Maryland Military Records

United States &gt; Maryland &gt; Maryland Military Records

Many military records are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal and state archives. The U.S. Military Records Research Page provides more information on the federal records. Important sources unique to Maryland are listed in the following sections.

Colonial Wars (1632-1775)

 * Maryland Muster Rolls, Fort Cumberland, 1757-58 The Maryland State Archives has a card index to muster and pay rolls for the colonial wars from 1732 to 1772.


 * Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774 Pages 1-123 include lists of Maryland militia from 1732 to 1763. The source sometimes lists residence. It is indexed.

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


 * Genealogical Abstracts of the Revolutionary War Pension Files The abstracts may contain name, unit, service and application dates and places, age, birth date, marriage date, residences, and names of relatives. These abstracts are mainly from the following collection of records:


 * Selected Records from Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files

Other patriot records include:


 * Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Application Files . This collection contains 80,000 complete pension files organized alphabetically by surname.


 * Index to Revolutionary War Service Records This source shows the name, rank, and unit of over 390,000 patriots. The index is a transcript of:


 * General Index to Compiled Military Service Records of Revolutionary Ward Soldiers

The service records and pension files for Revolutionary War patriots are available at the Family History Library. You can also use NATF Form 86 for service records and NATF Form 85 for pension files to obtain copies of records from the National Archives for a fee.

Muster Rolls
Muster and pay rolls and other records of Maryland continental and state troops, have been published in:


 * Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution: 1775-1783 This book may include officers, regiments, rank, service dates, or residence.

Pension and Land Records
Abstracts from pension and bounty land applications are in:


 * Maryland Revolutionary Records The information comes from pension claims and bounty land applications. It may include regiment, rank, land grant acreage, or marriage information.


 * Maryland Revolutionary War Pensioners, War of 1812 and Indian Wars May include rank, date of pension, age, residence, or emigration to another state.

See the "Land and Property" page for records of land (Bounty Land) paid to Revolutionary soldiers.

History
To learn more about the Maryland Continental Line, see:


 * A Short History of the Maryland Line in the Continental Army This book describes the seven regiments formed in Maryland, as well as an eighth regiment sometimes called the "German Battalion."

Indexes
The Maryland State Archives has several card indexes related to service in the militia. Names of men found in surviving militia records are listed in:


 * The Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War

Loyalists
In the fall of 1777, a regiment of Loyalists was raised in Maryland. To learn more about these men, see:


 * Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War May include regiment, officers, service dates, rank, and where mustered.

Online Resources

 * Maryland Revolutionary War Records($)
 * Classes of Pensioners and Pension Lists
 * Maryland State Archives Reference & Research

Service Records
These records have not been microfilmed, so you must order photocopies from the National Archives. The Family History Library does have a microfilm copy of the index to these records.

A roster of soldiers and sailors with their rank and unit, compiled by Louis Henry Dielman, is in:


 * The British Invasion of Maryland, 1812-1815

Published abstracts of muster, pay, and receipt rolls of soldiers who served in the militia are in:


 * Maryland Militia War of 1812

A list of American prisoners kept at Dartmoor Prison in England is found in:


 * Dartmoor Prison 6,554 Americans were kept at this prison. Approximately 581 died while prisoners.

Pension Records
These records have not been microfilmed, so you must order photocopies from the National Archives. The Family History Library does have a microfilm copy of the index to these records

The library also has the following index to pension records:


 * Index to War of 1812 Pension Files

Mexican War (1846-1848)
A list of Maryland volunteers is found in:


 * Maryland and District of Columbia Volunteers in the Mexican War. This book lists the soldier’s rank, unit, city of enlistment, and age.

Civil War (1861-1865)
Maryland was officially a Union state, but some men—particularly from southern Maryland—did serve in the Confederate Army.

For service records of Union soldiers, see:


 * Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Maryland


 * Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Maryland.

For service records of Confederate soldiers, see:
 * Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Maryland

Pension Records
The Family History Library has an index to Civil War pension records Family History Library films You must order photocopies of Union pension applications from the National Archives.

The state of Maryland did not offer pensions to those who served in the Confederacy.

Rosters
Published rosters of Confederate and Union soldiers are in:
 *  The Maryland Line in the Confederate Army, 1861-1865


 * Marylanders in the Confederacy


 * Maryland in the Civil War


 * History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers, War of 1861-65


 * Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the Navy of the Confederate States: To January 1, 1863

History
The Family History Library has some Maryland regimental histories. An example is:


 * Colored Volunteers of Maryland Civil War, 7th Regiment, United States Colored Troops, 1863-1866

To learn more about Maryland Confederate forces, see:


 * Confederate Military History Volume two deals only with Maryland.

Online Resources

 * Civil War Rosters
 * History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers
 * Roster of Maryland Volunteers, War of 1861–1865

Spanish-American War (1898)

 * Roster of the Soldiers and Sailors Who Served in Organizations from Maryland during the Spanish-American War

Online Resources
A list of Spanish American War Veterans buried in Maryland

World War I (1917-1918)
World War I draft registration cards for men ages] 18 to 45 may list address, birth date, birthplace, race, nationality, citizenship, and next of kin. Not all registrants served in the war. For registration cards for Maryland, see:


 * Maryland, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

To find an individual's draft card, it helps to know his name and residence at the time of registration. The cards are arranged alphabetically by county, within the county by draft board, and then alphabetically by surname within each draft board.

Most counties had only one board; large cities had more. Finding an ancestor's street address in a city directory will help you determine the board number if he lived in a large city. A map of Baltimore has been prepared which shows the draft board registration districts. The cities listed in the map are in alphabetical order by name of the city. For a copy of this map, see:
 * List of World War One Draft Board Maps

Published lists of servicemen include:


 * Maryland War Records Commission. Maryland in the World War I, 1917-19 The Family History Library has only volume two, which contains surnames beginning with J to Z.


 * Soldiers of the Great War Volume 1 lists the Maryland soldiers who died in World War I and provides photographs.

Online Resources

 * World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 ($) Ancestry has the complete set of records for all states and the digitized indexes.
 * World War I Draft Registration Records

World War II (1941-1945)
War Records Division, Maryland Historical Society. Maryland in World War II: Register of Service Personnel. Five Volumes. Baltimore, Maryland: Maryland Historical Society, 1965. (Not at the Family History Library.)

Online Resources

 * Ancestry has U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 ($)


 * Maryland World War II Casualties Army and Air Force

The Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog lists military records under:


 * MARYLAND - MILITARY RECORDS
 * MARYLAND, [COUNTY] - MILITARY RECORDS

General Online Resources for Military
General Online Resources for Military

Web Sites
State Archives