Research In Colonial & United States Wars

From Earliest to 1865

The military history of the Colonial America and then the United States spans over three centuries. During that time, the United States evolved from civilian frontiersmen, armed for hunting and basic survival in the wilderness, to a new nation fighting the British Empire for independence, through a Civil War that pited brother against brother, to a world superpower in the late 20th century and early 21st century.There was many early conflicts dating from the times of the first colonist. Most if not all wars and conflicts involved Indians, English, French and the Spanish. See Also Research in Military Records

The wars considered in this site are grouped as follows:

• 1600-1700
• 1700-1800
• 1800-1865

Military Patriotic Societies & Organizations

• Daughters of the American Revolution
• South Central District - NSSAR - Serving the Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas Societies of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Provides information on officers, and links to state societies within the district.
• The Brigade of the American Revolution Home Page
• South Atlantic District - NSSAR -
  Serving the North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida Societies of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
• National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution - Fraternal society organized in 1889 for the male lineal descendants of patriots who served to promote the goals of freedom and independence in the American Revolution. Provides history of the society, programs, state and local chapters, membership requirements, genealogy, and links.
• The General Society, Sons of the Revolution -
  National fraternal society based upon direct lineage to a patriot who served in a military capacity or in a position that would have been considered treason to monarchy of Great Britian in promoting the cause of American independence during the American Revolution 1776-1783. Provides listing of state societies, programs, officers, and membership
• Descendents of Mexican War Veterans
• Descendents of Washington's Army at Valley Forge
• Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War
• Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
• General Society of the War of 1812
• Order of Indian Wars of the United States
• Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic
• Women's Relief Corps - for female descendents of Union soldiers of the Civil War.
• Sons of the American Legion
• Order of the World Wars
• Order of Daedalians
• Sons of Confederate Veterans
• Point Lookout Prisoner of War Organization - for descendents of POWs at the Point Lookout Maryland prison during the American Civil War.
• Air Force Association (AFA)
• The American Legion
• Association of the United States Army (AUSA)
• Disabled American Veterans (DAV)
• Legion of Valor of the United States
• Order of the Purple Heart
• The Navy League
• Retired Officers Association (TROA)
• United Daughters of the Confederacy
• Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
• 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.
• Civil War Soldiers System Database - The first entry in the Database was made on 28 April 1993. This joint project of the National Archives, the National Park Service, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and the Genealogical Society of Utah is utilizing the efforts of thousands of volunteers through the country. The Civil War Soldiers System will be a database of every soldier who fought in the Civil War. Each entry will identify whether the soldier was Union or Confederate, his regiment, and his rank. It will provide the location of every identified civil war soldier buried in the cemeteries operated by the National Park Service. The database will also provide information about the 7,000 regiments and units formed during the war and on many of the 10,500 battles and skirmishes.
• Maps of National Historic & Military Parks, Memorials, and Battlefields
• Medal of Honor Citations, Full-text Listings From the U.S. Army Center of Military History.
• United States Marine Corps - Medal of Honor Recipients
• United States Military Medals
• Naval Historical Center
• U.S. Army Center of Military History
• Master Index of (U.S.) Army Records
• Military Service Records at the National Archives
• National Cemetery System - Department of Veteran Affairs
• National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, MO

At least the remnants of records exist for every war that the colonies and states were involved in; but, as with other records maintained in the United States during the first centuries of its existence, there is little uniformity of content or style in those records.