Utah Military Records: Difference between revisions

Military records identify thousands of individuals who served or who were eligible for service. Evidence that an individual actually served may be found in family traditions, census records, naturalization records, biographies, cemetery records, and records of veterans’ organizations. Your ancestors will be more interesting if you learn about their military service and the history of their units. Military records can also give birth dates, marriage dates, death dates, spouse's and children’s names, and localities of residence throughout the life of the family.  

<br>[[Image:150px-Pioneer Village Blacksmith.jpg|thumb|right|240x200px|150px-Pioneer Village Blacksmith.jpg]]  

The forts were built as protection from the Indians, then as a place to house the troops sent to put down the rebellion of the Mormons. These forts and camps are listed in alphabetical order by place, disregarding the words "fort" or "camp".<ref name="Encyclopedia">Michno, Gregory F., ''Encyclopedia of Indian Wars Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850-1890. '' Mountain Press Publishing Co.: Missoula, Montana. c2003. {{WorldCat|52216115|disp=At various libraries (World Cat)}}; {{FHL|1210984|item|disp=FHL book 970.1 M583e}}; ISBN 0-87842-468-7</ref>  

*[http://history.utah.gov/apps/markers/detailed_results.php?markerid=2166 Union Fort] — A small fortification was built in the Salt Lake Valley by local settlers in 1853-1854. Only a marker remains to identify the site.

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. <br>  

Click on these links to learn more about the [[Mexican War, 1846 to 1848|Mexican War]] and about [[US Mexican War Pension Records|Mexican War pension records]].  

The Constitution of the Provisional State of Deseret officially created the Utah Militia in 1849 to protect the settlers. The Constitution required all men between the ages of 18 and 45 to participate. Organizations for boys ages 14 to 17 and men ages 45 to 75 also existed. The federal government took control of the militia in 1887 with the passage of the Edmunds-Tucker Act.  

*Gardner, Hamilton. ''Pioneer Military Leaders of Utah''. Typescript, 1952. (University of Utah, Marriott Library, Ms 57.) This is a military history of Utah from 1847 to 1898, focusing on the activities of the Territorial Militia. A register is available.

Although Native American and pioneer relations were generally peaceful, there were a few conflicts, including:  

[[Utah, Indian War Service Affidavits (FamilySearch Historical Records)|Utah, Indian War Service Affidavits (FamilySearch Historical Records)]]  

The Utah War began when President James Buchanan appointed a governor to replace the Latter-day Saint leader Brigham Young. He ordered several thousand United States troops to the Utah Territory in 1857 to enforce the appointment and repel an alleged Mormon rebellion. The Army arrived in 1858 but the conflict was settled peacefully. The army built Camp Floyd southwest of Salt Lake City. Soldiers remained there until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.  

*Moorman, Donald R. ''Camp Floyd and the Mormons, the Utah War''. Utah Centennial Series, Volume 7. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, 1992. (Family History&nbsp;Library&nbsp;{{FHL|543795|title-id|disp=book 979.2 M2mo}}.) This history of the Utah War includes a name and subject index and a bibliography.

[[Image:{{General_P_E_Connor}}]] See [[Utah in the Civil War|Utah in the Civil War]] for information about Utah Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the Utah regiments involved in the Civil War.  

FamilySearch Catalog list records of the [https://familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&keyword=Utah+Grand+Army+of+the+Republic&prekeyword=Utah+Grand+Army+of+the+Republic Utah Grand Army of the Republic].  

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.  

Click on the link to learn more about the [[Spanish-American War, 1898|Spanish American War]].  

Utah units fought in the Philippines and also served in Florida, San Francisco, and Hawaii.  

In 1916 the United States had trouble&nbsp;along the United States-Mexico border. The Utah National Guard served with other state units on the Border from March 1916 to February 1917.  

The pension index for soldiers from this campaign is found with the federal pension indexes. See [[United States Military Records|U.S. Military Records]] for further information.  

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. More than 24,000 men from Utah served in World War I.  

See [[United States World War I Draft Records|WWI Draft Records]] for more information.  

More than 65,000 Utah men and women served in the armed forces during this World War II. They are included in an alphabetical card index that lists date and place of birth, name and address of next of kin, marital status, name and address of spouse, and military history for each individual.  

[[World War II United States Military Records, 1941 to 1945|World War II United States Military Records]] provides additional information.  

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 [[United States Korean War 1950 to 1953|Korean War ]] wiki article for information on records and their availability.  

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 [[United States Vietnam War 1964 to 1972|Vietnam War]] wiki article for information on records and their availability.  

For information about veteran burials in Utah, see the "Veteran Burial Records" portion of the [[Utah Cemeteries]] Wiki article.