United States Index to Service Records, War with Spain - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in This Collection?
This is an index for the year 1898 to the compiled military service records of volunteer soldiers who served during the War with Spain. The service files are located in the National Archives and have not been filmed with the exception of Florida. The index is in alphabetical order.

Interest in the Spanish-American War is increasing. The number of participants was small compared to the number who served in the Civil War and World War II. The smaller numbers are in part due to the short length of the Spanish-American War, which ended before many soldiers had even been transported to the war zone. But for the many Americans whose families came to the United States during the mass immigrations of the 1880s and 1890s, the Spanish-American War records are the first military records they can research.

Pension records were carefully compiled on grounds of injury, illness, or disability (and later on age) and often included:
 * Application forms
 * Branch of service
 * Rank
 * Military organization
 * Proof of marriage
 * Proof of children's births
 * Summary of military service
 * Death certificates

Service records document an individual’s involvement with the military and can be used for proving military service, or as a valuable tool in genealogical research. Records from the Spanish-American War are generally much more descriptive, complete, and accurate than those from earlier wars. Name spelling became more uniform and literacy more common. These improvements make it easier to locate birth dates, family members, and other important genealogical information. Additional military records will be can be located at the National Archives from the following coverage table.

Other collections relating to the War with Spain include: Related Collections 1st Volunteer Cavalry - "Rough Riders" 
 * United States, National Archives, Military Records of the Spanish-American War, 1898
 * Regimental and Company Books of Spanish-American War Volunteer Organizations, 1898 - 1898
 * First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry (Rough Riders) Compiled Service Records - A-L - National Archives Catalog
 * First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry (Rough Riders) Compiled Service Records - M-Z - National Archives Catalog
 * War Department. Cuban Expeditionary Force. 1st Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. 5.1898- 8.8.1898
 * Casualty List, Rough Riders, July 1 - 3, 1898. Attachment to Report of Operations NARA NAID 301979
 * Report of Operations, 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, July 1 to 17, 1898. NAID 301978
 * Edward Marshall. The Story of the Rough Riders. 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. The Regiment in Camp and on the Battle Field. New York: G.W. Dillingham Co., Publishers, 1899.
 * Theodore Roosevelt. The Rough Riders. A History of the First United States Volunteer Cavalry. Phiadelphia: Gebbie and Company, 1903.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records: • 2 Entries that refer to miscellaneous personal papers have no corresponding compiled service records. The papers themselves follow the jacket envelopes for most units. See the FamilySearch Catalog for complete information on film numbers.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The state and county were your ancestor lived
 * The approximate age and birth place of your ancestor
 * The dates of service in the military

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Death dates may lead to death certificates, mortuary, or cemetery records
 * Use the age to calculate an approximate birth date
 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth of the deceased to locate census, church, and land records
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the deceased; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been seeking the pension
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Contact the National Archives and request a copy of the Compiled Military Service Record Requesting Copies of Older Military Service Records.

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

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records
 * Search the indexes and records of regular army enlistments
 * Search in the the General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the United States.
 * Beginning Research in United States Military Records
 * US Military Basic Search Strategies
 * United States Guided Research
 * United States Record Finder
 * United States Research Tips and Strategies

Family History Library Holdings
National Archives
 * Index to compiled service records of volunteer soldiers who served during the war with Spain in organizations from the state of North Carolina, 1898-1899 NARA, pub, M413
 * Compiled service records of volunteer soldiers who served in the Florida Infantry during the War with Spain

State Sources
 * Muster rolls of Alabama volunteers in the Spanish-American War of 1898
 * Alabama. Spanish-American War service, 1898-1899
 * Delaware. Spanish-American War card file index, 1898-1899
 * Indiana. Spanish American War Volunteers
 * Michigan. Spanish American War muster out rolls, 1898-1899
 * Missouri. Spanish-American War, 1897-1898
 * New Hampshire. Spanish-American War records, 1898
 * New Jersey Index to records of Spanish American war, books 1-122
 * New Jersey. Spanish American war records, books 15-20, 23-27, 47-99
 * Pennsylvania. Spanish American War Veteran's compensation file
 * Index to compiled service records of volunteer soldiers who served during the Philippine Insurrection
 * List of the Adjutant General's Office for carded records of military organizations: Revolutionary War through Philippine Insurrection : the Ainsworth list Rolls 82-87

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * United States General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934
 * General index to compiled service records of volunteer soldiers who served during the war with Spain

Related Digital Books

 * Alabama. Adjutant General's Office. Muster rolls of Alabama volunteers in the Spanish-American War of 1898
 * Brig. Gen. Arthur Neill, acting adjutant general. Report of the adjutant general of the Arkansas state guard, 1897-1900 : including the period of the Spanish-American war. Little Rock, Arkansas :, [1900]
 * Illustrated Roster California Volunteer Soldiers
 * Connecticut Volunteers War with Spain
 * Adjutant general's report containing the complete muster-out rolls of the Illinois volunteers who served in the Spanish-American War, 1898 and 1899. 5 vols. Springfield, Ill. : Phillips Bros., 1902-04.
 * Indiana National Guard War with Spain
 * Record of Indiana volunteers in the Spanish-American War, 1898-1899.Indianapolis, Indiana : W.B. Burford, 1900
 * Kansas troops in the volunteer service of the United States in the Spanish and Philippine wars, mustered in under the first and second calls of the President of the United States : May 9, 1898-October 28, 1899.Topeka, Kansas : W.Y. Morgan, 1900
 * Kentucky Volunteers War with Spain This book is available through the FamilySearch Catalog not in digital form.
 * Massachusetts Volunteer Aid Association During the War with Spain
 * Minnesota in the War with Spain
 * New York and the War with Spain
 * Ohio Volunteers War with Spain
 * The official roster of Ohio soldiers in the war with Spain, 1898-1899
 * Official Records of the Oregon Volunteers Spanish War and Philippine Insurrection
 * Rhode Island in the War with Spain...
 * Vermont in the Spanish American War
 * John C. Hemment. Cannon and camera : sea and land battles of the Spanish American war in Cuba, camp life, and the return of the soldiers.New York, New York : Appleton, 1898

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Estados Unidos, Índice de Registros de Serviço, Guerra com a Espanha (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)