Beginning War of 1812 Research

Researching your War of 1812 Soldier
Use the following steps to help you find information about your War of 1812 ancestor.

Step 1. Identify an ancestor who may have served in the War of 1812
Look at your ancestors' information to determine which match the following criteria:


 * - Ages: Most soldiers and sailors were men between the ages of 18 and 30, so they would have been born between 1782 and 1796. Some were as young as 10 or as old as 70, which widens the birth years to between 1742 and 1804.


 * - Location: Most soldiers and sailors were men from Britain, Canada, or the United States.


 * Canada - Most soldiers came from Ontario.


 * War of 1812 Records - Guide to Canada in the War of 1812 listing sources and information about how to find your Canadian ancestor who served


 * Great Britain - Most soldiers were regular troops, so they could have come from anywhere in the British Isles, though the majority were from England.


 * United States - Soldiers came from all the states in existence at that time.


 * (18 states and 5 territories and District of Columbia)
 * States= Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts (including Maine), New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia
 * Territories= Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri.

Step 2. Identify the location where your ancestor lived around 1812
If you do not know where your ancestor lived at the start of the war, check the following:

Canada
Use these databases and record types to try to determine an exact town in Canada your ancestor lived before and during the War of 1812. The more information you know about your ancestor, the better chance of narrowing down your ancestor in the military records.
 * Ontario and Nova Scotia, Census, 1800-1842 at Ancestry - index, ($)
 * Ontario Land and Property - try the online indexes on this page to see if you can find your ancestor owning land before and during the War of 1812
 * Ontario Online Genealogy Records - Search any databases covering the correct time period found on this page, to see if you can find your ancestor and where he was living.

Great Britain
See the Wiki article, England, for ways to find more information about men who fought in the War of 1812.

United States

 * The 1810 federal census for the soldier or his family. The following have digital versions of the 1810 census:


 * - FamilySearch (Free) United States Census, 1810
 * - Ancestry ($) 1810 United States Federal Census


 * The 1820 federal census for the soldier or his family. The following have digital versions of the 1820 census:


 * - Family Search (Free) United States Federal 1820 Census
 * - Ancestry ($) 1820 United States Federal Census

Step 3. Find your soldier's regiment and company
Your soldier's regiment and company are often needed to find his records and to recognize him in the records.
 * The War of 1812 Website gives detailed information on the British/Canadian regiments which fought in the war of 1812. This website is comprehensive and should help you find which regiment you are looking for.

Canada
Use these collections to see if you can locate your ancestor:


 * 1713-1882 UK, Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Regimental Registers of Pensioners, 1713-1882 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
 * 1757-1836 Canada Navy Ship Muster Roll at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1776-1881 UK, Pension Applications For Widows and Family of Military Officers, 1776-1881 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
 * 1795-1850 Canada Muster Rolls at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1803-1815 Canada Prisoners of War at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1812 War of 1812: Upper Canada Returns, Nominal Rolls and Paylists, RG 9 1B7, digitized images.
 * 1812-1813 The building of Perry's fleet on Lake Erie, 1812-1813 ($)
 * 1812-1815 War of 1812 at Library and Archives of Canada - index
 * 1812-1963 Military Medals, Honour and Awards, 1812-1969 at Library and Archives of Canada - index
 * British military and naval records (RG 8, C series) - Introduction and index at Library and Archives of Canada - alpha index and images

Great Britain

 * 1704-1919 British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records, 1704-1919, index, ($)
 * 1716-1899 British Army, Royal Artillery Officers 1716-1899, ($), index
 * 1756-1931 Web: United Kingdom, Royal Naval Officers' Service Records Index, 1756-1931, index
 * 1760-1913 United Kingdom, Chelsea Pensioners' Service Records, 1760-1913, index and images
 * 1760-1915 British Army Service Records 1760-1915, ($), index
 * 1772-1935 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1793-1949 UK, Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1949, ($), index/images
 * 1793-1972 UK, Naval Medal and Award Rolls, 1793-1972, ($), index/images
 * 1799-1920 UK, Household Cavalry Records of Service, 1799-1920, index ($), images available through Fold3 ($)
 * 1800-1815 British Army Officer Promotions 1800-1815, ($), index
 * 1800-1915 Scotland, Ireland and Wales, Militia Attestation Papers, 1800-1915, index ($)
 * 1802-1919 UK, Naval Officer and Rating Service Records, 1802-1919, ($), index/images
 * 1806-1915 United Kingdom, Militia Service Records, 1806-1915, index and images
 * 1806-1915 UK, Militia Attestation Papers 1806-1915, index and images, ($)
 * 1812 British Army, War Of 1812 Casualties, ($), index
 * 1812-1817 UK, British Army Muster Books and Pay Lists, 1812-1817, ($), index/images

United States

 * NARA, War of 1812 Discharge Certificates


 * -Appendix II: List of Company/Detachment Commanders gives name, rank, and regiment.
 * -Appendix III: List of Soldiers by Namegives name, year, regiment, and company.
 * These do not list every commander or soldier, but it is a great place to check.


 * at FamilySearch.org - This is a browsable name index to compiled military service records of volunteer soldiers who served in the War of 1812. The files are located in the National Archives in Washington D.C. This collection is a part of RG 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's-1917 and is National Archive Microfilm Publication M602.
 * at FamilySearch.org - Name index and images of the jacket-envelope that contains the pension application files located in the National Archives. The envelope will provide soldier name and military service information as well as widow name and pension and bounty land numbers. This collection is part of Record Group 15 Records of the Veterans Administration and is National Archives Microfilm publication M313.

U.S. Regiments
For those serving in the U.S. infantries, you can determine what state the men lived in when they enlisted by going to the list of infantry units found on the United States War of 1812 Infantry Units Wiki page.

Decide what else you want to find.
Focus your research by deciding to find just one or two things, such as age, death date and place, pension record, or service record.

The chart, US Military Record Finder, shows which type of record has the various types of information you may want to find.

State Troops
Many additional records have been created either by the state or about the state. Click the state of interest below to see explanations of these records and for links to pages about the each of the state's military units.

Regular Troops
These troops were supported solely by the federal government rather than partly by a state. The men came from many states, but the troops were not organized by state.
 * United States War of 1812 Infantry Units
 * United States War of 1812 Artillery and Engineer Units
 * United States War of 1812 Cavalry Units

Navy

 * United States War of 1812 Navy and Marine Units

French Canadians

 * Mills, Sean.French Canadians and the Beginning of the War of 1812: Revisiting the Lachine Riot in Histoire sociale/Social History

African - American

 * Eric Eugene Johnson. Black regulars and militiamen in the War of 1812.Berwyn Heights, Maryland: Heritage Books, Inc., 2017. FHL 973 M2jeb