Oregon Military Records

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U.S. Military Records

Oregon

Military Records

Online Resources

The U.S. Military Records Wiki article provides more information on federal military records and search strategies.

• 1847-1977 Oregon, U.S., State Military Records, 1847-1977 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1857-1963 Oregon, Yamhill County Records, 1857-1963 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1862-1950 Oregon, Baker County Records, 1862-1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1861-1865 Oregon, Civil War Service Records of Union soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1921-1938 Oregon, World War I, Veteran State Aid Applications, 1921-1938 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• Oregon Military Department Records Guide Record Series Descriptions. Records held at the Oregon State Archives.
• Oregon State Archives Enlistment Record Index
• ORGenWeb Oregon Soldiers Killed in the Navy and Army in WWI
• Oregon State Archives World War I Index
• 1917-1940 United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1919-1920 Oregon, World War I, County Military Service Records, 1919-1920 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1919-1967 Oregon, Military Discharge Records, 1919-1967 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• Oregon Volunteers, Spanish American War and Philippine Insurrection ($)
• USGenWeb MIA and POW in the State of Oregon in the Korean Conflict
• Oregon Soldiers Killed in the Korean War
• U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Korean War for Oregon
• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Oregon
• Vietnam Conflict Casualty Lists - Oregon

Many military records are found at the FamilySearch Library, the National Archives and other federal and state archives.

Forts

• Fort Dalles 1850 -1867
• Fort Harney 1867-1889
• Fort Henrietta 1855-1856
• Fort Hoskins 1856-1865
• Fort Klamath -- Textual records of this fort, 1864-1890, 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 Lane 1853-56
• Fort Lee - Also known as Fort Wascopam
• Fort Miner
• Fort Orford 1851-56 -- Textual records of this fort, 1851-1856, 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).
• Camp San Juan Island -- in Washington
• Fort Stevens -- Textual records of this fort, 1865-1922, 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 Umpqua -- 1856 -1862
• Fort Vannoy--1855-1856 Rougue River War
• Fort Vancouver -- in Washington
• Camp Warner -- Textual records of this fort, 1866-1874, 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 -- in Washington
• Fort Yamhill -- 1856 -1866

References

Michno, Gregory, Encyclopedia of Indian Wars : Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850-1890(Mountain Press Publishing CO., Missoula, Montana C. 2003.) ISBN 0-87842-468-7 At various libraries (WorldCat)

Indian Wars (1780s-1890s)

Published rosters of soldiers and a history of the Indian Wars is found in: Frances Fuller Victor, Early Indian Wars of Oregon : compiled from the Oregon archives and other original sources: with muster rolls (Salem: F. C. Baker, state printer, 1904). At various libraries (WorldCat)

Pension files are housed at the Oregon Historical Society, and an index is available on the internet.

Mexican War (1846 to 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; 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 to 1865)

Fort Yamhill (in use 1856-1866), Polk County, Oregon

See Oregon in the Civil War for information about Oregon Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the Oregon 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 Oregon Grand Army of the Republic.

• 1861-1865 Oregon, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Oregon, Civil War Service Record of Union Soldiers - FamilySearch Historical Records

The Spencer Leonard manuscript collection at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon contains names and service information for Civil War veterans who lived in Oregon. Most came from other states.

Civil War Soldiers Buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Portland, Oregon, has biographies of twenty soldiers with citations to both online and onsite sources useful for researching Civil War soldiers.

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.

• A published roster of soldiers that provides name, age, place of birth, occupation, physical description and service is C. U. Gantenbein, The Official Records of the Oregon Volunteers in the Spanish War and Philippine Insurrection, 2nd ed. (Salem, Oregon: J.R. Whitney, 1903) (Google Books); FS Library fiche 6051175

• There are two databases that contain records extracted from this book on Ancestry.com.

• Oregon Volunteers, Spanish American War and Philippine Insurrection (Ancestry) ($)
• The official records of the Oregon volunteers in the Spanish War and Philippine Insurrection (Ancestry) ($)

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

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

Philippine Insurrection (1898–1902)

• A published roster of soldiers that provides name, age, place of birth, occupation, physical description and service is C. U. Gantenbein, The Official Records of the Oregon Volunteers in the Spanish War and Philippine Insurrection, 2nd ed. (Salem, Oregon: J.R. Whitney, 1903) FS Library fiche6051175 Google Books

• There are two databases that contain records extracted from this book on Ancestry.com.

• Oregon Volunteers, Spanish American War and Philippine Insurrection (Ancestry) ($)
• The official records of the Oregon volunteers in the Spanish War and Philippine Insurrection (Ancestry) ($)

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.

FamilySearch Catalog

• Oregon combined military service records index, 1852-1954 - Indexes National Guard personnel index, 1897-1919 -- Statement of service cards, 1917-1919, 1941-1945 -- Citation cards, 1898-1924 -- Died and wounded in service cards, 1917-1919, 1941-1945, 1951-1954 -- Victory Medal application cards, 1918-1919
• World War I veterans who were residents of Oregon FS Library 4 rolls WWI starts on item 2 of the first roll see image 3765 of Film 008735856

FamilySearch Historical Records

• 1917-1918 United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

World War I draft registration cards for men ages 18 to 45 may list address, birth date, birthplace, race, nationality, citizenship, and next of kin. Not all registrants served in the war.

Microfilm records of registration cards for Oregon are located at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon. They have created an index, which is available on their website.

WARNING: Be aware that when the original cards were microfilmed, a section for Portland were omitted. Repositories holding the microfilmed copies do not have these records. The original cards are housed at the National Archives Southeast Region (Atlanta), Morrow, Georgia, and photocopied records of the missing section are available at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon, in Portland.

• 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

• 1921-1938 Oregon, World War I, Veteran State Aid Applications, 1921-1938 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

• 1919-1920 Oregon, World War I, County Military Service Records, 1919-1920 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

United States World War I Draft Records provides additional information.

Additional Sources

• William Stevens Prince, Crusade & Pilgrimage: A Soldier's Death, a Mother's Journey, and a Grandson's Quest Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press, 1986.

World War II (1941-1945)

• Oregon combined military service records index, 1852-1954 - Indexes National Guard personnel index, 1897-1919 -- Statement of service cards, 1917-1919, 1941-1945 -- Citation cards, 1898-1924 -- Died and wounded in service cards, 1917-1919, 1941-1945, 1951-1954 -- Victory Medal application cards, 1918-1919

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

Also available at:

• Ancestry ($)
• Fold3 ($).

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.

• Oregon combined military service records index, 1852-1954 - Indexes National Guard personnel index, 1897-1919 -- Statement of service cards, 1917-1919, 1941-1945 -- Citation cards, 1898-1924 -- Died and wounded in service cards, 1917-1919, 1941-1945, 1951-1954 -- Victory Medal application cards, 1918-1919

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

• Oregon, Military Museum, Clackamus
• Oregon military enlistment and service records, 1887-1924; index, 1848-1928, 1887-1924
• Oregon combined military service record index, 1852-1954 Includes Muster roll Cards,1852-1865; National Guard Personnel Cards,1897-1919; Statement of Service Cards, 1917-1919;1941-1945; Citation cards, 1898-1924; Died and wounded in service cards, 1917-1919, 1941-1945, 1951-1954; Victory Medal application cards, 1918-1919.
• Register of the commissioned officers of the Oregon National Guard, Feb. 1, 1929.Salem, Or : Headquarters Oregon Nat'l Guard Adjutant-General's Office, 1929

Additional Records

The Oregon State Archives has the following:

• Early service records from the Indian Wars
• National Guard records through 1920
• Records of the Roseburg State Soldiers' Home
• An index to World War I veterans
• World War I files from the State Historian of the Defense Council (biographical questionnaires)
• Records of the state bonuses and loan applications of World War I veterans

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.