Michigan Military Records

United States U.S. Military  Michigan  Military Records

Many military records are at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal and state archives. United States Military Records provides more information on federal military records and search strategies. The following sources for Michigan are also helpful:

Forts

 * Fort Brady-- Textual records of this fort, 1869-1919, 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).
 * Fort Detroit1796-
 * FortGratiot 1814-79
 * Fort Le Boeuf
 * Fort Machault
 * Fort Mackinac 1796-1894
 * Fort Malden
 * Fort Michilimackinac
 * Fort Pitt
 * Fort Presque Isle
 * Fort Saginaw1822-24
 * Fort St. Joseph

Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783)
Thousands of veterans settled in Michigan. Genealogical and biographical data is in published militia rolls, pension papers, and gravestone records. An example is:

The 1835 Pension Roll

On June 5, 1834, the U.S. Senate required the Secretary of War to submit a statement showing the names of pensioners who were on the pension rolls or had previously been on the pension rolls. For more information on the 1835 Pension Roll see Revolutionary War Pension Records. The 1835 Pension Roll for the Territory of Michigan, which includes Revolutionary War pensioners and heirs of War of 1812 casualties, is available online:


 * Report from the Secretary of War... Vol. III (Google Books)
 * The Pension Roll of 1835, Vol. IV (Ancestry) ($)

War of 1812 (1812-1815)
Thousands of veterans settled in Michigan. Genealogical and biographical data is in published militia rolls, pension papers, and gravestone records. An example is:


 * Miller, Alice Turner, comp. Soldiers of the War of 1812, Who Died in Michigan. Ithaca, Michigan: A.T. Miller, 1962. (Family History Library .) A supplement is also available.

War of 1812 Pensioners in Michigan, 1883


 * War of 1812 Pensioners in Michigan, 1883. Abstracted from the U.S. Pension Bureau's List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883, volume IV.

Indian Wars (1780s-1890s)
A few records for the Black Hawk War (1832), Toledo War (1835), and Patriot War (1838–39) are at the Michigan State Archives.

Winnebago War (1827)


 * Compiled Military Service Records of Michigan and Illinois Volunteers who Served During the Winnebago Indian Disturbances of 1827 (NARA M1505) (Worldcat)

Black Hawk War (1832)


 * Wisconsin soldiers who served in the Black Hawk War (Wisconsin Historical Society) - Transcription of Wisconsin Muster Rolls from the Black Hawk War. Lists soldiers in the 18 companies of "Iowa" militia (i.e., Iowa Co, Michigan Territory), plus Menominee and Potawatomie warriors and one militia company raised at Green Bay.

Toledo War (1835) and Patriot War (1838-1839)
A few records for the Black Hawk War (1832), Toledo War (1835), and Patriot War (1838–39) are at the Michigan State Archives.

United States. Adjutant General's Office. Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served from the State of Michigan for the Patriot War, 1838–1839. Washington, D.C.: The National Archives, 1965. (Family History Library )

Mexican War (1846-1848)
Michigan. Adjutant General's Office. Michigan Volunteers Descriptive Roll, First Regiment, 1847–1848. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1972. (Family History Library .) A descriptive muster roll of Mexican War volunteers.

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

Spanish American War (1898)
Muster out rolls of Michigan volunteers are in:

Michigan. Adjutant General's Office. Michigan Volunteers, Spanish American War, 1898–1899. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1973. (On 5 Family History Library films.) Indexed. Lists name, enlistment date, by whom enlisted, and discharge date.

World War I (1917-1918)
World War I Card Index for Michigan. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1976. (Family History Library .) Often has places of residence and parents' names. Appears to be drafted persons only.

World War I draft registration cards for men age 18 to 45 may list address, birth date, birthplace, race, nationality, citizenship, and next of kin. Not all registrants served in the war. For Michigan's registration cards, see:

United States. Selective Service System. Michigan, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918, M1509. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1987–1988. (On 217 Family History Library films.)

To find an individual's registration card, it helps to know his name and residence at the time of registration. The cards are arranged by county, then by draft board within the county, and then alphabetically by surname within each draft board. Most counties had only one board; large cities had more.

Web Sites

 * http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~xander/michigan-records.htm
 * http://www.familymilitaryrecords.com/state.asp?state=MI
 * http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-18835_18895_20699-50997--,00.html