Maine Military Records

United States U.S. Military  Maine  Military Records

Many military records are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal and state archives. United States Military Records provides more information about the federal records.

Because Maine was under Massachusetts' jurisdiction until 1820, soldiers may be listed in Massachusetts military records, especially during the many colonial wars. See Massachusetts Military Records for additional suggestions. For specific Maine sources see the following:

Forts

 * Fort Charles
 * Fort Edgecombe
 * Fort Fairfield 1841-43
 * Fort Foster
 * Fort Halifax
 * Hancock Barraks 1828-45
 * Fort Kent1841-45
 * Fort Loyal
 * Fort McClary
 * Fort O'Brien
 * Fort Pownal
 * Fort Preble1808-
 * Fort St. George
 * Fort Sullivan 1808-73
 * Old Fort Western

Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
A man born between 1730 and 1765 who lived in Maine is probably listed in some form of military record. If he supported the Revolution, he may be mentioned in records as a rebel, patriot, or Whig. Those who opposed the Revolution were Loyalists or Tories.

Patriot Records at Family History Library


 * White, Virgil D. Genealogical Abstracts of the Revolutionary War Pension Files. Four Volumes. Waynesboro, Tennessee: National Historical Publishing, 1990. This work may include the soldier's name, unit, service and application dates and places, age, birth date, marriage date, residences, and names of relatives. These abstracts are mainly from:
 * United States. Veterans Administration. Selected Records from Revolutionary War Pension; Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files. (Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1969;
 * United States. Veterans Administration. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1969. This contains 80,000 complete pension files arranged alphabetically by surname.
 * White, Virgil D. Index to Revolutionary War Service Records. Four Volumes. Waynesboro, Tennessee: National Historical Publishing, 1995. This work shows the name, rank, and unit of over 390,000 patriots. It mostly consists of transcripts of:
 * United States. Adjutant General's Office. General Index to Compiled Military Service Records of Revolutionary War Soldiers. (Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1942; Family History Library

The service records and pension files for Revolutionary War patriots are available at the Family History Library. For more information, see Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783. You can also use NATF From 80 to obtain copies of some records fromt he National Archives for a fee.

Online Records


 * Free at FamilySearch Historical Records.
 * Ancestry ($)
 * Fold3 ($)

Maine Soldiers

A published list of Maine soldiers with genealogical information:


 * Fisher, Carleton E., and Sue G. Fisher. Soldiers, Sailors, and Patriots of the Revolutionary War, Maine. Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 1982.

Published pension and bounty land lists:


 * Flagg, Charles A. An Alphabetical Index of Revolutionary Pensioners Living in Maine. 1920. Reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1967. This work list indicates name, service, rank, age, and county and contains brief information such as residence or death.


 * House, Charles J. Names of Soldiers of the American Revolution Who Applied for State Bounty. 1893. Reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1967. See Maine Land and Property

For cemetery records of soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War see Maine Cemeteries.

The 1835 Pension Roll

On June 5, 1834, the U.S. Senate required the Secretary of War to submit a statement showing the names of pensioners who were on the pension rolls or had previously been on the pension rolls. For more information on the 1835 Pension Roll see Revolutionary War Pension Records. The pension Roll for Maine is available online.


 * Maine Pensioners, 1835 (Ancestry) ($)
 * The Pension Roll of 1835, Vol. I(Ancestry) ($)
 * Report from the Secretary of War... Vol. I (Google Books)
 * Revolutionary War Pension Rolls (MaineGenealogy.net)

War of 1812 (1812-1815)


The War of 1812 between Britain and the United States confirmed the separate existence of the United States and the future Canada.

See the Wiki article, Maine in the War of 1812, for information concerning military records, histories, links to relevant web sites, etc. for Maine.

There are helpful nationwide records for soldiers of the War of 1812. For more information, see United States in the War of 1812.

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.


 * Veterans Cemetery Records, ([S.l.]: Photographic Sciences Corp., [1975?]). This is an alphabetical card file of cemetery records from King Philip's War to the Spanish-American War with separate files for the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Indian War, the Aroostook War, the Revolutionary War, and miscellaneous. The film specifically for the Mexican War is film 1001837, however the main file also includes Mexican War veterans.

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

Civil War (1861-1865)
For more information about Maine in the Civil War click here Maine in the Civil War


 * The above Wiki page gives information about Maine Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the Maine 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.

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.)


 * United States. Adjutant General's Office. General Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War with Spain. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1971.


 * Veterans Cemetery Records, ([S.l.]: Photographic Sciences Corp., [1975?]). This is an alphabetical card file of cemetery records from King Philip's War to the Spanish-American War with separate files for the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Indian War, the Aroostook War, the Revolutionary War, and miscellaneous. Available at the Maine State Archives.

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. Maine, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1987-1988. Also available at:
 * (FamilySearch) - free

See WWI Draft Records for more information.


 * Maine. Adjutant General. Roster of Maine in the Military Service of the United States and Allies in the World War, 1917-1919. Two Volumes. Augusta, Maine: [Published under the direction of James W. Hanson, the Adjutant General], 1929. ; A published roster of soldiers that provides birth dates, birthplaces, and residences. The information is alphabetical.


 * Maine. Adjutant General. Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Maine for the Period of the World War, 1917-1919. Augusta, Maine: Published under the direction of James W. Hanson, the Adjutant General, 1929. ;

World War II (1941-1945)
Draft Registration

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 ($)
 * Fold3 ($).

Other Records


 * Maine. Division of Vital Statistics. Deaths of World War II Veterans of Maine. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1954. This lists the soldier's date and place of death and may also include the place of residence in Maine, marital status, date and place of birth, occupation, and parents' names. It is arranged alphabetically.

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

 * Major collections of veterans' cemetery records are described in Maine Cemeteries.


 * Aroostook War: Historical Sketch and Roster of Commissioned Officers and Enlisted Men. . . .Augusta, Maine: Kennebec Journal Print, 1904. (Family History Library A published roster of soldiers who served in the Aroostook War (1839):


 * 1676-1918 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1718-1957 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Wiki articles describing an online collections are found at:


 * Maine State Archive Collections (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Maine, Washington County Courthouse Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)