Washington Military Records

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The U.S. Military Records Wiki article provides more information on federal military records and search strategies.

Many of the federal military records you'll want to use are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal and state archives. The United States Wiki article provides more information regarding the federal records. For Washington, the following sources are also very helpful:

Forts

 * Fort Bellingham 1856-60
 * Fort Colville 1859
 * Fort Nisqually
 * Camp San Juan Island -- Textual records of this post, 1859-1875, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Simcoe 1865-1859
 * Fort Slaughter--1855-1857
 * Fort Spokane: Miles Washington built in 1812 by Pacific Fur Company, later used by the U.S. Army. Textual records of this fort, 1879-1899, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Steilacoom 1849 -- Textual records of this fort, 1849-1868, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Taylor
 * Fort Townsend 1856 -- Textual records of this fort, 1865-1895, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Vancouver 1849 -- Textual records of this fort (also known as Vancouver Barracks), 1852-1919, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Walla Walla -- Textual records of this fort, 1856-1911, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).

References

Encyclopedia of Indian Wars Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850-1890. By Gregory F. Michno. Mountain Press Publishing Co., Missoula, Mt. C 2003 ISBN 0-87842-468-7

Mexican War (1846-1848)
The Mexican War was caused by the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845. Most volunteer regiments were from southern states. Records of Mexican War veterans might exist in a state where the veteran later resided.


 * Mexican War Index to Pension Files, 1887–1926. (NARA T317). Alphabetically arranged and includes the veteran’s name, rank, and unit; names of dependents; date of filing and application; certificate numbers; act filed under; and state from which application was made. Also available at:


 * (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. (Learn more.)


 * Robarts, William Hugh. Mexican War Veterans : A Complete Roster of the Regular and Volunteer Troops in the War Between the United States and Mexico, from 1846-1848… Washington, D.C. : Brentano’s, 1887. Digital version available at Internet Archive.

Click on these links to learn more about the Mexican War and about Mexican War pension records.

Civil War (1861 to 1865)
See Washington in the Civil War for information about Washington Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the Washington regiments involved in the Civil War.

The regimental pages often include lists of the companies with links to the counties where the companies started. Men in the companies often lived in the counties where the companies were raised. Knowing a county can help when researching more about the soldiers and their families.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System allows name searching for soldiers. The result set gives the regiments for the soldiers. Then you can check the Wiki regiment pages to determine counties. Often knowing the counties that had men in a regiment will help you determine if a soldier was your ancestor.

The FamilySearch Catalog list records of the Washington Grand Army of the Republic.

Indian Wars (1780s-1890s)

 * Muster rolls are available at the Washington State Archives. The National Archives and the Family History Library have the enlistment registers of soldiers who served in the regular army from 1798 to 1914. Many of these soldiers served in the western states, including Washington, during the Indian Wars. The enlistment registers provide the soldier's rank, unit, commanders, physical description, occupation, and birth place. The records are arranged by year and by the first letter of the surname.


 * United States Army, Registers of Enlistments in the United States Army, 1798-1914 . Also available online at


 * The Family History Library and the National Archives have an index to soldiers who applied for pensions as a result of service in the Indian Wars from 1817 to 1898. The actual pension records are only available at the National Archives.


 * United States, Veterans Administration, Pension Index Files, Indian Wars, 1892-1926 (Washington, D.C.:Veteran's Administration, 1959) Also available online at

Spanish-American War (1898)
The Spanish-American War was largely fought in Cuba and the Philippines. Spanish-American War records might exist in the state from which the soldier served or in a state where the veteran later resided.

Indexes


 * (NARA T288). (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. The index covers veterans of the Civil War, Spanish‑American War, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer Rebellion (1900 to 1901), and the regular Army, Navy, and Marine forces. (Learn more.)


 * (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. (Learn more.)

Click on the link to learn more about the Spanish American War.

World War I (1917-1918)
World War I was a global war fought on multiple continents with several nations involved. Over four million men and women served from the United States.


 * United States. Selective Service System. Washington World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1987-1988. Also available at:


 * (FamilySearch) - free

See WWI Draft Records for more information.

World War II (1941-1945)
On April 27, 1942, the Selective Service conducted the fourth of six draft registrations related to WWII. The "World War II Selective Service Draft Cards: Fourth Registration, 1942" is often referred to as the “Old Man’s Registration” or the “Old Man’s Draft" because it included men with a date of birth from April 28, 1877 to February 16, 1897. Since there is overlap in the WWI and WWII Selective Service registration, men born in the years 1877 to 1900 may have registered twice and have both WWII and WWI draft records.


 * (FamilySearch) - free
 * (images with partial index) (FamilySearch) - free


 * Also available at:


 * Ancestry ($)
 * Fold3 ($).

World War II United States Military Records provides additional information.

Korean War (1950–1953)
The Korean War was a conflict between North Korea (and its communist allies) and South Korea (with support of the United Nations, primarily the United States). See the Korean War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Vietnam War (1964–1972)
The Vietnam War was a conflict between North Vietnam (and its communist allies) and South Vietnam (with support of its anti-communist allies, including the United States). See the Vietnam War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Additional Military Records

 * Histories and rosters of soldiers of the Washington Militia and National Guard who served in the Indian Wars of the 1850s to the post-World War II era are in:


 * Field, Virgil F. Washington National Guard Pamphlet: The Official History of the Washington National Guard, Seven Volumes. (Tacoma, Washington: Office of the Adjutant General, 1961.) Online version.
 * Washington State National Guard Evergreen Magazine covering activities of the guard from 1971-current.


 * The Washington State Archives has other helpful records, including:


 * Records of residents of the State Soldiers Home and State Veterans Home up to the mid-1930s.
 * Applications and supporting papers submitted by Washington veterans of World Wars I and II for a state bonus. These often include information about the soldier's residence, occupation, relatives, age, place of birth, and enlistment.
 * National Guard Statements of Service cards for guardsmen who participated in World Wars I and II. These cards list the name of the serviceman, last residence, date and place of enlistment, date and place of birth, years of service, military organization attachment, rank, and engagements.

Wiki article describing online collections


 * Washington State, Army National Guard Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Web Sites

 * Washington State Archives
 * National Archives