United States Naval Enlistment Rendezvous - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in This Collection?
A rendezvous was the recruiting station where the men enlisted in the Navy. Officers at the rendezvous kept a record of each man enlisted and reported the information weekly to the Navy Department. These documents are known as the "weekly returns of rendezvous reports."

The largest number of enlistments occurred during the Civil War. The number of men in uniform for these years is estimated at between 26,000 and 51,000.

This collection consists of these enlistment registers for the years 1855 to 1891. The original records are located in the National Archives Record Group 24 (NARA publication M1953): Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel. The records were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah in 2003.

They are arranged in the following order:
 * Volume
 * Chronologically by week
 * Name of naval rendezvous
 * Date of enlistment

The indexes to these records, both arranged alphabetically, are available on microfilm from the National Archives in the following publications:
 * T1098, Index to Rendezvous Reports, Before and After the Civil War, 1846–1861, 1865–1884
 * T1099, Index to Rendezvous Reports, Civil War, 1861–1865

Related Collections

 * Muster Rolls of Naval Ships, 1860 -1900 - National Archives Catalog Searchable by ship
 * Muster Rolls of Naval Vessels, 1.1.1860 - 6.9.1900. Record Group 24: Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel NAID 563603
 * Muster Rolls and Personnel Diaries of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 1/1/1949 - 12/31/1971 RG 24, NAID 601767
 * U.S. Navy Ships - Index by Ship Name
 * Lists of Deaths in the United States Naval Service During the Civil War, 1861 - 1865. RG 94. NAID 1226166

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records: • 2

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate age of your ancestor
 * The birth place of your ancestor
 * The approximate dates of enlistment

If you are having difficulty finding your ancestor, look for variations in the spelling of the name. If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Death dates may lead to death certificates, mortuary, or burial records
 * Use the age to calculate an approximate birth date
 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth of the deceased to locate census, church, and land records
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the deceased; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been seeking the pension
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the United States.
 * United States Guided Research
 * United States Record Finder
 * United States Research Tips and Strategies
 * US Military Basic Search Strategies
 * Beginning Research in United States Military Records
 * Beginning United States Civil War Research
 * Steps for research in United States Military Records

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * K. Jack Bauer and Stephen S. Roberts, Register of ships of the U. S. Navy, 1775-1990 : major combatants New York, New York : Greenwood Press, c1991 FHL 973 M2bau
 * Virgil E. Baugh.  Preliminary inventory of the records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel : record group 24. Washington : National Archives, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1960; reprint. Westminster, Maryland : Heritage Books, Inc., 2006. FHL 973 A3bv
 * Weekly returns of enlistments at Naval Rendezvous ("Enlistment Rendezvous"), Jan. 6, 1855-Aug. 8, 1891 : Record Group 24: Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, NARA Pub., M1953
 * Keys to and registers of enlistment returns, U.S. Navy, 1846-1854 : NARA Pub., M1975
 * Lists of officers of vessels of the United States Navy, August 1860-December 1877 : NARA pub, M1976
 * Abstracts of service records of naval officers ("records of officers"), 1798-1893: NARA Pub., M330
 * Abstracts of service records of naval officers ("records of officers"), 1829-1924: NARA Pub., M1328
 * Index to officer's jackets, 1913-1925 (Officer's directory), NARA Pub., T1102
 * Register of officer personnel, United States Navy and Marine Corps, and ships data, 1801-1807Washington : U.S. Gov't Printing Office, 1945

State publications 
 * Maine, Civil War Navy enlistment papers, 1864-1865

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * United States Navy Widows' Certificates, 1861-1910
 * United States Muster Rolls of the Marine Corps, 1798-1937

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Civil War Naval Chronology
 * David D. Porter, The naval history of the Civil War New York : Sherman Pub. Co., 1885.
 * Thomas H.S. Hamersly, ed. General Register of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Washington, D.C. : W.K. Boyle Printer, 1882
 * Edward W. Callahan, ed. List of officers of the Navy of the United States and of the Marine Corps from 1775 to 1900 : comprising a complete register of all present and former commissioned, warranted, and appointed officers of the United States Navy and of the Marine Corps, regular and volunteer : compiled from the official records of the Navy Department New York : L.R. Hamersly & Co., 1901. 1 v.; reprint. Gaithersburg, Md. : Olde Soldier Books, 1988?
 * A General register of the Navy and Marine Corps of the United States, alphabetically arranged : containing the names of all officers of the Navy and Marine Corps, military and civil, commissioned and warrant, who have entered the service since the establishment of the Navy Department in 1798 Washington, D.C. : s. n., 1848
 * Navy directory : officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps; also including officers of the U.S. Naval Reserve Force (active), Marine Corps Reserve (active), and foreign officers serving with the Navy Washington, D.C. : Government Printing Office (United States), 1924-
 * Medal of honor, 1861-1949 : the Navy Washington, D.C. : s.n., 1950?
 * compiled under the direction of Clifford Merrill Drury, United States Navy chaplains, 1778-1945 : biographical and service-record sketches of 3,353 chaplains Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office, 1948

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Estados Unidos, Encontro de Alistamento Naval (Registros Históricos do Familysearch)