Florida Military Records

See Also Researching in Military Records - The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest.......

Florida has had a militia since its earliest territorial days. When voters lined up to register for the young state's first election, every able-bodied man over twenty and under forty-five was enrolled in the militia before being allowed to vote; only age and infirmity excused the prospective voter from his military obligation.

Home guard (state militia) units were under state command during the Civil War, and their personnel and other records were never provided to Confederate officials. Most of the records that survived the war were placed in the State Arsenal, which has recently transferred them and other treasures to the Florida State Archives. Including records as early as the 1820s, as well as muster rolls from the Second Seminole, Mexican, and Civil Wars, this new accession constitutes a major source for Florida researchers. Later records include documents of the Florida Militia, Florida State Troops, and Florida National Guard covering the period 1870s-1917. World War I induction lists and a card roster of Floridians who served, 1917-19, add to the value of this record group (RG 197).

Important and newly discovered lists of territorial militia officers and men for the period 1826-30 have appeared in the fall 1987 and winter 1989 issues of The Florida Genealogist. As in so many other areas, there are some militia rolls and related files that never reached the state archives. They can sometimes be found, often to the amazement of their custodians, in the miscellaneous courthouse files and county commission minutes of the older counties. Again, personal search is the only way to find them.

Indian Wars - The Flordia State Archives holds a reference copy of the sixty-three reel National Archives microfilm number M1086, Compiled Service Records of Volunteers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Florida During the Florida Indian Wars, 1835-1858. There is no state index, but participants are included in the master Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During Indian Wars and Disturbances, 1815-1858 (M629, forty-two reels).

The Mexican War - Florida had recently been through the Second Seminole War and had been a state just over a year when "Polk's War" with Mexico began. Yet the five-company quota assigned to Florida was quickly filled. Very little attention has thus far been paid to the new state's part in the Mexican War.. There is also a microfilmed alphabetical master index (National Archives film M616) to compiled service records that can prove helpful.

The Spanish-American War - Most of the Florida volunteers in the infantry units of what John Hay called this "splendid little war" moved smartly about the state, into and out of training camps and guard detachments, but never left it. Several hundred of them are listed, with capsule unit histories, in part 3 of Soldiers of Florida. The section is unindexed but can serve to alert researchers to further resources. A 13-reel National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication (M1087), Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served in the Florida Infantry During the War with Spain, is generally more reliable; access to the records is facilitated by a 126-roll index (M871). The Florida Department of Military Affairs Special Publication No.3 is Mobilization Lists, Florida State Troops and Naval Militia, Spanish-American War, 1898-1899.

• Florida Military Books at Amazon.com
• Military - The men and women called to serve their country in military duty are a source of pride to their families and to their nation. Now, with databases containing more than 16 million names and thousands of government records available to search, researching your veteran ancestors has become easier than ever before.

The site U.S. Wars list conflicts dating from earliest to 1865. Wars covered that are available are:

Revolutionary War

Search Revolutionary War 1775-83 Service Records, Rejected Pensions, Loyalists Records, 1775-1783 Pay Rolls, Courts-Martial, Officers, Pension Index, 1841 Pensioner Census

Because Florida remained loyal to the Crown during the Revolution, Fritot's Pension Records of Soldiers of the Revolution Who Removed to Florida (Jacksonville: Jacksonville Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1946) remains among the few genealogically valuable references to later Floridians who had served during that conflict.

Below is a list of online resources for Florida in the Revolutionary War.

• Florida Revolutionary War Books at Amazon.com
• Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783(The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
• Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
• Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, from NARA publication M804.

Civil War in Florida

Search Civil War Soldiers, Service Records, Regiments, General Officers, Battle Summaries, Pension Index: 1861-1934, CSA Field Officers and the War of the Rebellion

Florida seceded from the Union on 10 January 1861, remained an independent nation until 22 April, and ended the Civil War with the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi not captured and occupied by federal forces. More than 16,000 Floridians served in the Civil War (15,000 Confederate and 1,290 Union).
The Florida State Archives has reference copies of the National Archives microfilm consolidated index to compiled service records of Confederate soldiers (M253) as well as the Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Florida (M251; index, M225) and the index and files of Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Florida (M225 and M400).

Florida granted pensions to Confederate veterans and their widows under laws passed in 1885, 1887, and 1889. In 1915 a peak total of 5,134 veterans and widows were on the rolls. The Flordia State Archives has a collection of some 12,775 approved and rejected pension applications. The files are indexed by both veterans' and widows' names. Available from the archives is Computer-Based Register and Index to the Florida State Board of Pensions' Confederate Service Pension Applications, 1885-1954. Inquirers, in person or by mail, may order copies of pertinent files, which generally include original and supplemental applications, full name, date and place of birth, service unit, wounds received, date and place of enlistment and discharge, county of residence when applying, and length of residence in the state. Widows' records add maiden name, date and place of marriage, and date and place of the veteran's death. The archives' central reference unit will report whether a pension is on file and quote copy costs. Below is a list of online resources for Florida in the Civil War.

• Florida Civil War Books at Amazon.com
• Southern Claims Commission from the State of Florida (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
• Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Florida (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Florida (The National Archives): NARA M251. View, Print Copy & Save Original Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Florida units, labeled with each soldier's name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents about each soldier.
• Case Files of Applications from Former Confederates for Presidential Pardons ("Amnesty Papers"), 1865-67 from the State of Florida (The National Archives): NARA M1003. View, Print Copy & Save Original Applications for pardon submitted to President Andrew Johnson, 1865-67, by former Confederates excluded from earlier amnesty proclamations.

Military records have originated at the federal, state, and local levels. Whether created in time of war or in time of peace, these records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served in the military forces of the United States. Almost every American family, in one generation or another, has seen one or more of its members serve in America’s armed forces. From regimental histories, which provide blow-by-blow accounts of a unit’s participation in military actions, to the personal details contained in the service and pension files of individual men and women, military records provide valuable information concerning a large and significant portion of the American population. And because military records have been preserved and made available at and through a number of research institutions, much information awaits the well-prepared researcher.

How to Find Military Records - To locate military records for any individual, it is essential to know when and where in the armed forces he or she served and whether that person served in the enlisted ranks or was an officer. (If you don’t have that identifying information, some potential solutions are discussed below.)
As in any research project, it is important to study carefully whatever is already known about the subject of interest. Families and communities frequently pass down stories of military heroes from generation to generation. In most cases, these stories retain some fact, but, with the passage of years and in the process of retelling, accuracy fades. At any rate, family stories should not be overlooked for clues at the start of a military search.

When and where did the individual live? Did the family keep evidence of military service? Certificates, letters, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, photographs, medals, swords, and other memorabilia kept in private collections may provide the basic facts needed to begin searching in military record collections.

Military Time Lines - Creating a historical time line can be especially useful for determining if and when the subject might have served in the military. By compiling a chronological list of the known dates and places of residence of an individual from birth through adulthood, it is frequently easy to discover the possibility of military service. Was the individual the right age to be eligible for the draft or to serve voluntarily in the Civil War? Is it likely that the person served on the Northern rather than the Southern side, or vice versa? For records from the colonial period to more recent military engagements, the place of residence is key to finding an individual’s records.

Evidence of Military Service in Hometown Records - There are a number of public records that are potentially valuable in discovering the military history of a veteran. It has been a long-standing American tradition to foster patriotism by honoring local sons and daughters who have defended the ideals of their country. Hometown military heroes are frequently noted on public monuments, and local newspaper files may yield surprisingly detailed accounts of a community’s well-known and less-famous military personnel.

Military History - Commercial enterprises and historically oriented groups and institutions have regularly published local histories. As a rule, these histories will include glowing accounts of the area’s involvement in military activities. Some volumes provide biographical sketches of military leaders, while others attempt to list all of the community’s participants in various military conflicts. Locally focused histories have been published at various times for virtually every state and county in the United States. Do not overlook them as an important research aid. P. William Filby’s A Bibliography of American County Histories is a list of five thousand such sources.

In addition to the standard histories, local public libraries and historical societies usually preserve and make available other types of publications that document the military history of the geographical areas they serve. Historical agencies collect biographies, letters, diaries, journals, and all sorts of memorabilia from military units and servicemen and -women. The personal accounts found in some collections are a fascinating means of stepping back in time. Firsthand accounts afford a better understanding of the day-to-day drudgery, loneliness, fears, and satisfactions of military life.

Evidence of Military Service in Cemeteries - Cemeteries provide yet another local source of information regarding individuals who served in the armed forces. Almost every cemetery in the United States contains some evidence of military events and veterans. Cemetery records and grave markers frequently identify military dead by name, rank, and unit designation. If a man or woman died elsewhere while in the service, the body was frequently brought home for burial; cemetery records often note the place and date of death.

Evidence of Military Service in Court Records - Court records are yet another potential source for identifying those who served in the military. Most counties formally recorded and indexed the names of their citizens who were discharged from the military. In some local courts, “military discharges” will be found indexed separately, and in others the military records may be oddly interspersed with deeds, naturalizations, or other categories of documents. The contents of military records may vary greatly from one courthouse to another. Some will provide biographical information, while others may simply list names and the event or names and date of certificate issue.

Military Records in the National Archives - Federal military documents that have been classified as archival material are in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration. Not all records created by military agencies are judged to be permanently valuable. Generally, only records of historical or administrative importance are kept.

A wonderful array of federal military records are available in major libraries and archives and through microfilm rental programs. (Heritage Quest, a division of AGLL, Inc., PO Box 329, Bountiful, UT 84011-0329, is a source of rental microfilms.) With sufficient identifying information, you may request a search of the registers of enlistments or the compiled military service records. The minimum information required for a search is (1) the soldier’s full name, (2) the war in which he or she served or period of service, and (3) the state from which he or she served. For the Civil War, you must also indicate whether the person served in Union or Confederate forces. A separate copy of the form must be used for military service, pension, and bounty-land warrant applications. Submit requests for information about individuals who served in the military before World War I on NATF form 80 (Order for Copies of Veterans Records) . Write to the National Archives and Records Administration, General Reference Branch, Washington, DC 20408 to obtain copies of NATF form 80. Always ask for “all records” for an individual.

Make requests for information about U.S. Army officers separated from the service after 1912 on standard form 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records) and send it to the Military Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132.

U.S. Military Records - By far the most comprehensive study of military records and how to use them is found in James C. Neagles’s U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Neagles’s guide addresses primary and secondary military sources and accessibility, including the following information-rich sources:

• Records of state militias and the National Guard
• Records of the army, navy, and other branches of the U.S. military
• Records of the military academies
• Post-service records
• Pensions
• Bounty-land grants
• Bonuses and family assistance
• Soldier’s homes
• Military burials
• Military installations
• Censuses of veterans
• Conscription
• Civilian affairs