United States, Revolutionary War Rolls - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What Is in the Collection?
This collection contains images of muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other personnel, pay, and supply records of the American Army during the Revolutionary War. The collection is arranged by type of service, military unit, and jacket or folder number. This collection is from Record Group 93, War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, and is National Archives Microfilm publication M246.

To identify state and military units, see the Revolutionary War Rolls Coverage Table.

Sample Image
To see the records indexed, their localities and organizations see the coverage table United States, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 Coverage Table

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
Information found in this collection may include:


 * Name of soldier
 * Rank, company and battalion
 * Term of service
 * If service was in the field
 * If in command
 * If sick
 * If in the hospital
 * If on furlough

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the soldier.
 * The state and county of residence.
 * The approximate dates of military service.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "NARA Roll Number, Type of Service, Jacket Number Range" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

I Found Who I Was Looking for, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later.
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to determine an approximate birth date to find church and vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage and death records.
 * Use the information in each record to find additional family members in the censuses.
 * Use the information found in the record to find land or probate records.
 * Repeat this process with additional family member’s records to find more generations of the family.
 * Church records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. You could browse through the original record collection at the [] which may help you find who you are looking for or provide additional leads.
 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation

Image Citation