In my last post, I talked about the Sea Fencibles, a unique fighting unit from the War of 1812.  I thought it would be interesting to continue that trend, moving on this time to introduce the Regiment of U.S. Voltigeurs and Foot Riflemen from the Mexican War.  Voltigeurs, you may ask?!?  What in the world [...]

Today, guest blogger Theresa Fitzgerald from the National Archives at St. Louis has written a special NARA Coast-to-Coast post sharing some recent discoveries in World War I era military records. On July 12, 1973 a fire engulfed the sixth floor of the Military Personnel Records Center. This event destroyed 80% of all Army personnel records with discharge dates between November [...]

With all the hype ramping up for the approaching 150th anniversary of the Civil War next year, which is expected to continue over the next five years, I’ve heard a few concerns that another major milestone might be overshadowed–the bicentennial in 2012 of the beginning of the War of 1812!  Lest we forget about our [...]

On December 12, 1942, 2nd Lt. Jack E. Williams and his crew were flying over the coast of France when, according to his report, “We hit the ground; that is, made a crash landing, at 12:40, after having been violently attacked by fighters.” The actions of Williams and his crewmates following the crash are documented [...]

In anticipation of our upcoming ‘What Are You Working On?’ blog series, Rachel Sutcliffe, an Archives Technician in the Holdings Maintenance Division at NARA, shares her experiences and insights on some very interesting records. One of the best things about working with the National Archives’ records as an employee is that you get to discover something [...]

In a previous blog post, my colleague Katherine talked about vital statistics that sometimes show up in federal records.  I thought it might be worthwhile to point out that, under specific circumstances, vital records were also intentionally created by the government, particularly the U.S. military.  In our vast collection of records relating to 19th-century military forts–all [...]

The following is a guest blog from Diane Dimkoff, director of the Customer Services Division. Most Union Army soldiers, their widows, or minor children applied for a pension. In rare cases, a dependent father or mother applied for a pension. The pension application file will often contain a statement of service prepared by the Adjutant [...]

Compiled military service records at the National Archives for the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) through the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) are filed in separate envelopes or jackets that contain basic information about the soldier.  The example shown here for my ancestor Adam Dale (his surname is actually DEAL, which shows how spelling mistakes/variations can find their way [...]

In my previous blog I mentioned compiled military service records for volunteer soldiers.  While CMSRs are generally recognized as the official record of a volunteer’s military career, did you know they were NOT created at the time the soldier served?  The War Department first created compiled service records in the early 1890s to help verify military [...]

Most people have a relative or ancestor who either served in the military or fought during a specific war.  Many researchers are unaware, however, that a significant distinction exists between volunteer soldiers and Regular soldiers, and that the two types of service are documented differently.  Volunteers (citizen soldiers) were enlisted to serve during specific wars [...]