Scotland Military Records: Difference between revisions

Military records identify individuals who either served or were eligible to serve in the military.  

Before 1707 Scotland had its own military. During that time, people were only called up when needed. They were dismissed when the need was met. Few records were kept during this time.  

In 1707 the governments and militaries of England and Scotland united. Most records from this time forward are housed in the Public Record Office in England. The information contained in the records varies depending on the record, but you will generally find the following information in military records: date of enlistment, date of release, record of service, age, place of birth, residence, spouse, and children.  

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the military had the following branches: army, navy, militia, fencibles, yeomanry, territorial armies, coast guard, and royal marines.  

To find a person’s military record, you must know the regiment or ship on which the person served. You can often find this information in home sources, certificates of births, marriages, and deaths, census records, or other types of records created over the life of your ancestor.  

Military service (other than the militia) was usually a lifetime career. Officers came from the upper classes and soldiers often came from the working class. Compulsory draft was generally not used except in times of greatest need, and people could purchase substitutes if they did not wish to serve.  

The navy sometimes used force to make men serve on their ships. This was called impressment. The navy stopped this practice in 1815 when it became illegal.  

[[Image:21st Foot Royal Scots Fusiliers.jpg|thumb|right|183x326px]]Pre-1872 army records are organized by regiment. Most regiments have published histories which tell the places they served and the battles they fought. A bibliography of these histories is:  

MILITARY - ARMY  

MILITARY - NAVY  

== Militia ==

Militia units were generally raised on a county basis. Each unit kept its own records. Lists of eligible men were compiled, and compulsory draft was used as needed. The decision of who would serve in the militia was usually left up to the individual parishes.  

Some militia records are found with the army records mentioned previously, particularly the records of service of officers and the soldiers’ documents.  

=== Records at the Family History Library ===

Many militia records have been microfilmed and are available at the [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp Family History Library].  

The Family History Library Catalog lists militia records in the Locality Search under:  

GREAT BRITAIN - MILITARY RECORDS  

SCOTLAND - MILITARY RECORDS  

SCOTLAND [COUNTY] - MILITARY RECORDS  

== Other Branches of the Military ==

The following other military branches have separate records:  

*Fencibles were army units raised for home service only. Fencibles were usually classed with the militia, and records are kept with militia records.  

*Yeomanry were volunteer regiments, records of which often do not survive or are not very complete.  

*Territorial armies were forces raised in other countries. Records of these forces are usually in the country where the forces were raised. A notable exception is the Indian Army, for which many records are held at the India Office Library.  

*Coast Guard (1816-1923) and Royal Marines (1790-1914) kept their own records, including pension, description, and other records.

These records are at the Public Record Office, Kew.  

For more information on military records for branches of the service other than navy or regular army, see the military record handbooks listed next.  

Barnes, R. Money. ''The Scottish Regiments: Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, 1625 to the Present Day.'' London, England: Seeley Service, 1956. (Family History Library book [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&callno=941+M25b 941 M25b<span id="fck_dom_range_temp_1234209709008_288" />].)  

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