Massachusetts Military Records

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Military Records

United States Military Online Genealogy Records

Online Resources

U.S. Military Online Genealogy Records provides more links for nationwide military record collections.

• 1560-1970 Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts Membership Applications, 1560-1970 at American Ancestors - index & images ($)
• 1620-1775 Colonial Soldiers and Officers in New England, 1620-1775 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)
• 1675-1676 Men and Officers who served in King Philips War at Bigelow Society - index
• 1676 King Philips War at Rootsweb - index
• 1700s-1899 Regiments and armories of Massachusetts: an historical narration of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, Vols. 1-2 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• Records of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1765-1790 Divided Hearts, Massachusetts Loyalists, 1765-1790 at American Ancestors - index ($)
• Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War (Images Online) at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1775-1783 United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1775-1783 United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1775-1783 United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1775-1783 Massachusetts, Revolutionary War, Index Cards to Muster Rolls, 1775-1783 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Massachusetts Military Company History, Vol. 4, index
• 1783-various dates Massachusetts: Society of the Cincinnati at American Ancestors - index ($)
• 1805 1845 Massachusetts Revolutionary War Bounty Land Applications 1805 1845 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1837-1965 Maine & Massachusetts Case Files of Deceased and Deserted Seamen 1837-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1861-1865 Massachusetts Army and Navy, 1861-1865 at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1861-1865 Massachusetts in the Army and Navy during the War of 1861-1865 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1861-1865 Record of the Massachusetts volunteers, 1861-1865 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• Massachusetts Civil War Soldiers Service Records at National Park Service - index
• Massachusetts soldiers, sailors, and marines in the Civil War at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1863-1865 Annual report of the Adjutant General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1863-1865 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1863-1865 U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records for Massachusetts, 1863-1865 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1898-1899 Massachusetts Spanish American War Records at Ancestry - index ($)
• 1917-1918 U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards for Massachusetts, 1917-1918 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1917-1940 United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1941-1945 United States, Massachusetts: Index Of Casualties, World War II at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1942 U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards for Massachusetts, 1942 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1950-1953 Massachusetts Resident's Casualties in the Korean War at Distant Cousin (archived version) - index
• 1950-1953 U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Korean War for Massachusetts at Archives.gov - index
• 1955-1975 Massachusetts Residents' Casualties in the Vietnam War at Distant Cousin (archived version) - index
• 1955-1975 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Massachusetts at VietVet.org - index
• Massachusetts: List of Pensioners at American Ancestors - index & images ($)
• Massachusetts, U.S., Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Forts

• Fort Adams 1798-
• Fort Charters
• Fort Independence 1798-1879
• Fort Roselie,
• Fort Tombeckbe

Colonial Wars (1620–1763)

Numerous records of colonial wars have been published. The FamilySearch Library has copies of most of them, including:

Minute Man Statue, Lexington, Massachusetts

• Doreski, Carole. Massachusetts Officers and Soldiers in the Seventeenth Century Conflicts. Boston, Massachusetts: The Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts and the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1982.FS Catalog book 974.4 M24d
• Bodge, George M. Soldiers in King Philip's War. Baltimore, Maryland.: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1991. FS Catalog book 974 M2b A concise history of the Indian Wars of New England from 1620 to 1677. Contains lists of soldiers, stories of battles, copies of ancient documents relating to the King Philip's War, 1620–1677.
• George W. Ellis and John E. Morris, King Philip's War : based on the archives and records of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Rhode Island and Connecticut, and contemporary letters and accounts, with biographical and topographical notes New York, New York : Grafton Press, 1906
• MacKay, Robert E. Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the French and Indian Wars, 1744–1755. Boston, Massachusetts: Society of Colonial Wars, 1978. FS Catalog book 974.4 M2mc Gives in-depth information about the years of turmoil among the French, Indians, and Colonists. It includes details about forming the militia force to combat the unrest.

Societies:

• "Register of the Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1893-1917" (Google Books) (Worldcat) - lists women who are members of the society and a description of the ancestors military or political service.

Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill

Revolutionary War (1775-1783)

A man born between 1730 and 1765 who lived in Massachusetts is probably listed in some form of military record. If he supported the rebellion, he may be mentioned in records as a rebel, patriot, or Whig. Those who opposed the rebellion were Loyalists or Tories. For detailed records of the Revolutionary War, see:

• 1775-1783 Massachusetts, Revolutionary War, Index Cards to Muster Rolls, 1775-1783 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1767-1808 Muster/payrolls, and various papers (1763-1808) of the Revolutionary War Massachusetts and Rhode Island
• 1799-1807 Massachusetts: Revolutionary War Pensioners' Receipts, 1799-1807 at American Ancestors - index & images ($)
• 1827-1836 Massachusetts: Revolutionary War Pensioners' Receipts, 1827-1836 at American Ancestors - index & images ($)
• Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. 17 Volumes. Boston, Massachusetts: Wright and Potter Printing, 1896-1908. FS Catalog book 974.4 M23m; films 238343-59 and FS Library fiche 6046890 Lists soldier's name, commander's name, county of enlistment, service dates, unit, age, and stature.
• White, Virgil D. Genealogical Abstracts of the Revolutionary War Pension Files. Four Volumes. Waynesboro, Tennessee: National Historical Publishing, 1990. FS Catalog book 973 M28g Includes names, dates, places, battles fought, and some personal and family information.
• Selected Records from Revolutionary War Pension & Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1969. FS Library films 840256-406
• Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1969. FS Library films 970001-2670 80,000 complete pension files alphabetical by surname.
• Index to Revolutionary War Service Records. Four Volumes. Waynesboro, Tennessee: National Historical Publishing, 1995. FS Catalog book 973 M22wv Shows the name, rank, and unit of over 390,000 patriots.
• Transcripts of: United States. Adjutant General's Office. General Index to Compiled Military Service Records of Revolutionary Ward Soldiers. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1942. FS Library films 882841-98 The service records and pension files for Revolutionary War patriots are available at the FamilySearch Library. For more information, see United States Military Records. You can also use NATF Form 80 to obtain copies of the same records from the National Archives for a fee.
• The Loyalists of Massachusetts and the other side of the American Revolution. 1910. By James Henry Stark. Boston. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive.
• 1805-1845 Massachusetts Revolutionary War Bounty Land Applications 1805-1845 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

The 1813 Pension List:

• 1813 Pension List (New Horizons Genealogy)

The 1818 Pensioners of the United States:

• 1818 Pensioners of the United States (New Horizons Genealogy)

The 1820 Pension List:

• 1820 Pension List (New Horizons Genealogy)

The 1835 Pension Roll

On June 5, 1834, the U.S. Senate required the Secretary of War to submit a statement showing the names of pensioners who were on the pension rolls or had previously been on the pension rolls. For more information on the 1835 Pension Roll see Revolutionary War Pension Records. The 1835 Pension Roll of Massachusetts, which includes Revolutionary War soldiers and heirs of War of 1812 casualties, is available online.

• Report from the Secretary of War... Vol. I (Google Books)
• The Pension Roll of 1835, Vol. I (Ancestry) ($)

Revolutionary War Supporters

'"Honor Roll of Massachusetts Patriots Heretofore Unknown: Being a List of Men and Women Who Loaned Money to the Federal Government During the Years 1777-1779" by Bell Merrill Draper (Boston, Mass.: Massachusetts Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1899)

• Honor Roll of Massachusetts Patriots Heretofore Unknown... (Google Books)
• Honor Roll of Massachusetts Patriots Heretofore Unknown... (American Wars)
• Honor Roll of Massachusetts Patriots Heretofore Unknown... (Genealogycenter.info)

Additional Sources

Boston Tea Party

• Massachusetts Historical Society - The Coming of the American Revolution 1764-1776 - The Boston Tea Party
• Participants in the Boston Tea Party - December 16, 1773
• Francis S. Drake. Tea Leaves : being a Collection of Letters and Documents Relating to the Shipment of Tea to the American Colonies in 1773 Boston, Massachusetts, 1884
• B.B. Thatcher, Traits of the tea party : being a memoir of George R.T. Hewes, one of the last of its survivors : with a history of that transaction, reminiscences of the massacre, and the siege, and other stories of old times Harper & Brothers, 1835
• Caleb A. Wall The historic Boston tea party of December 16, 1773 : its men and objects: incidents leading to, accompanying, and following the throwing overboard of the tea; including a short account of the Boston massacre of March 5, 1770; with patriotic lessons therefrom adapted to the present time Worcester, Massachusetts : F.S. Blanchard, 1896

Lexington and Concord

• The journals of each Provincial congress of Massachusetts in 1774 and 1775 : and of the Committee of safety, with an appendix, containing the proceedings of the county conventions-narratives of the events of the nineteenth of April, 1775-papers relating to Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and other documents, illustrative of the early history of the American revolution.Boston, Massachusetts : Dutton and Wentworth, 1838
• George E. Ellis, Celebration of the centennial anniversary of the evacuation of Boston by the British Army, March 17th, 1776 : reception of the Washington Medal : oration delivered in Music Hall, and a chronicle of the siege of Boston Boston, [Massachusetts : Boston City Council, 1876]

War of 1812 (1812-1815)

The War of 1812 between Britain and the United States confirmed the separate existence of the United States and the future Canada.

See the Wiki article, Massachusetts in the War of 1812, for information concerning military records, histories, links to relevant web sites, etc. for Massachusetts.

There are helpful nationwide records for soldiers of the War of 1812. For more information, see United States in the War of 1812. For international aspects of the war, see War of 1812.

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.

• Fred W. Cross. Historical sketch of the First Regiment of Massachusetts Infantry in the Mexican War, 1847-1848. Manuscript, 1920

• 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; index & images

• 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 (1861–1865)

Clara Barton, The Angel of the Battlefield, nurse during the American Civil War

See Massachusetts in the Civil War for information about Massachusetts Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the Massachusetts 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 the families of the soldiers.

• See also Massachusetts. Adjutant General's Office. Descriptive lists of recruits for Massachusetts volunteers, 1863-1864

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.

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; index & images

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; index & images

• Harry E. Webber, comp. "Twelve Months with the Eighth Massachusetts Infantry in the Service of the United States". Salem, MA. Newcomb and Gauss, Printers, 1908. (Google Books) (Ancestry)-($)

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.

• Eden Putnam, comp. and ed. "Report of the Commission on Massachusetts' Part in the World War. 2 volumes. Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1931. FS Library 974.4 M2pe

• Report of the Commission on Massachusetts' Part in the World War, volume I
• Report of the Commission on Massachusetts' Part in the World War, volume II: the Gold Star Record

• United States. Selective Service System. Massachusetts, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1987–1988. FS Library film 1684875 (first of 162 films)
• 1917-1918 United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1917-1919 United States, YMCA World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1917-1919 United States, World War I American Expeditionary Forces Deaths, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• Report of the special commission appointed to identify the graves of the men and women of Massachusetts who gave their country in France and in other foreign countries during the World War.
• Further report of the special commission appointed to identify the graves of the men and women in Massachusetts who gave their lives for their country in France and elsewhere during the world war. March, 1922

See WWI Draft Records for more information.

The State of Massachusetts, during World War I, operated an information service for the families of those who were in the various branches of the armed forces. These records are:

• Casualties from Massachusetts in World War I, 1918, Enlistments, Enrollments, Medical Examinations, Detachments. FS Library film 1544205 (first of 15 films).

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 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1942 United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

Also available at:

• Ancestry ($)
• Fold3 ($).

Naturalization

• United States District Court, Massachusetts, Overseas military naturalization petitions, 1943-1945

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.

Militia - National Guard

• Massachusetts military records 1817-1915 Originals in the National Guard Supply Depot in Natick, Massachusetts.
• Massachusetts Adjutant General's Office. Military records, 1861-1917
• Massachusetts Adjutant General's Office records
• Annual report of the Adjutant-General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts - 1917
• Annual report of the Adjutant-General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts - 1919

Websites

• You can search several military databases at Fold3 ($)
• Daughters of the American Revolution
• Sons of the American Revolution
• American Wars
• New Horizons Genealogy
• My Massachusetts Genealogy
• Massachusetts Military Records
• Massachusetts Genealogy--Military Records

Further Research

Military muster rolls and other records are at the Massachusetts State Archives and the Adjutant General's Office.

• Massachusetts Infantry. Enlistments, Enrollments, Medical Examinations, Detachments, Oaths, Rosters, Election Returns, Discharges, Desertions, Resignations, etc. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988–1991. (On 38 FS Library films.) Microfilm of the original in the National Guard Supply Depot in Natick, Massachusetts, Telephone: (508) 875–0678. The films include detailed records of Massachusetts volunteers, militia and regular army. Records are available for enrollments, enlistments, muster rolls, medical records, discharges, casualties, hospital lists, and deaths. The records include those of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, Spanish-American War, Philippine Insurrection in 1899, the 1916 war with Mexico, and World War I. Information is indexed by state, military division, and medical facility.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.