Colorado Military Records

The U.S. Military Records Research Outline 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 StatesResearch Outline provides more information on federal records. For Colorado the following sources are also very helpful:

Civil War (1861-1865)
The Family History Library and the National Archives have an Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers (FHL films 821998-822000) and an index to pension applications. The actual service and pension records have not been microfilmed and are only at the National Archives.

A roster of Colorado soldiers is in William Clarke Whitford, Colorado Volunteers in the Civil War: The New Mexico Campaign in 1862, (Denver: S.p., State Historical and Natural History Society, 1906; FHL film 1000145 item 3).

Indian Wars (1798-1914)
The names of soldiers who served at military posts on the frontier are in Registers of Enlistments in the United States Army at the National Archives. The Family History Library has copies of the registers from 1798 to 1914 (beginning on FHL film 350307). The registers give the soldier's name, rank, company, regiment, company and commanders, physical description, age, occupation, and birthplace. They are arranged by year and by the first letter of the surname.

World War I (1917-1918)
World War I draft registration cards for men age 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 Colorado, see:

United States. Selective Service System. Colorado, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1987-1988. (On FHL films beginning with 1544462.) These cards are digitized, indexed and online at www.ancestry.com ($)

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. (FHL film 1498803.)

The Family History Library and the National Archives have two indexes of pension records: Old War Pension Index (1815-1926) and Indian Wars (1892-1926). These are listed in the Family History Library Catalog under UNITED STATES - MILITARY RECORDS.

Additional military records are at the Colorado Division of State Archives and Public Records, including militia muster roll books through World War I and grave registrations of veterans.

Online Resources

http://www.archives.gov/

http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/military.html

http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~xander/colorado-records.htm

www.ancestry.com ($)