Virginia Military Records: Difference between revisions

[[Image:800px-Surrender of Lord Cornwallis.jpg|thumb|right|304x200px]] __TOC__  

*Post at Fredericksburg -- Textual records of this fort, 1866-1869, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in [http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/393.html Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920], under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).  

*[http://www.hikercentral.com/parks/fowa/ Fort Washington]

Complete military records do not exist for Virginia before the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Most of those that survive have been gathered and published in the following books:  

*''Virginia Military Records: From the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the William and Mary College Quarterly, and Tyler's Quarterly''. (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1983.) {{FHL|306495|item|disp=FHL book 975.5 M2vm}} This contains reprints and an index of articles originally printed in periodicals. Most of the articles deal with the colonial and revolutionary periods. May show the soldier's residence, enlistment, unit, pension application, and declaration.

For a list of known participants, see:  

*Johnston, Hugh Buckner and Ransom McBride. "Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia and Its Sufferers, 1676-1677," ''The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal,'' Vol. 9, No. 1 (Feb. 1983):2-13. {{FHL|41760|item|disp=FHL Book 975.6 B2s v. 9}}.

There were many skirmishes with Indians in frontier regions of Virginia. In 1621, the Indians massacred many European settlers.  

**1915 edition online at [http://archive.org/details/chronborderwarfa00withrich Internet Archive] - free; {{FHL|216614|item|disp=FHL Film 1033633 Item 2}}.

For a detailed guide to Virginia military organization, see: [[Virginia in the Revolutionary War|Virginia in the Revolutionary War]].  

*Sanchez-Saavedra, E.M. ''A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations in the American Revolution, 1774-1787''. (Richmond, Va.: Virginia State Library, 1978.) {{FHL|79781|item|disp=FHL Book 975.5 M2s}}.<br>

While there are several published sources on Virginia in the Revolutionary War, there is no comprehensive list of all Revolutionary veterans. The following are two major indexes that identify individuals listed in numerous records:  

*Douthat, James L. ''Virginia Soldiers in Northwest Territory - 1777''. Signal Mountain, Tenn.:&nbsp;Mountain Press. '''Free online surname index''' and purchase details at [http://www.mountainpress.com/books/va/details/va-0704w.html Mountain Press] website.

Virginia soldiers may have received a pension from the state or federal government. Pension records of Virginians may be found in the following:  

*''Revolutionary War Pensions and Index (Virginia''). {{FHL|414074|item|disp=FHL Film 29866}} A published index is Virginia Revolutionary War State Pensions (1980; Reprint, Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1982) {{FHL|85580|item|disp=FHL Book 975.5 M2v}} This abstracts the information found in the pension files of about 600 soldiers who received pensions from the state.

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 and Bounty Land Warrants|Revolutionary War Pension Records]].  

*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=48123 The Pension Roll of 1835, Vol. III] (Ancestry) ($)

*{{FHL|48464|item|disp=FHL Films 1024434-42}} These records relate only to officers from Virginia. They help identify names that might appear in other military records.

Shortly after the war, many Virginia families migrated to lands that are now in Kentucky and Ohio to claim military bounty land. Under various laws, veterans or their heirs could apply to Virginia or to the federal government for a warrant to receive bounty land. Those who served in the Virginia state line or in the continental line could apply.  

(For land in Kentucky and the Virginia Military District in Ohio). The Virginia Land Office first issued warrants for land that is now in Kentucky. After 1792, when no more land was available in Kentucky, the Virginia Land Office issued warrants for land in the Virginia Military District of Ohio. This area in Ohio had been reserved for Virginia veterans when Virginia ceded all other claims in the Northwest Territory to the federal government.  

*[[Revolutionary War Pension Records and Bounty Land Warrants#U.S._Military_District_Bounty_Land_Warrants|Bounty Land Warrants for the U.S. Military District of Ohio]] (for land in the United States Military District of Ohio and the Virginia Military District of Ohio). Two indexes are on {{FHL|267780|item|disp=FHL film 1025141.}} Applications to the federal government for bounty land are interfiled with the pension application files described above (also see [[Revolutionary War Pension Records and Bounty Land Warrants#Pension_and_Bounty_Land_Warrant_Applications|Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files]]). Those who received warrants for bounty land from the federal government could claim land in the Military Districts of Ohio and later in other areas of the public domain.

The individual who received a warrant may have claimed the land himself or may have sold his warrant to someone else. See [[United States Land and Property]] and [[United States Military Records]] for more information about the process of obtaining a land grant.  

Those who surrendered their warrants for land in what is now Kentucky are listed in Virginia Grants, 1782-1792 {{FHL|241747|title-id|disp=FHL films 272809-17.}} The original grants are at the Kentucky Land Office in Frankfort, Kentucky.  

Copies of the warrants are found in ''Military Warrants, 1782-1788 ''{{FHL|439115|item|disp=FHL films 272979-80}}). The original records are at the Kentucky Land Office in Frankfort, Kentucky. These are indexed by Willard Rouse Jillson, ''Old Kentucky Entries and Deeds: A Complete Index to All of the Earliest Land Entries, Military Warrants'' . . . (1926; reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1969){{FHL|489197|item|disp=FHL fiche 6051260; book 976.9 R22j.}}  

An estimated 64 percent of Virginia's bounty land claims were granted in the Virginia Military District of Ohio. The Ohio Land Grant Office (c/o Auditor of State, 88 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215) has some records of these land grants.  

The surrendered warrants and related papers were sent to the General Land Office in Washington, DC, and are now at the National Archives in Warrants Surrendered for Land in the Virginia Military District of Ohio. The National Archives also has an alphabetical index, numerical register, and survey register that can help you find a warrant in this collection. These records are not on microfilm or at the Family History Library.  

The records of these land grants are described in [[United States Land and Property]].  

Those who served in the Virginia state or continental line may be listed in Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War {{FHL|484382|item|disp=FHL films 1485281(first of 1,097)}} and in ''General Index to Compiled Military Service Records of Revolutionary War Soldiers'' {{FHL|484382|item|disp=FHL films 882841(first of 58)}} This is at the National Archives and the Family History Library. May provide the soldier's or sailor's unit which can help to find pension records but does not give information about other members of the soldier's family.  

The Library of Virginia also has various pay records, militia records, court martial records, appointments of officers, petitions, and other helpful sources.  

The Muster Roll Project, sponsored by the Valley Forge Legacy, has reconstructed muster rolls for the 1st-15th Virginia Regiments and the 1st-2nd Virginia State. Their collection is available for free [http://valleyforgemusterroll.org/muster.asp online].  

*''Revolutionary War Public Service Claims, Commissioners Books, 1783.'' Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1954. {{FHL|412767|item|disp=FHL films 029819-20}} The index to both sets of films is on {{FHL|414149|item|disp=FHL films 029813-18}}. The original records are at the Library of Virginia.

For a list of white loyalists in Williamsburg during the Revolution, see:  

*Kelly, Kevin P. "The White Loyalists of Williamsburg," ''The Colonial Williamsburg Interpreter'', Vol. 17, No. 2 (1996). Digital version at [http://research.history.org/Historical_Research/Research_Themes/ThemeRevolution/Loyalist.cfm Colonial Williamsburg].

*Eckenrode, H.J. ''The Revolution in Virginia''. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916. Digital version at [http://books.google.com/books?id=LGudpBTpRb4C Google Books].  

*Selby, John E. ''The Revolution in Virginia, 1775-1783''. Williamsburg, Va., 1988.

The War of 1812 between Britain and the United States confirmed the separate existence of the United States and the future Canada.<br><br>See the Wiki article, [[Virginia in the War of 1812|Virginia in the War of 1812]], for information concerning military records, histories, links to relevant web sites, etc. for Virginia.<br>  

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]]. <br>  

[[Image:{{AppomattoxCentennialStamp}}]]  

*The [http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/ Civil War Soldiers and Sailors&nbsp;System] allows name searching for soldiers. The result set gives the regiment for&nbsp;each soldiers.&nbsp;Then you can check the regiment page to determine counties.&nbsp; Often&nbsp;knowing the counties that&nbsp;had men in a regiment&nbsp;will help you determine if a&nbsp;soldier was your ancestor. <br>

The Southern Branch National Military Home in Hampton and the Virginia Confederate Soldiers' Home (a.k.a. Lee Camp Soldiers' Home) in Richmond serviced many military veterans between the 1870s and 1940s. [[US Military Old Soldiers Home Records|US Military Old Soldiers Home Records]] identifies various types of records created concerning folks admitted to these homes.  

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]].  

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.  

*[http://net.lib.byu.edu/~rdh7/wwi/links.html WWI Sites]

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.  

[[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.  

*[http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/mil/index.htm Library of Virginia]