military Online Genealogy records for more nationwide military record collections.
• 1855-1950: Washington, U.S., Military Records at Ancestry; images ($)
• 1862 Washington Territory First Infantry Regiment Clothing Book, 1862 at Washington State Archives - index and images
• 1885-1907 Military Department, National Guard Enlistment Register, 1885-1907 at Washington State Archives - index and images
• 1891-1945 Washington, Soldier Home Records, 1891-1945 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index and images
• 1891-1987 Veterans Affairs, Department of, Orting Soldiers Home, Member Files, 1891-1987 at Washington State Archives - index and images
• 1910-1977 Veterans Affairs, Department of, Retsil Veterans Home, Member Files, 1910-1977 at Washington State Archives - index and images
• 1917-1940 United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index
• 1940-1947 Washington, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1942-1946 Public Welfare/Social Security Department, Evacuee (Japanese) Referrals for Resettlement and Assistance, 1945-1946 at Washington State Archives - index and images; Assistance Cases, Evacuee Referrals for Resettlement and Assistance, 1945-1946
• 1955-1960 Veterans Affairs, Department of, Korean War Era Veterans Bonus Claims, 1955-1960 at Washington State Archives - index and images
  
  

Indian Wars

• 1855-1856 Military Department, Indian War Muster Rolls, 1855-1856 at Washington State Archives - index and images
  
  

World War I

• 1917-1919 Veterans Affairs, Department of, World War I Service Statement Cards, 1917-1919 at Washington State Archives - index and images
• Soldiers of the Great War Casualty List at Washington State Archives - index and some images of the soldier
• 1917-1919 United States, World War I American Expeditionary Forces Deaths, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index
• 1921-1925 Washington, World War I Veteran's Compensation Fund Application Records, 1921-1925 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index
  
  

Korean War

• Korean Conflict State-Level Casualty Lists - Washington
  
  

Vietnam War

• U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Vietnam War for Home-State-of-Record: Washington
  
  

Forts

• Fort Bellingham 1856-60
• Fort Colville 1859
• Fort Nisqually
• Camp San Juan Island -- Textual records of this post, 1859-1875, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
• Fort Simcoe 1865-1859
• Fort Slaughter--1855-1857
• Fort Spokane: Miles Washington built in 1812 by Pacific Fur Company, later used by the U.S. Army. Textual records of this fort, 1879-1899, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
• Fort Steilacoom 1849 -- Textual records of this fort, 1849-1868, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
• Fort Taylor
• Fort Townsend 1856 -- Textual records of this fort, 1865-1895, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
• Fort Vancouver 1849 -- Textual records of this fort (also known as Vancouver Barracks), 1852-1919, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
• Fort Walla Walla -- Textual records of this fort, 1856-1911, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).

References

Encyclopedia of Indian Wars Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850-1890. By Gregory F. Michno. Mountain Press Publishing Co., Missoula, Mt. C 2003 ISBN 0-87842-468-7

Mexican War (1846-1848)

The Mexican War was caused by the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845. Most volunteer regiments were from southern states. Records of Mexican War veterans might exist in a state where the veteran later resided.

• Mexican War Index to Pension Files, 1887–1926. (NARA T317). FS Library films 0537000–13 Alphabetically arranged and includes the veteran’s name, rank, and unit; names of dependents; date of filing and application; certificate numbers; act filed under; and state from which application was made. Also available at:
  

• 1887-1926 United States, Mexican War Pension Index, 1887-1926 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection.; Free digital copy.
  

• Robarts, William Hugh. Mexican War Veterans : A Complete Roster of the Regular and Volunteer Troops in the War Between the United States and Mexico, from 1846-1848… Washington, D.C. : Brentano’s, 1887. FS Catalog book 973 M2rwh Digital version available at Internet Archive.
  

Click on these links to learn more about the Mexican War and about Mexican War pension records.

Civil War (1861 to 1865)

Fort Vancouver, Clark County, Washington (reconstructed) 1849 to 1866

See Washington in the Civil War for information about Washington Civil War records, websites, etc. with links to articles about the Washington regiments involved in the Civil War.

The regimental pages often include lists of the companies with links to the counties where the companies started. Men in the companies often lived in the counties where the companies were raised. Knowing a county can help when researching more about the soldiers and their families.

The 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.

The FamilySearch Catalog list records of the Washington Grand Army of the Republic.

Indian Wars (1780s-1890s)

• Muster rolls are available at the Washington State Archives. The National Archives and the FamilySearch Library have the enlistment registers of soldiers who served in the regular army from 1798 to 1914. Many of these soldiers served in the western states, including Washington, during the Indian Wars. The enlistment registers provide the soldier's rank, unit, commanders, physical description, occupation, and birth place. The records are arranged by year and by the first letter of the surname.

• United States Army, Registers of Enlistments in the United States Army, 1798-1914 FS Library films350307 (first of 81. Also available online at Family Search Historical Records

• The FamilySearch Library and the National Archives have an index to soldiers who applied for pensions as a result of service in the Indian Wars from 1817 to 1898. The actual pension records are only available at the National Archives.

• United States, Veterans Administration, Pension Index Files, Indian Wars, 1892-1926 (Washington, D.C.:Veteran's Administration, 1959) FS Library film 821610-21 Also available online at United States, Index to Indian Wars Pension Files, 1892-1926

Spanish-American War (1898)

The Spanish-American War was largely fought in Cuba and the Philippines. Spanish-American War records might exist in the state from which the soldier served or in a state where the veteran later resided.

Indexes

• 1861-1934 United States, General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; (NARA T288) Free digital copy. The index covers veterans of the Civil War, Spanish‑American War, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer Rebellion (1900 to 1901), and the regular Army, Navy, and Marine forces. (How to use this collection.)

• 1898 United States, Index to Service Records, War with Spain, 1898 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection.; Free digital copy.

Click on the link to learn more about the Spanish American War.

World War I (1917-1918)

World War I was a global war fought on multiple continents with several nations involved. Over four million men and women served from the United States.

Washington State Archives

• World War I Bonus Index, 1921
• World War I Veterans Bonus Application Files, 1921 -1928
• World War I Statement of Service Cards Searchable collection
• World War I: Soldiers Remembered Service Records

FamilySearch Historical Record Collections

• 1917-1918 United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index and images — free

• 1917-1919 United States, YMCA World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index and images

• 1917-1919 United States, World War I American Expeditionary Forces Deaths, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index

• 1921-1925 Washington, World War I Veteran's Compensation Fund Application Records, 1921-1925 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index

Additional Collections

• Louis Jacobin, comp and pub. With the colors, from Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan Counties : an honor roll containing a pictorial record of the gallant and courageous men from northwestern Washington, U.S.A., who served in the world war, 1917-1918-1919.Seattle, Washington : Peters Pub. Co, 1921

• Spokane Goes to War

• Spokane War Committee Record Cards

See WWI Draft Records for more information.

World War II (1941-1945)

On April 27, 1942, the Selective Service conducted the fourth of six draft registrations related to WWII. The "World War II Selective Service Draft Cards: Fourth Registration, 1942" is often referred to as the “Old Man’s Registration” or the “Old Man’s Draft" because it included men with a date of birth from April 28, 1877 to February 16, 1897. Since there is overlap in the WWI and WWII Selective Service registration, men born in the years 1877 to 1900 may have registered twice and have both WWII and WWI draft records.

• 1942 United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (Image Browse) at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Free
• 1942 United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Images with partial index - free

Also available at:

• Ancestry ($)
• Fold3 ($).

World War II United States Military Records provides additional information.

Korean War (1950–1953)

The Korean War was a conflict between North Korea (and its communist allies) and South Korea (with support of the United Nations, primarily the United States). See the Korean War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Vietnam War (1964–1972)

The Vietnam War was a conflict between North Vietnam (and its communist allies) and South Vietnam (with support of its anti-communist allies, including the United States). See the Vietnam War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

National Guard

• Washington, military enlistment records, 1890-1946
• Washington, Army National Guard enlistment records, 1947-1955
• Histories and rosters of soldiers of the Washington Militia and National Guard who served in the Indian Wars of the 1850s to the post-World War II era are in:

• Field, Virgil F. Washington National Guard Pamphlet: The Official History of the Washington National Guard, Seven Volumes. (Tacoma, Washington: Office of the Adjutant General, 1961.) Online version. FS Library film 1321447, items 1–3; book 979.7 M25w
• Washington State National Guard Evergreen Magazine covering activities of the guard from 1971-current.

• Washington National Guard "the Arsenal Museum", Camp Murray

Additional Military Records

• The Washington State Archives has other helpful records, including:

• Records of residents of the State Soldiers Home and State Veterans Home up to the mid-1930s.
• Applications and supporting papers submitted by Washington veterans of World Wars I and II for a state bonus. These often include information about the soldier's residence, occupation, relatives, age, place of birth, and enlistment.
• National Guard Statements of Service cards for guardsmen who participated in World Wars I and II. These cards list the name of the serviceman, last residence, date and place of enlistment, date and place of birth, years of service, military organization attachment, rank, and engagements.

Websites

• Washington State Archives
• National Archives