Washington Military Records

United States U.S. Military  Washington  Military Records

The U.S. Military Records Wiki article provides more information on federal military records and search strategies.

Many of the federal military records you'll want to use are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal and state archives. The United States Wiki article provides more information regarding the federal records. For Washington, the following sources are also very helpful:

Forts
Fort Bellingham 1856-60

Fort Colville 1859

Fort Nisqually

Camp San Juan Island -- Textual records of this post, 1859-1875, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).

Fort Simcoe 1865-1859

Fort Slaughter--1855-1857

Fort Spokane: Miles Washington built in 1812 by Pacific Fur Company, later used by the U.S. Army. Textual records of this fort, 1879-1899, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).

Fort Steilacoom 1849 -- Textual records of this fort, 1849-1868, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).

Fort Taylor

Fort Townsend 1856 -- Textual records of this fort, 1865-1895, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).

Fort Vancouver 1849 -- Textual records of this fort (also known as Vancouver Barracks), 1852-1919, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).

Fprt Walla Walla -- Textual records of this fort, 1856-1911, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).

References

Encyclopedia of Indian Wars Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850-1890. By Gregory F. Michno. Mountain Press Publishing Co., Missoula, Mt. C 2003 ISBN 0-87842-468-7

Civil War (1861 to 1865)
See Washington in the Civil War for information about Washington Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the Washington 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.

Indian Wars (1798-1914)
Muster rolls are available at the Washington State Archives. The National Archives and the Family History Library have the enlistment registers of soldiers who served in the regular army from 1798 to 1914 (81 Family History Library films beginning with ). Many of these soldiers served in the western states, including Washington, during the Indian Wars. The enlistment registers provide the soldier's rank, unit, commanders, physical description, occupation, and birth place. The records are arranged by year and by the first letter of the surname.

The Family History Library and the National Archives have an index to soldiers who applied for pensions as a result of service in the Indian Wars from 1817 to 1898 (Family History Library films ). The pension records are only available at the National Archives.

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 Washington, see:


 * United States. Selective Service System. Washington World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1987-1988. (On Family History Library films beginning with .)

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 several. A map showing the boundaries of individual draft boards is available for most large cities. Finding an ancestor's street address in a city directory will help you in using the draft board map. There is an alphabetical list of cities that are on the map. For a copy of this map see:


 * United States. Selective Service System. List of World War One Draft Board Maps. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. (Family History Library film .)

Additional Military Records
Histories and rosters of soldiers of the Washington Militia and National Guard who served in the Indian Wars of the 1850s to the post-World War II era are in:

Field, Virgil F. Washington National Guard Pamphlet: The Official History of the Washington National Guard, Seven Volumes in three. Tacoma, Washington: Office of the Adjutant General, 1961. (Family History Library book 979.7 M25w; film item 1-3 vols. 1-7.)

The Washington State Archives has other helpful records, including:


 * Records of residents of the State Soldiers Home and State Veterans Home up to the mid-1930s.
 * Applications and supporting papers submitted by Washington veterans of World Wars I and II for a state bonus. These often include information about the soldier's residence, occupation, relatives, age, place of birth, and enlistment.
 * National Guard Statements of Service cards for guardsmen who participated in World Wars I and II. These cards list the name of the serviceman, last residence, date and place of enlistment, date and place of birth, years of service, military organization attachment, rank, and engagements.

Web Sites
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/archives/

http://www.archives.gov/

FamilySearch Historical Record Collections
Online collections containing these records are located in FamilySearch.org

Wiki articles describing these collections are found at:


 * Washington State County Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Washington State, Army National Guard Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)