Montana Military Records



United States U.S. Military  Montana  Military Records

Many military records are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives and its regional centers, and state archives. See United States Military Records for more information about federal records. For Montana the following sources are helpful:

Forts and Camps

 * Fort Assiniboine --1879-1911 Established to prevent Sitting Bull and the Souix warriors from returning from Canada.
 * Fort Abraham Lincoln -- in North Dakota.
 * Fort Belknap
 * Fort Benton -- Textual records of this fort, 1869-1881, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under "Records of Posts, 1820-1940" (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Connor (also known as Old Fort Reno)
 * Fort Custer -- Textual records of this fort, 1877-1898, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under "Records of Posts, 1820-1940" (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Ellis -- Textual records of this fort, 1867-1886, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under "Records of Posts, 1820-1940" (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Fetterman -- in Wyoming
 * Fort William Henry Harrison -- 1895-1913.
 * Fort Keogh -- Textual records of this fort, 1876-1908, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under "Records of Posts, 1820-1940" (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Logan -- Textual records of this fort, 1870-1880, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under "Records of Posts, 1820-1940" (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Maginnis -- Textual records of this fort, 1880-1890, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under "Records of Posts, 1820-1940" (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Missoula -- Textual records of this fort, 1877-1939, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under Records of Posts, 1820-1940" (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Peck
 * Camp Poplar River -- Textual records of this fort, 1880-1893, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under "Records of Posts, 1820-1940" (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Raymond -- Built by Manuel Lisa and called Manuel's Fort.
 * Fort Shaw -- Textual records of this fort, 1867-1891, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under "Records of Posts, 1820-1940" (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort C. F. Smith --1866-1868; originally named Fort Ransom.
 * Fort Union
 * Fort Smith
 * Fort Stevenson -- Textual records of this fort, 1867-1883, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under "Records of Posts, 1820-1940" (Record Group 393.7).

Mexican War (1846-1848)
The Mexican War was caused by the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845. Most volunteer regiments were from southern states. Records of Mexican War veterans might exist in a state where the veteran later resided.


 * United States. Adjutant General’s Office. Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served during the Mexican War in Organizations from the State of Tennessee. Washington D.C.: National Archives, 1965. . This includes regimental returns, a record of events during the war, and company muster rolls.


 * Mexican War Index to Pension Files, 1887–1926. (NARA T317). Alphabetically arranged and includes the veteran’s name, rank, and unit; names of dependents; date of filing and application; certificate numbers; act filed under; and state from which application was made. Also available at:


 * (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. (Learn more.)


 * Robarts, William Hugh. Mexican War Veterans : A Complete Roster of the Regular and Volunteer Troops in the War Between the United States and Mexico, from 1846-1848… Washington, D.C. : Brentano’s, 1887. Digital version available at Internet Archive.

Click on these links to learn more about the Mexican War and about Mexican War pension records.

Civil War (1861 to 1865)
See Montana in the Civil War for information about Montana Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the Montana 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 (1780s-1890s)
Historical sketches of army posts are available at the Family History Library and the National Archives and its regional centers. You can also find historical sketches in local histories. The Family History Library also has microfilm copies of the service and pension indexes for the many Indian conflicts. The actual records are available only at the National Archives.

Published sources about the soldiers who died at the Battle of the Little Big Horn are available. Military histories of the officers and enlisted men are in:


 * Carroll, John M., and Byron Price. Roll Call on the Little Big Horn, 28 June 1876. Fort Collins, Colorado: The Old Army Press, 1974..
 * Hammer, Kenneth. Men with Custer: Biographies of the 7th Cavalry, 25 June, 1876. Fort Collins, Colorado: The Old Army Press, 1972. . Digital version at Questia($).

World War I (1917-1918)
The Montana Historical Society Archives has some records created by the Montana Department of Military Affairs, including original service records for the world wars. They also have enlistment records for the Montana National Guard from 1905 through about 1920.


 * United States. Selective Service System. Montana. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1987-1988..


 * These cards have been digitized and are searchable online. See WWI Draft Records for more information.

Websites

 * Rootsweb at http://www.rootsweb.com/~mtgenweb/military.html

See the Supplemental Information section of the United States Military Records for additional information.