New York in the War of 1812

United States   War of 1812    New York Military    New York in the War of 1812



Introduction
During the War of 1812, New York supplied 63,790 infantry men, 2,415 cavalry men, 8,830 artillery men, and 2,861 men in miscellaneous troops for a total of 77,896 men.

Explanation of the Major Record Types

 * Pearson, Thomas A., comp. Genealogical Records of the War of 1812: an Introduction and Selected Bibliography of Materials in the Collection of St. Louis Public Library. (St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Public Library, July 2004).

Service Records

 * Access Genealogy. New York War of 1812 Military Records, includes pensions, bounty lands, payrolls and rosters of selected counties. (Free). (Hosted by US GenWeb Archives War 1812 Project) (Accessed 11 May 2012).


 * General Society of the War of 1812, The Constitution and Register of Membership of the General Society of the War of 1812 to October 1, 1899]. (Philadelphia, Dewey &amp; Eakens, Makers 1899). Family Search. contains registers for eight states and District of Columbia. Descendant Members of the New York Society identifies veteran ancestor by name, his rank, unit in which he served, dates of service, etc., page 199.


 * Ancestry. War of 1812 Service Records.($). This database gives name, company, rank at time of induction and at time of discharge of men mustered into the armed forces between 1812 and 1825.(Accessed 11 May 2012).


 * Fredriksen, John C. Officers of the War of 1812 with Portraits and Anecedotes: the United States Army Left Division Gallery of Honor. (Lewiston, New York 1989). 173 pages.

Many land and naval conflicts occurred along the New York-Canadian border during the War of 1812. The state archives has copies of payrolls and payroll card files. The National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/ has the service and pension records and muster rolls. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of indexes to service and pension records. They are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog Place Search under: UNITED STATES - MILITARY RECORDS


 * Applications and awards based on military service are at the New York State Archives. There are some 17,000 claims. A published index is Index of Awards on Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812 (1860; reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969; Family History Library book ). The residences of those seeking claims are included.


 * Military commissions, arranged by year and then by county, have been published in Hugh Hastings, compiler and editor, Military Minutes of the Council of Appointment of the State of New York, 1783–1821, Four Volumes. (Albany, New York: James B. Lyon, 1901–02; Family History Library book ; films ). Since militia were organized locally, knowing the unit a soldier served in can help you determine where he was from. Index in volume 4. Volume 3 shows which county each unit was from.


 * New York: Index of Awards On Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812 (Ancestry) ($) - index of claims by soldiers for clothing and equipment provided by the soldier and which were depreciated, worn out, lost or destroyed in service for which he had not received payment.


 * National Archives Microfilm Publications, Prize and related records for the War of 1812 of the U.S. District for the Southern District of New York (Washington, District of Columbia: National Archives and Records Service, 1973 FHL Films

Pension Records
A soldier may have been recorded in state records (see below) or in federal records (see US War of 1812 Pension Records).


 * Fold3. New York War of 1812 Pension Files. (Free). Alphabetical by surname. Shows entire pension file for those digitized. Incomplete as of 1 Jun 2012.

State Records

 * National Archives and Record Office. Prize and Related records for the War of 1812 of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York 1812-1816: National Archives microfilm publications pamphlet describing M928 (Washington District of Columbia: Nationa Archives and Records Service c1973) pages 11 FHL Book 973 J53

Battles

 * First Battle of Sacket's Harbor
 * Second Battle of Sacket's Harbor
 * Battle of Oswego
 * Battle of Plattsburgh


 * - New York (State) Plattsburgh Centenary Commission. The Battle of Plattsburgh: What Historians Say About It. (Albany, NY: J.B. Lyon: 1914). This is a centennial history of the battle with several maps and comments by historians. Digital version at Internet Archive. Fiche version.


 * -The centenary of the Battle of Plattsburg ... at Plattsburg, N.Y., September 6 to 11,1914 (Ann Arbor, Michigan 1987) pages 90-96

Histories

 * Guernsey, R.S. Chronicles of greater New York City during the War of 1812-1815 FHL Film 1486497


 * Haen, Virginia John Grant, War of 1812 (Salt Lake City, Utah, Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah 1992) John Grant enlisted in New York and ended up in Wisconsin where he applied for a pension. 1 Microfilm Reel  FHL Film 1838581 Item 3


 * Everest, Allan S. The War of 1812 in the Champlain Valley. (Syracuse, New York : Syracuse University Press, 1981). This book presents the impact of the War of 1812 upon the people and governments of Lower Canada, Vermont, and New York. 239 pages.

Cemetery Records

 * War of 1812 Cemetery Committee, Town of Cheektowaga, Erie County, New York. War of 1812 Cemetery, lists 205 soldiers buried buried between 4 August 1814 and 16 July 1815. It gives regiment, name, commanding officer's name, cause of death, date entered hospital, date died.

Important National and International Sources

 * United States in the War of 1812 has lists of records, books, etc. for the United States, not just one state. The federal records are listed here rather than on each state page. Two of the most important are:


 * FamilySearch Historical Records Collection On line Database:


 * FamilySearch Historical Records Collection On line Database:


 * War of 1812, 1812 to 1815 has lists of general books and documentaries, as well as a list battles with links to web sites about the battles, and other information not tied to one country.