New Jersey Military Records

United States   United States Military Records     New Jersey     New Jersey Military Records

The United States Military Records Wiki article 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 state archives has many military records from before World War I. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of most of these records. The archives will make copies from indexes and muster rolls for a fee.

This portion of the article lists sources arranged chronologically by conflict.

Forts
Camp Washington -- Textual records of this post, 1839, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).

Fort Lee

Fort Mott

Colonial Wars (1668-1775)
Muster rolls and officer commissions are recorded in:


 * Military Officers Recorded in the Office of the Secretary of State, Trenton, New Jersey: Colonial Wars, 1668-1774. Typescript at the state archives. (Family History Library .) Military commissions are also in the Index to Powers of Attorney, Surveyors' Reports, Commissions (see New Jersey Land and Property.

Muster rolls for 1673, 1690, and 1715 were published in the:


 * Second Annual Report of the State Historian of the State of New York. Albany, New York: Wynkoop, Hallenbeck, Crawford, 1897. (.)

A transcript of muster rolls for the French and Indian War is found in:


 * New Jersey Records: French and Indian War, 1757- 1764. Typescript at the state archives. (Family History Library .)

The lineage records of the General Society of Colonial Wars often contain birth, death, marriage, lineage, and source information. See: General Society of Colonial Wars. Lineage Records. (209 Family History Library films beginning with .)

Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
A man born between 1730 and 1765 who lived in New Jersey is probably listed in some form of military record. If he supported the rebellion, he may be mentioned in records as a rebel, patriot, Whig, or signer of the Continental Association. Those who opposed the rebellion were Loyalists or Tories.

There were 238 battles and skirmishes in New Jersey, more than occurred in any other state. At least 18,000 New Jersey men fought in either the Continental Army or militia units.

For records of the Revolutionary War, see:


 * White, Virgil D. Genealogical Abstracts of the Revolutionary War Pension Files. 4 vols. Waynesboro, Tennessee: National Historical Publishing, 1990. (Family History Library .) Includes names, dates, places, battles fought, and some personal and family information. These pension files are also on Family History Library films.

If you find a serviceman listed in this index, you can use NATF Form 80 to obtain copies of the original records from the National Archives for a fee.


 * White, Virgil D. Index to Revolutionary War Service Records. Four Volumes. Waynesboro, Tennessee: National Historical Publishing, 1995. (Family History Library .) Contains the names of soldiers and has service information.

The 1835 Pension Roll, which includes Revolutionary War pensioners and heirs of War of 1812 casualties, is available three places online:


 * 1) New Jersey Pensioners, 1835, courtesy: Ancestry.com ($)
 * 2) New Jersey Revolutionary War Pensioners, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives
 * 3) The Pension Roll of 1835, Vol. II, courtesy: Ancestry.com ($)

Index. For an incomplete but helpful list of about 15,000 Revolutionary soldiers, refer to:


 * Campbell, James W.S., Compiler. Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War, 1872. Revised 1911. Reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1967. (Family History Library ; ; fiche .)

An index prepared by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) is:


 * Index of the Official Register of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War. 1941; reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1965. (FHL book ; film ; fiche .)

State Service and Pension Records. The following records will help you document Revolutionary War service. Collectively, they provide more complete information than the published Official Register described above. The originals are at the New Jersey State Archives, and the Family History Library has microfilm copies.


 * Revolutionary War Index: A Compilation of Revolutionary War Slips and Documented Materials. This card index has summaries of service records and gives references to original manuscript sources; lists soldiers, doctors, wagon masters, clergy, and others who assisted in the war. May give the name of the person's father or son. (On 31 Family History Library films beginning with .)
 * Revolutionary War Slips, Single Citations of the New Jersey Department of Defense Materials. This card index abstracts and indexes account books, indents (certificates issued for the principal or interest on public debt), quartermaster vouchers, pensions, council of safety records, and miscellaneous manuscripts. There may be several cards for the same person; the cards often give the county where the person joined the militia. (On 120 Family History Library films beginning with .)
 * Revolutionary War Records of New Jersey. This large collection of original records includes tax receipts, records of forfeited and confiscated loyalist estates, contracts and certificates received to pay for taxes, treasurer's accounts, militia and minuteman returns, correspondence, continental line lists, muster rolls, and compiled war records (on 27 Family History Library films beginning with ). The index is on Family History Library.
 * New Jersey Revolutionary War Pension Claims. This file has the adjutant general's alphabetically arranged pension claims (Family History Library ).
 * Revolutionary War Records of New Jersey. Contains information arranged by county. Includes property tax payments from credit slips for Revolutionary War service, confiscated estates information, tax records, militia lists, men enrolled by county, wagon masters, and pension papers (Family History Library ).
 * Federal Service and Pension Records. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of almost all Revolutionary War service, pension, and miscellaneous records at the National Archives. Most are also on film at the National Archives — Northeast Region. Some of the names and information from lists of pensioners sent to the United States Senate are abstracted in:
 * Waldenmaier, Inez. Revolutionary War Pensioners Living in New Jersey before 1834. Tulsa, Oklahoma: Inez Waldenmaier, 1983. (Family History Library .) This often gives the soldier's age, residence, state where he served, and death date.

Burial Records. The Family History Library has the DAR book Graves of Revolutionary Soldiers in New Jersey, typescript, not dated. (Family History Library ). Additional, more comprehensive indexes are described in the United States Military Records and the United States Cemetery Records Wiki articles.

Loyalists. The New Jersey Volunteers was the largest Loyalist regiment in the colonies during the war. It mustered six battalions (about 5,000 soldiers, many of whom came from Monmouth County). Original muster rolls of this unit, 1777 to 1783, are available at the National Archives of Canada in British Military and Naval Records. Muster Rolls (RG 8, Ser. I, vols. 1852-1860). The last two volumes of this set are on Family History Library. The state archives has two valuable unpublished indexes to Loyalists:


 * Listing of Loyalists in the King's Army, 1776- 1783 (Family History Library, and 900371 [F- Z]]). These records give service information and may give death date and place.
 * Officers and Men of the New Jersey Loyalists. The first part of this collection consists of four large volumes of muster rolls (Family History Library ). The second part is a card index to petitions to the governor, petitions to the legislature, and records of confiscated estates (Family History Library ).

The two most important published books about New Jersey Loyalists are:


 * Jones, Edward Alfred. The Loyalists of New Jersey: Their Memorials, Petitions, Claims, etc. from English Records. 1927. Reprint. Lambertville, New Jersey: Hunterdon House, 1988. (Family History Library .) The names of parents, wife, and children may be given. May also give birth town or county and death information.
 * Stryker, William S. The New Jersey Volunteers (Loyalists) in the Revolutionary War. Trenton, New Jersey: Narr, Day &amp; Narr, 1887. (Family History Library .)
 * See also the following records:
 * Damages in New Jersey by the British and American, 1776-1782. (Family History Library .) Family History Library film 888698 has the index and films 888699-700 have records of the damages. Gives the county where the person lived and often mentions the town.

War of 1812 (1812-1815)
A published roster of soldiers is found in:


 * Records of Officers and Men of New Jersey in Wars, 1791-1815. 1909. Reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1970. (Family History Library .)

This book lists the full name, rank, and dates of enrollment and discharge of over 10,000 soldiers in the War of 1812 and other minor conflicts. An index to this book and Stryker's Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War is found in:


 * Jackson, Ronald Vern, et al. Index to Military Men of New Jersey, 1775-1815. Bountiful, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1977. (Family History Library book .)

The state archives has New Jersey in the War of 1812. (On 16 Family History Library ; index on Family History Library film 573337.) These are the original adjutant general pension records. They give each soldier's name, rank, unit, and enrollment and discharge dates. The records often include marriage dates and places, information about widows, and the nature of disabilities.

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of service and pension indexes and bounty land warrants found at the National Archives.

Mexican War (1846-1848)
Five New Jersey companies served at Veracruz and Matamoros, Mexico. Lists of the soldiers that served are in: New Jersey Adjutant General, Record of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the War with Mexico, 1846-1848. Trenton, New Jersey, 1900. (Not available at the Family History Library). A copy of this book is at the state archives.

The Family History Library has microfilms which list the soldiers who fought in this war. (Family History Library films .) An index to the pension records is on Family History Library.

Civil War (1861-1865)
See New Jersey in the Civil War for information about New Jersey Civil War records, web sites, etc. with links to articles about the New Jersey regiments involved in the Civil War. The regimental pages often include lists of the companies with links to the counties where the companies started. Men in the companies often lived in the counties where the companies were raised. Knowing a county can help when researching more about the soldiers and their families.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System allows name searching for soldiers. The result set gives the regiments for the soldiers. Then you can check the Wiki regiment pages to determine counties. Often knowing the counties that had men in a regiment will help you determine if a soldier was your ancestor.

Spanish-American War (1898)
New Jersey mustered four volunteer infantry regiments and lost 40 men as a result of disease and accident during the Spanish-American War. The state archives has 122 volumes of Spanish-American War records, most of which are not microfilmed. They contain rosters, muster rolls and returns, correspondence, enlistments, and orders. The Family History Library has a microfilm copy of the archives' index to the entire collection (Family History Library ) and volumes containing pension applications, requests for commissions, and abstracts of discharges.

For a published volume relating to Spanish-American service, refer to:


 * McNally, Bernard, Compiler. Soldiers and Sailors of New Jersey in the Spanish-American War, Embracing a Chronological Account of the Army and Navy. Newark, New Jersey: Bernard McNally, 1898. (Family History Library .) The Family History Library also has microfilm indexes to service and pension records found at the National Archives.

World War I (1917-1918)
Over 150,000 New Jerseyans served in the war, and of these, 3,836 died. The state archives has a card index to Mexican border service in 1916, microfilm copies of unofficial service records for World War I, and an index to the unofficial service records. World War I draft registrations for the 762,000 New Jersey men who registered are on microfilm at the Family History Library.


 * World War I draft registration cards for men ages 18 to 45 may list address, birth date, birthplace, race, nationality, citizenship, and next of kin. Not all registrants served in the war. For New Jersey's registration cards, see:
 * United States. Selective Service System. New Jersey, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1987-1988. (On 127 Family History Library films beginning with .)

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 alphabetically by surname within each draft board.

Most counties had only one board; large cities had more. Finding an ancestor's street address in a city directory will help you determine the board number if he lived in a large city. A map of Jersey City (with Hoboken) has been prepared which shows the draft board registration district boundaries. For a copy of this map, see:


 * United States. Selective Service System. List of World War One Draft Board Maps. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. (Family History Library .)

Militia and National Guard Records
The names of 30,000 men, ages 18 to 45, are listed in:


 * Norton, James S. New Jersey in 1793: An Abstract and Index to the 1793 Militia Census of the State of New Jersey. Salt Lake City, Utah: J. S. Norton, 1973. (Family History Library .) The original lists are at the New Jersey Bureau of Archives and History. The state archives has the New Jersey militia and National Guard records, 1789 to 1925. These have not been microfilmed.

Web Sites

 * http://www.archives.gov/
 * http://www.archives.gov/northeast/
 * http://www.state.nj.us/state/darm/links/archives.html