Oklahoma Military Records

The U.S. Military Records Research Outline (34118) provides more information on federal military records and search strategies. Many military records are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal and state archives. The United States Research Outline provides more information about the federal records. For Oklahoma, the following sources are also very helpful.

Civil War (1861-1865)

Two useful books concerning Union soldiers buried in Oklahoma are:

Talkington, N. Dale. The Long Blue Line: Civil War Union Soldiers and Sailors Buried in Oklahoma. Houston, Texas: N. D. Talkington, 1999. (FHL book 976.6 V3tn; fiche 6,003,026.)

Talkington, N. Dale and Deone K. Pearcy. Tributes of Blue: Obituaries of Civil War Union Soldiers and Sailors Buried in Oklahoma. Tehachapi, California: T. P. Productions, 1996. (FHL book 976.6 V4t; film 2,055,188, item 1.)

Pension records for Confederate veterans living in Oklahoma are at the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, State Archives Division. The Family History Library has a copy of these records, arranged by application numbers (FHL films 1,001,530-48; index on film 1,001,529). A published index is:

Index to Applications for Pensions From the State of Oklahoma Submitted by Confederate Soldiers, Sailors and their Widows. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Genealogical Society, 1969. (FHL book 976.6 M24o; fiche 6,046,932.)

Confederate Army casualty lists for battles in Indian Territory are on the last portion of FHL film 1,025,138.

A special census was taken in 1890 of Union veterans of the Civil War (FHL film 338,235). Several indexes to the returns have been published and are at the Family History Library.

For information on Indians who served on the side of the Confederacy, see:

Foreman, Grant. History of the Service and List of Individuals of the Five Civilized Tribes in the Confederate Army. 2 vols. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Historical Society, 1948. (not at FHL.)

Spanish-American War (1898)

A history of Oklahoma's participation in the war is John Alley, “Oklahoma in the Spanish-American War,” in Chronicles of Oklahoma 20 (Mar 1942): 43-50 (see the “Periodicals” section of this outline). This includes brief sketches of some soldiers and a casualty list for battles in Cuba.

World Wars I (1917-1918)
and II (1941-1945)

A published roster of soldiers who died in World War I is in W.M. Haulsee, et al, Soldiers of the Great War, 3 vols. Washington, D.C.: Soldiers Record Publishing Association, 1920. (FHL book 973 M23s; fiche 6,051,244.)

World War I draft registration cards for men age 18 to 45 may list address, birth date, birthplace, race, nationality, citizenship, and next of kin. Not all registrants served in the war. The Oklahoma records are indexed, with digital images, on the Internet site www.ancestry.com. For registration cards for Oklahoma see also:

• United States. Selective Service System.
• Oklahoma, World War I Selective Service
• System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.
• National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1987-1988. (On FHL films beginning with film number 1,851,604.)

Biographical sketches of soldiers who died during World War II have been published in Chronicles of Oklahoma, volumes 21-27 (see the “Periodicals” section of this outline).

Additional biographical sketches of soldiers from Oklahoma are in volume 2 of A History of the Second World War: A Remembrance, An Appreciation, A Memorial. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Victory Publishing Co., 1946. (FHL book 973 H2sw; vol. 1 on film 1,035,575 item 7; vol. 2 on film 1,035,603 item 5.)

Additional Military Sources

For further background information on Oklahoma's military history see:

Daugherty, Fred A. and Pendleton Woods. “Oklahoma's Military Tradition.” Chronicles of Oklahoma 57 (Winter, 1979-80): 427-45. (FHL book 976.6 B2c.)

Faulk, Odie B., Kenny A. Franks, and Paul F. Lambert, eds. Early Military Forts and Posts in Oklahoma. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Historical Society, 1978. (FHL book 976.6 M2e; fiche 6,088,102.)

 Web Sites

http://www.rootsweb.com/~okgenweb/resource/military.htm

http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~xander/oklahoma-records.htm

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)