Spain Military Records

The military records in Spain can be a good source to look for your male ancestors. Many men in Spain served in military units such as the army, the militia, the navy, and others. Often these records contain genealogical information that can help you to build your family tree. The men of Spain often had to receive an exemption from military service or prove that they had already served before they could leave the county. They needed to receive special permission to do so.

Offices to Contact
The following information is a brief overview of the information found at the main military archives in Spain. A guidebook was published in 2012 with detailed information about Spanish Military Archives. A downloadable pdf version of the book is available by clicking on the following title: Guía de archivos militares españoles Please note that the guide is in Spanish.

Soldier Personal Files: General Military Archive of Guadalajara
The General Military Archive of Guadalajara (AGM Guadalajara) was created in 1967 in order to alleviate the funds of the General Military Archive in Madrid. It holds the following collections: Indexes Original Records
 * Spain, Soldier Personal Service Files, 1835-1940
 * Soldier Personal file (expedientes reglamentarios de soldados) Beginning in the 1870s, recruitment files were created for each person who joined the military. These files contain a great deal of personal information on the young men who entered military service, often including their enlistment personal files.
 * Expedientes generales de alistamiento Fechas extremas: 1875 - 2001. Volumen: 9.982 unidades de instalación
 * Some military prisoners

Officer Personal Files and Marriage Petitions: General Military Archive of Segovia
The General Military Archive of Segovia (AGM Segovia) was created in 1898 as a place to hold the military records scattered across various military archives throughout Spain. The archive holds more than 67,000 files. These include the following indexes and original records. Indexes Original Records
 * Officer Personal files (expedientes personales), 1400s-1900s, most 1700s-1800s. Organized alphabetically, gives name, office, and the year they entered the army. Compiled 1959-1963, 9 volumes.
 * Available online at Biblioteca Virtual del Ministerio de Defensa
 * Also available at the Family History Library
 * Marriage files (expedientes matrimoniales), 1818-1845, compiled WHEN
 * Also available at the Family History Library
 * Personal files of Famous Persons (expedientes personales de personas célebres). Compiled 1999, 4 volumes.
 * Available online at Biblioteca Virtual del Ministerio de Defensa
 * Officer Personal files (Expedientes personales), 1400s-1900s, most 1700s-1800s.
 * They also contain hojas de servicio (service sheets), which list all military assignments/positions held with their corresponding dates and any relevant comments, and some vital information (usually, name, birth information, and parents’ names).
 * Expedientes matrimoniales, 1500s-1800s, most 1800s-1900s: The paperwork involved in the petition made for a marriage involving a person serving in the military; frequently contains copies of baptism records as well as the record of the marriage.

18th Century Service Records: General Archive of Simancas
While the General Archive of Simancas (AG Simancas) is comprised mostly of 16-17th century documents focused on the nobility, it also contains holds the majority of the military records for the 18th century. The military section (secretaria de guerra) contains all letters, notices, decrees, and legal cases relating to military campaigns. The following categories would be the most helpful in documenting specific soldiers: Indexes Original Records The archive also contains files that document military captives, deserters, and prisoners of war throughout the 1700s and early 1800s. The service files for Cuba are also available at the Family History Library.
 * Service records (hojas de servicios de america) of personnel (officers) who served in the american colonies during late 18th century and pre-independence 19th.
 * Also available at the Family History Library
 * Personal Files and Service Records (expedientes personale y hojas de servicios), 1700s: Military service files, sorted by military branch for soldiers who served in Spain and by country name for soldiers who served in the following colonies:
 * Buenos Aires
 * Cuba
 * Chile
 * Philippines
 * Guatemala
 * Nueva España (originally Mexico and Central America except Panama)
 * Viceroyalty of Peru (originally included most of Spanish South America)
 * Indias (Florida, Puerto Rico y Venezuela)

Other Archives
National Archive (Archivo Histórico Nacional) was created in 1866. You can access a guide to the military records in the national archive (written in Spanish) online at Academia.edu.
 * Military Orders (órdenes militares)
 * (expedientes de prubas de las órdenes españolas)

Municipal and Provincial Archives (Archivos Historicos Municipales)
 * Copies of military draft records can be found at local municipal and/or provincial archives.

Navy Military Archives
The Ministerio de Marina Archivo General de la Administración (Paseo de Aguadores, España) has digitzed some of their service records (expedientes personales). They are viewable at FamilySearch. Other military records for the Navy can be found at the Instituto Historico de la Marina

Personal files (Expedientes Personales/Expedientes Reglamentarios)
Personal files are a compilation of all records pertaining to an individual soldier's military service. Personal files often include many of the records described below, including:
 * Conscription documents (quintas o reclutamentos)
 * Service records (hojas de servicio)
 * Punishment file (hoja de castigos)
 * Petitions

Military conscription (Quintas/Cajas de Recluta)
Quintas began in 1773, where every fifth man between eighteen and 20 years old was selected by lot to serve in the army. Met with heavy resistance, no national standard for military conscription was followed until the constitution of 1876. Local municipalities were required to make lists of all male citizens from whom the conscripts were selected. Hidalgos (nobility) were not included in Quitas.

The following information can be found in Quinta records.
 * Name of the prospective conscript
 * Their age (sometimes birth date)
 * Sometimes names of parents and their residence.

Most quintas can be found in municipal archives and/or provincial historical archives. Some can be found in the FamilySearch Catalog, under their specific municipality. Beginning in 1877, soldiers who joined the army would have their conscription recluta compiled into their Personal file. The transition was completed in 1925.

Service records (Hojas de Servicios)
Service records were created for each individual who joined the military, and detail their service. Generally, you can expect to find the following information in a service record.
 * Name
 * Date and place of birth
 * Names of parents
 * List of assignments and/or ranks with dates in chronological order.
 * In the bottom part of the page you can find information about the military campaigns in which he served with his military unit.

Petitions
While serving in the military, an individual may fill out a petition for a specific purpose. Petitions are often found within a personal file, or be part of a collection of a specific type of petition in the following categories:
 * Academic Files – Files related to petitions regarding education.
 * Promotion Files - Files relating to military promotions.
 * Marriage Files – Files related to marriage petitions. Often identifies as expedientes matrimoniales.
 * Pension Files – Files related to pension petitions. Often identified as expedientes de pension.

Marriage petitions (expedientes matrimoniales) Marriage petitions generally contain great genealogical value. Created by an individual during their military service, these petitions generally include the following information:
 * Name of the couple.
 * Proof bride was a faithful Catholic.
 * Copies of baptism certificate of bride and groom.
 * Copies of the marriage certificates of the parents of the bride and groom.

Religious Military Orders
To learn more about religious military orders we recommend that you read the following article: Religious Military Orders

Military ranks - Army

 * Soldado - private
 * Cabo – corporal
 * Alferez – sergeant
 * Sub-teniente – second lieutenant
 * Teniente – Lieutenant
 * Capitan – Captain
 * Comandante – Major
 * Teniente Coronel – Lieutenant Colonel
 * Coronel – Colonel
 * Comandante General – Major General
 * Teniente General – Lieutenant General
 * General – General

Military ranks - Navy

 * Marinero - sailor
 * Marinero de primera clase - seaman first class
 * Cabo - corporal
 * Cabo Primero - corporal first class
 * Sargento - sergeant
 * Sargento Primero - sergeant first class
 * Brigada (grado) - brigadier (grade)
 * Subteniente - sub-lieutenant
 * Suboficial Mayor - senior chief
 * Alférez de Fragata - ensign of a frigate
 * Alférez de Navío - ensign of a ship
 * Teniente de Navío - lieutenant of a ship
 * Capitán de Corbeta - captain of a corvette
 * Capitán de Fragata - captain of a frigate
 * Capitán de Navío - captain of ship
 * Contralmirante - rear admiral
 * Vicealmirante - vice admiral
 * Almirante - admiral
 * Capitán General - captain general or commaner in chief

Promotions
There were three ways to advance in rank:


 * Por elección (by vote)
 * Por gracia general (by general order)
 * Por antiguedad (By length of service)

Other Online Records

 * Republican Military Service
 * Buscador de represaliados de la Guerra Civil española