United States Naval Enlistment Rendezvous - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
A rendezvous was the recruiting station where the men enlisted in the Navy. Officers at the rendezvous kept a record of each man enlisted and reported the information weekly to the Navy Department. These documents are known as the “weekly returns of rendezvous reports.”

The largest number of enlistments occurred during the Civil War. The number of men in uniform for these years is estimated at between 26,000 and 51,000.

This collection consists of these enlistment registers for the years 1855 to 1891. The original records are located in the National Archives Record Group 24 (NARA publication M1953): Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel. The records were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah in 2003.

They are arranged in the following order:


 * Volume
 * Chronologically by week
 * Name of naval rendezvous
 * Date of enlistment

The indexes to these records, both arranged alphabetically, are available on microfilm from the National Archives in the following publications:


 * T1098, Index to Rendezvous Reports, Before and After the Civil War, 1846–1861, 1865–1884
 * T1099, Index to Rendezvous Reports, Civil War, 1861–1865

Record Content
Information found in this collection may include:


 * Name of naval rendezvous
 * Name of new recruit
 * Date and term of enlistment
 * Rating (rank)
 * Name of ship to which assigned
 * Previous naval service
 * City and state where born
 * Age
 * Occupation
 * Personal description

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know


 * Name
 * Identifying information such as age or birth place

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Search the Collection
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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.

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Using the Information
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Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

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Related Websites
National Archives Publication: “Navy”

Related Wiki Articles

 * Steps for research in United States Military Records
 * Union Service Records
 * U.S. Navy

Citations for This Collection
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Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image Citation: