Military Records from the Revolution to World War II
Service records, pension files, draft cards and bounty land: which records exist for each war, what they contain, and where to find them.
Military Records
Service records, pensions, bounty land and draft cards from the colonial wars to the 20th century.
Researching Enslaved Ancestors Before 1870
How to work past the 1870 census, identify a likely enslaver, and find enslaved people named in probate, tax, Freedmen's Bureau and military records.
World War I and II Draft Registration Cards
Nearly every American man born between about 1872 and 1900 filled out a WWI draft card, and millions more registered for WWII. What the cards say, who is in them, and how to find them free.
Civil War Ancestors: Union and Confederate Service and Pension Records
More than three million men served in the Civil War. How to find out whether your ancestor served, and how to find his service records, pension file and the stories of his regiment.
Revolutionary War Ancestors and Lineage Societies (DAR, SAR and Mayflower)
How to find a Revolutionary War patriot in your tree, the records that prove his service, and how to document your line for the DAR, SAR, Mayflower Society and other lineage societies.
Find the records
Websites and archives for this topic are in our Resource Directory under Military Records.
Other topics
Getting Started 21Census Records 16Birth, Marriage & Death Records 15Church Records 12Cemeteries & Burials 2Newspapers & Obituaries 3Land & Property Records 7Wills, Probate & Court Records 13Tax Records 3Military Records 5Immigration & Naturalization 12DNA & Genetic Genealogy 9Libraries & Archives 8Research in the Old Country 10African American Research 2Research Methods & Evidence 31Brick Walls 11Organizing Your Research 7Online Sites & Family Trees 11