Indiana Military Records

United States U.S. Military  Indiana  Military Records

Military records identify millions of individuals who served in the military or who were eligible for service. Evidence that an ancestor actually served may be found in family traditions, census records, naturalization records, biographies, cemetery records, and records of veterans’ organizations. Military records can give birth dates, marriage dates, death dates, spouse’s and children’s names, and localities of residence throughout the life of the family.

Many military records are available at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and the Indiana State Archives in Indianapolis. The United States Military Records Wiki article provides more information on the federal records and search strategies.

A helpful source for pre-1850 military records is:

WPA Card File, explained in Indiana Land and Property and Indiana Genealogy.

Forts
Fort Aikman, Fort Ballore, Beck's Fort,  Black Hawk Fort, Fort Boyd,  Fort Butler, Fort Branch, Fort Bruce,  Buchanan's Fort, Fort Callore, Fort Clark, Fort Conner, Fort Coleman, Fort Farris, Fort Finney 1786-93, Guthrie Fort,  Fort Finney, Fort Gramham,

Fort Haddon

Fort Hawkins

Fort Holden,

Hough's Fort

Military Command and Post of Indianapolis -- Textual records of this fort, 1861-1867, 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 Jones

Fort Harrison 1811-18

Ketcham's Fort

Fort Knox

Fort Ledgerwood

Fort Lett

Lick's Fort

Fort Lisman

Fort McDonald, Maxwell's Fort, Fort Miami, Fort Palmer, Fort Patrick Henry, Fort Recovery 1793-96, Fort Quiatenon,  Fort Sackville, Fort Thurman,  Fort Valonia, Fort Vincennes, White Oak Springs Fort(Pride's Fort), Fort Wayne

Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
The Revolutionary War was fought before Indiana became a territory in 1800. Many veterans of the war came to Indiana. There are many nationwide indexes of Revolutionary War soldiers. For information about these indexes, see the United States Military Records Wiki article, "Revolutionary War" section.

For a master index of Indiana Revolutionary War soldiers see:


 * Wolfe, Barbara Schull. Index to Revolutionary Soldiers of Indiana and Other Patriots. Indianapolis, Indiana: Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe, 1983. (Family History Library book ) This indexes most of the volumes listed below as well as many other sources.

For lists of soldiers see:


 * O’Byrne, Estella C. Roster of Soldiers and Patriots of the American Revolution Buried in Indiana. 1938. Reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1968. (Family History Library book ; film ). Shows birth, marriage, and death information for 1,394 soldiers and patriots. The spouse and children are usually listed. For a soldier index including wives and children see:
 * Waters, Margaret R. Index to Roster of Soldiers and Patriots of the American Revolution Buried in Indiana, Indiana D.A.R., 1938. N.p.: M. R. Waters, 1958. (Family History Library book Index)
 * O’Byrne, Estella C. Roster of Soldiers and Patriots of the American Revolution Buried in Indiana. Brookville, Indiana: Indiana D.A.R., 1966. (Family History Library book vol.2; film ). This is a supplement to O’Byrne’s book mentioned above and includes information concerning 350 soldiers whose names are not given in volume one. It also provides additional information on about 130 soldiers who are listed in volume one.
 * Miller, Marion H. Source Book for Patriots Buried in Indiana. Indianapolis: Indiana Society D.A.R., 1990. (Family History Library book 977.2 M2m) This lists about 400 additional soldiers not listed in the two books above and gives the name of the soldier, his spouse and children, with birth, marriage, death, and service information.
 * Waters, Margaret Ruth. Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Indiana (1949), With Supplement (1954). Reprint, Two volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1970. (Family History Library book ; film ; fiche .) This book lists about 300 soldiers who are not mentioned in O’Byrne’s two books above. It contains the soldier’s birth and death date and place, proof of his service, and the names of his children, if known.

Online Resources

 * Indiana Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Register for Nineteen Hundred and Eight with Roll of Members and Their Revolutionary Ancestors and Other Information of Interest to the Society
 * Register of Members of the Society of Sons of the Revolution in the Commonweath of Indiana (1899)

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

War of 1812 (1812–1815)
There are helpful nationwide indexes of service and pension records for soldiers of the War of 1812. For more information, see the United States Military Records Wiki article, "War of 1812"section.

A useful source that lists the Indiana soldiers is:

Franklin, Charles M. ''Indiana, War of 1812 Soldiers: Militia. Indianapolis: Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe, 1984''. (Family History Library book ) This contains transcriptions of muster rolls and payrolls of various companies as they are preserved in the National Archives. There is a surname index.

In 1886, 1890, and 1894, records were made that list some soldiers from the War of 1812 (and later wars), and their widows and orphans:

Indiana Adjutant General. Enrollment of the Late Soldiers, Their Widows, and Orphans of the Late Armies of the United States, Residing in the State of Indiana for the Years 1886–1894. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (On 89 Family History Library films beginning with ). These lists of veterans and their widows and orphans were made by county assessors, starting in 1886. They include veterans of the War of 1812, Indian Wars, and the Civil War. The lists were made in 1886, 1890, and 1894. They list name, rank, company, regiment, state to which the regiment belonged, race, war, present post office address, and number of children under 16. The index to these records is:

Index to Indiana Enrollments of Soldiers, Their Widows and Orphans, 1886, 1890, and 1894.Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (On 13 Family History Library films beginning with ). This index provides the name of the person, the county and township of residence, and the year of enrollment. The records are in order by county, township, then alphabetical by surname. This index is a partial substitute for the 1890 census. The original records are at the Indiana State Archives, and the card index is in the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library. The index is to the 1886 Enumeration; if it was missing for a township or town, then the 1890 Enumeration was used; if both were missing, the 1894 Enumeration was used. The original enumerations are a second set, with the first set deposited in the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office. Whenever an enumeration was missing at the Indiana State Archives, the clerk’s copy, if found, was microfilmed and is in the Family History Library.

"Index to War of 1812 Pension Application Files," a multi-roll microfilm set, is available at the Indiana State Library and in The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne.

The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library also has Indiana Territory Militia muster rolls, payrolls and receipt rolls for the War of 1812 on microfilm.

Online Resources

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

Black Hawk War (1832)
Loftus, Carrie. Indiana Militia in the Black Hawk War. [San Antonio, Texas: Frances T. Ingmire, 1986?] (Family History Library book ) This provides an alphabetical list of soldiers who served in the militia, including the soldier’s name, rank, and regiment.

Indiana Black Hawk War Militia Index, 1832. This index is found only at the Indiana State Archives. It is not at the Family History Library. It gives the soldier’s name, rank, unit, term of enlistment, and by whom he was enlisted. Several microfilmed indexes are available:

Index to Volunteer Soldiers in Indian Wars and Disturbances, 1815–1858. (Family History Library) See the U.S. Military Records Wiki article for the full citation.

Index to Indian Wars Pension Files, 1892–1926. See the U.S. Military Records Wiki article for the full citation.

Mexican War (1846–1848)
The Indiana State Archives and the Family History Library have the following card index:

Index to Indiana Volunteers in the Mexican War. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (Family History Library film ). The cards include the soldier’s name, regiment, length of service, when and where he was enrolled and mustered, his age, physical description, and when and where he was discharged and mustered out.

A published list with company rosters is found in:

Perry, Oran. Indiana in the Mexican War. Washington, DC: Library of Congress Photoduplication Service, 1977. (Family History Library film ) This provides the soldier’s name, rank, mustering into and out of service (when, where, and by whom), death date, list of desertions, discharge date, and transfers. The soldiers are listed by regiment, company, and then sometimes alphabetically by name. At the end there is an index of events relating to the companies, but it does not include the names of soldiers.

A nationwide pension index is available on microfilm from the National Archives and the Family History Library:

Index to Mexican War Pension Files, 1887–1926. See the United States Military Records Wiki article for a full citation.


 * A Hoosier in the Mexican War by Lew Wallace, who served in both the Mexican War and the Civil War and later wrote Ben Hur

Civil War (1861–1865)
See Indiana in the Civil War for information about Indiana Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the Indiana 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 the families of the soldiers.

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.

The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne has the "Index to Compiled Service Records" for Indiana Union soldiers. The "General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934" is available on microfilm in The Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne and the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis.

The Indiana State Archives in Indianapolis has several unique resources pertaining to the Civil War, including:


 * Governor Oliver P. Morton Collection - Governor Morton was an active governor during the Civil War. This collection includes correspondence with President Abraham Lincoln and Gen. Ulysses Grant, as well as reports from soldiers.
 * Adjutant Generals' Records - This collection includes an index to Indiana Civil War muster rolls, hospital records and registers for specific regiments, quartermasters' records regarding the issuance of supplies and ordnance, Indiana Legion (state militia) muster rolls and correspondence, 1862 draft records for white males ages 18 to 45, and regimental correspondence for Indiana units, including the 28th United States Colored Troops.
 * Veterans' Records - Enrollment of soldiers, widows and orphans for 1886, 1890 and 1894, including an 1886 alphabetical card index. The lists for 1890 and 1894 are arranged by county and township. This collection also includes more than 10,000 files dating from 1896 to 1964 for the Indiana Veterans Home opened in Lafayette in 1896. This material soon will be available in a database online.
 * Material and records for the Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's Home.
 * Camp Morton Collection - Camp Morton was a Civil War prison for captured Confederate soldiers. The Indiana State Archives has a small collection of letters from prisoners to Gov. Morton asking for release.
 * Morgan's Raid Claims - Claims to the state for damages incurred during Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan's 1863 raid into southern Indiana.

Records of the 28th United States Colored Troops, the unit in which the majority of Indiana's African American soldiers served, are available at the subscription website |hKRA2TPs9r6pt3d_3 Footnote.com.

Indiana Militia Records (1872–1896)
For the period between the Civil War and the Spanish-American War, the Indiana State Militia was active. Records for 1872 to 1896 are available from the Indiana State Archives. Indiana Archives and Libraries has the address. These records are not available at the Family History Library.

Spanish-American War (1898)
See the United States Military Records Wiki article for nationwide indexes.

For Indiana, the following published record is available:

Record of Indiana Volunteers in the Spanish-American War, 1898–1899. Indianapolis, Indiana: W. B. Burford, 1900. (Family History Library film item 3). This book contains the names of soldiers, with their rank, residence, date of enlistment in 1898, and remarks, such as date mustered out or date of death. Pages 363–64 list those who died in 1898 during or following the war. The book is not indexed, but is arranged by regiment, then company, and then sometimes alphabetically by name.

The Indiana State Archives has Spanish-American War volunteer records.


 * Our Gallant Volunteers: 28th Light Battery Indiana Volunteers (roster and photo)

World War I (1917-1918)
Indiana World War I Deaths. Database on the ACPL Genealogy Center's website.

World War I Indiana Enrollment Cards, 1919. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1990. (On 35 Family History Library films beginning with ). These enrollment cards were prepared in 1919, and are arranged alphabetically for the entire state. They were filmed at the Indiana State Archives. These records provide the soldier’s name, army serial number, race, residence, city of birth, birth date or age, city and date of induction, organizations served in, grades in service, engagements, wounds or other injuries received in action, dates of overseas service, discharge or demobilization date, and percent disabled on date of discharge.

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 Indiana’s cards, see:

United States. Selective Service System. Indiana, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1987-1988. (On 115 Family History Library films, beginning with To find an individual’s registration 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 more. Finding an ancestor’s street address in a city directory will help you determine the board number if he lived in a large city. A map of Indianapolis has been prepared that shows the draft board registration district boundaries. The cities listed in the map are in alphabetical order. 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 film ).

For a list of solders who died in World War I, see:

Gold Star Honor Roll: A Record of Indiana Men and Women Who Died in the Service of the United States and the Allied Nations in the World War, 1914–1918. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1990. (Family History Library film item 3.) This contains a photograph and brief biographical sketch of each person, giving name of parents, birthplace, occupation, service record, death date and place, and burial place. These records are at the Indiana State Archives. There is a full name index at the end of the film.

Many recruits for the Polish Army in France were enlisted during 1917 to 1918 in Indiana and other states with large Polish populations. A record of these enlistments is found in:

United States (With Some from Ontario, Canada) Recruits for the Polish Army in France, 1917–1919 Family History Library films beginning with ; www.pgsa.org/haller.htm.

World War I Nurses Enrollment Cards, Indiana. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah. 1991. (Family History Library film .) This card file is arranged in alphabetical order by surname, given name, residence, birth date and place, appointment date to nurse, promotions, organizations and staff assignments, engagements, wounds received, overseas service, remarks, and date of discharge.

World War I Armed Forces Enrollment, U.S. Navy, Indiana, 1917–1918. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1992. (On five Family History Library films beginning with .) The file cards include name, service number, place enlisted, date enlisted, age at entrance, service history, rank, discharge date and place, and home address.

Vietnam War (1961 to 1973)
The State of Indiana, Vietnam Casualties List by County: List of Names Reported From January 1, 1961 through March 31, 1973. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1985. (Family History Library film item3 ) This also includes a list of deaths due to causes other than war.

For a bibliography of books about Indiana military and pension records, see: Miller, Carolynne L. Indiana Sources for Genealogical Research in the Indiana State Library described in Indiana Archives and Libraries.

Military and veterans records pertaining to Indiana are listed in the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

INDIANA- MILITARY RECORDS

INDIANA- MILITARY RECORDS- [WAR OF...]

INDIANA, [COUNTY] - MILITARY RECORDS

INDIANA, [COUNTY] - SOCIETIES

Web Sites
http://myindianahome.net/gen/jeff/records/military/index.html

http://www.germanroots.com/military.html

http://www.memoriallibrary.com/IN/SA/

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/index.jsp