Free Access to Military Records

As you research your family's history online, free access to military records can help you fill in some of the blanks. Learn how and where to find free military records on the Internet.

About Military Records

For genealogists, military records can consist of any document related to the service record of individuals in the family. These records can be private or public, and they often provide a glimpse at the circumstances surrounding the daily life of military families at various points in history.

Public military records might include the following:

Muster rolls
Petitions
Casualty lists
Pension records
Pay vouchers
Draft registrations
Bounty land records

Private military records can include some of the following documents:

Letters to wives and families
Photographs
Journals
Songs and poetry
Personal remembrances

Where to Find Free Access to Military Records

The Internet has revolutionized the way people conduct genealogy research, and military records are no exception. If you know where to look, you can find your ancestors in military records without ever paying a dime. There are many websites offering one or two free military record databases, but there are a few sites that offer a great variety of records. Unless you are looking for something really obscure, you'll most likely be able to find the information you need at one of these super-sites.

National Archives and Records Administration

For most public military records, the National Archives and Records Administration is your best source. With hundreds of thousands of documents relating to military service, the National Archives is the ultimate resource for free information about your ancestors in the armed forces. You may be able to find compiled military records, which are groups of records pertaining to a specific individual. You could also find bounty land records and regular army records for enlisted men prior to 1894.

For military records between the Revolutionary War and 1912, you can search at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. The National Military Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri houses the military records from World War I until present day. Both facilities keep records in microfilm, and you may be able to search these records at one of the 33 regional locations of the National Archives.

The Olive Tree Genealogy

One of the most respected genealogy sites on the Internet, the Olive Tree Genealogy has lots of information about researching your military ancestors. While the Olive Tree Genealogy doesn't have as many free military records as the National Archives, they do make it easier to access the information. They also have records from before the Revolutionary War.Here are a few of the types of records you'll find at this site:

French-Indian War records
American Revolutionary War records
Records from the War of 1812
Records from the Seminole Wars
Civil War records

Rootsweb

For a very simple military records search, try Rootsweb.com. Over 110,000 records are contained in this database, and you can search using an individual's surname and the war in which he or she served.

Final Words

Free access to military records is one of the many benefits of Internet genealogy research; however, with so many records available, the process can be somewhat time consuming. To get the most information for your time, try to narrow down the information about your ancestor. If you know the individual's birth and death dates and the period of service, you'll have better luck finding the military records you need.