Louisiana Military Records

Portal:United States Military Records&gt;Louisiana

The U.S. Military Records Wiki article provides more information on federal military records and search strategies. Many military records are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal and state archives. The United States Wiki article provides more information on federal records. For Louisiana the following are among the many sources at the Family History Library:

Colonial Wars (1787-1794)
Spanish military records are on Family History Library. Published sources include


 * Louisiana Troops, 1720-1770


 * Natchitoches Colonials: Censuses, Military Rolls and Tax Lists, 1722-1803, with two Revolutionary War service lists

Revolutionary War (1776-1783)
The 1835 Pension Roll of Louisiana, which includes Revolutionary War pensioners and heirs of War of 1812 casualties, is available online at Ancestry.com ($).

War of 1812 (1812-1815)
An alphabetical list of soldiers, their rank, and their company is in Marion J. Pierson, Louisiana Soldiers in the War of 1812 (N.p.: Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Society, 1963; Family History Library ).

Troop rosters are in Powell A. Casey, Louisiana in the War of 1812 (Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Casey, 1963; Family History Library ).

An index to compiled service records of Louisiana soldiers who served in the War of 1812 is on Family History Library. The service records and pension files are at the National Archives.

Louisiana War of 1812 Pension Lists (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Indian Wars
Indexes to compiled service records of Louisiana soldiers in the Florida War of 1836 and the War of 1837 to 1838 are on Family History Library.

Mexican War (1846-1848)
An index to compiled service records is on Family History Library. The service records have not been filmed and are available at the National Archives.

Civil War (1861-1865)
See Louisiana in the Civil War for information about Louisiana Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the Louisiana 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)
An index to service records of Louisiana soldiers in the War with Spain is on Family History Library. The service records are 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 Louisiana, see:

United States Selective Service System, Louisiana. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1987-1988. (On Family History Library )

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, DC: National Archives. (Family History Library .)

Louisiana, First Registration Draft Cards (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Forts
Civil War Forts: Banks, Beauregard, Berwick, Bisland, Brashear, Buchanan, Buhlow, Burton, Chene, De Russey, Morganzq, Plaquemine, Randolph, Shreveport

Adaes, Presidio De Nuestra Senora Del Pilar De Los-- 1721-1772

Baton Rouge Barracks -- Textual records of this fort, 1822-1879, 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).

Jackson Barracks-- Textual records of this fort, 1850-1920, 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 Jackson and St. Philip-- Textual records of this fort, 1862-1872, 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 Jesup,

Fort Pike1816-1871

Fort Livingston-- 1814-1893

Fort Mcomb1827-67

Post of New Orleans -- Textual records of this post, 1824-1887, 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 St. Jean Baptiste -- 1715-1819

Fort Saint Pierre

Additional Records:

The Adjutant General's Office (Building 53, Jackson Barracks Military Library, New Orleans, LA 70146-0330, Telephone: 504-278-8241) has records of state military units from the late 1700s to the present and twentieth century service files, but not federal records.

Websites

 * http://www.archives.gov/
 * http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/ARCHIVES/02-99/military.HTM