Union Provost Marshals' File

United States U.S. Military  U.S. Civil War  Union Provost Marshals' File

Union Provost Marshals' File
The provost marshals who served in territorial commands, armies, and Army corps were the military police. They sought out and arrested deserters, Confederate spies, and civilians suspected of disloyalty. They also investigated the theft of Government property, controlled the passage of civilians in military zones and those using Government transportation, confined prisoners and maintained records of paroles and oaths allegiance.

There are two collections relating to records of the Provost Marshals. One is the "Union Provost Marshals' File of Papers Relating to Individual Civilians" (NARA M345) and the other is the "Union Provost Marshal's File of Papers Relating to Two or More Civilians" (NARA M416).

Union Provost Marshals' File (Individual Civilians)
The "Union Provost Marshals' File of Papers Relating to Individual Civilians" (NARA M345) is a collection of papers relating to civilians or "citizens" who came into contact with the Army. The records were assembled in the War Department from documents that were extracted from the files of Union Army provost marshals and from other records of Army territorial commands. The records include correspondence, provost court papers, orders, passes, paroles, oaths of allegiance, transportation permits, and claims for compensation for property used or destroyed by military forces.

See the official NARA pamphlet explaining these records in detail at M345.pdf.

Online


 * (FamilySearch)
 * Union Citizens File (Fold3) ($)

Libraries


 * Locate these records at a library using Worldcat.

Union Provost Marshals' File (Two or More Civilians)
The "Union Provost Marshal's File of Papers Relating to Two or More Civilians" (NARA M416) is similar to the "Union Provost Marshals' File of Papers Relating to Individual Civilians" (NARA M345) except that the records contained in the collection relate to two or more individuals.

Online


 * (FamilySearch)

Libraries


 * Locate these records at a library using Worldcat.