Saxony (Sachsen) Military Records

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When looking for an ancestor who may have served in the Saxon army at some point, the following advice applies (issued by the Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden):

"Um Angehörige der sächsischen Regimenter sicher ermitteln zu können, müssen die militärische Einheit und der ungefähre Zeitraum der Zugehörigkeit zur sächsischen Armee bekannt sein".

(To retrieve accurate data about a member of the Saxon Army one needs to know the military rank and the approximate time frame in which this person served).

The Archive houses:

Akten der Einheiten und Formationen der ehemaligen sächsischen Armee (1632 - 1921), darunter Musterungslisten (1681 - 1869), Monats(verpflegungs)listen (1701 - 1868), Toten- und Verschollenenlisten (1756 - 1823), Rang- und Konduitenlisten der Offiziere (1681 - 1814). Vereinzelt Stammrollen, vor allem einzelner in Dresden in Garnison befindlichen Truppenteile bis 1867.

A brief military history

When military conflicts arose, a sovereign lord had to rely on his vassals to provide armed soldiers. It was not really dictated how many men were liable for military service, but it was a matter of honor to supply as many as possible. Later the so called Ritterrolle (muster roll) determined how many men were to serve based on the property of the vassal. Besides the knight, the Church and cities had to provide soldiers in the event of war. Such was the procedure in the 17th century. At the time of the Thirty Years War the vassals were unable to provide soldiers and horses because the methods of fighting had become more brutal (gun powder instead of duels) and men were reluctant to go to war. Instead of supplies the vassals now provided money with which the sovereign hired troops. With time this method was not longer sufficient and instead of hiring soldiers, levying rolls were established. From 1709 to 1711 the cities were obliged to supply soldiers from among their twenty to twenty-four years-old men, who already served, the rest were recruited through the lottery. The soldier's gear was supplied by the cities. The idea of a standing army emerged. 3000 men were to be on duty at all times. In 1663 it became mandatory for all places to provide soldiers. In 1711 four regiments were installed which served as the standing army. Regiments were divided into field and county regiments, they contained volunteers and sons of the rural population. In 1742 tables were established by administrations who listed all men between 15 and 35, married or not, in their respective villages and cities. These tables were handed in to the government. In 1780 recruiting districts were attached to the regiments from which soldiers were enlisted. By 1810 it was no longer allowed to recruit soldiers, all men now came under the draft. In 1811 special administrative authorties were made responsible for the draft. In 1825 a soldier was enlisted for 8 years active duty and 4 years in the reserves, in 1834 it was six years active duty and 3 years reserves, in 1852 he had to serve 6 years active duty. By 1888 compulsory military service was between age 17 to age 25.

Source: Verlohren, Heinrich August. Stammregister und Chronik der Kur- und Königlich Sächsischen Armee von 1670 bis zum Beginn des Zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts

There is an article in GenWiki about muster rolls. The article is written in German, but can be read in English by entering the URL into Google language tools. Choose "translate a website", choose language (German) to English. Here is the link http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Milit%C3%A4r_Sachsen

The State Archive Dresden houses a collection of soldiers from the 17th to the 20th century. Their names and documentation is available in alphabetical order independent of their rank and social standing. (see reference http://www.archiv.sachsen.de/archive/dresden/4666_3131333731.htm ) An index to soldiers can be found here: http://www.archiv.sachsen.de/ofind/StA-D/11241/index.htm

The Family History Library has some nominal rolls from the Freistaat Sachsen. They can be found under Königreich Sachsen, subject military of the inidvidual towns or in the catalog of the Family History Library www.familysearch.org, Keyword search: Militärstammrollen