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How to Order Military Records @ The
National Archives
Genealogy Magazine
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Perkins Research
Informational:
How to Order Military Records from
the National Archives
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The first thing you need
to do is to establish if your Ancestor served in any of our War's.
This can be done a number of ways.
If you know which state the soldier
lived, you can find or borrow from your local library books that
contain the names of soldiers who served from all states.
The books
are usually titled (example).
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SOLDIERS & SAILORS of
the REVOLUTIONARY WAR- MASSACHUSETTS or
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SOLDIERS & SAILORS of
the CIVIL WAR-MICHIGAN
(Tip:) There should be books like
this for each state.
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You can also order papers
by family SURNAME, which is a list of men with the same
surname who served in the following wars. (Example: Perkins)
There is a list for the Revolutionary War
There is a list for the War of 1812
(Tip:) These (2) lists can be
purchased for a reasonable fee from the company called, LINEAGES.
www.lineages.com
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Application
Requirements
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On all War Applications that you receive from the National
Archives, you must fill out specific areas of the application before
they will even consider to attempt to do a search for you.
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You
Must have the Soldiers:
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Name
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Branch of Service
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State from which he
served
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War in which he served,
and if Civil War, you must know if he was a *Union or Confederate
Soldier.
**YOU MUST FIND THE
UNIT or COMPANY & STATE YOUR SOLDIER SERVED FROM BEFORE YOU CAN GO TO
THE NEXT STEP** (below).
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Once you find your
ancestor listed in either of these references is when you will call
the NATIONAL ARCHIVES located in Washington, D.C.
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When you call the
National Archives request them to send you the maximum number of Rev.
War or Civil War Applications.
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I suggest getting the maximum number
because just in case you make a typo on one, you will have extra’s to
use. Here is their phone number.
1-202-501-5402 General Phone Number
1-202-501-5390 Rev. War & Civil War Application Requests.
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When you receive the
blank applications you will notice that the Revolutionary War Records
you request will include both Military & Pension Records.
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Veterans of
the Revolutionary War were also granted BOUNTY LAND WARRANTS,
these records will be included in your order as long as your Soldier
received a Land Warrant.
*IMPORTANT RESEARCH NOTICE*
Revolutionary War Soldier Records can also be found in other areas of
the National Archives and will not be included in the request you make
to them using the application.
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These records are known as the “Hidden
Files”. Many people are unaware that other information can be
received. I read about these “Hidden Records” in November/December
1998 Issue of the magazine called “ Family Chronicle”
http://www.familychronicle.com.
The information I read was written by a gentleman named Craig R.
Scott. In the article, he described the
different types of Hidden Files to be found on your Revolutionary War
Soldier. In my case I learned that in 1840 the U.S. Government decided
to do a physical count of all Revolutionary War Soldiers who were
still collecting a pension or wanted to make a final payment to the
heirs of that Soldier. From ordering this last accounting on my
Soldier, I learned the date and place of his death.
Mr. Craig Roberts Scott, MA, CG, FUGA :
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(Web
Site -
https://www.genealogybrickwall.com/
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(E-Mail) - crscott@HeritageBooks.com
You can contract Craig at
crscott@HeritageBooks.com
to discuss your research.
His Fees begin at $75.00 per hour.
When requesting Civil War Records using form NATF 80, it is
completely different then what you do when requesting Rev. War.
Records. On the Civil War Application there are three choices to make
on which type of record you wish to receive.
A. MILITARY or
B.
PENSION or C. BOUNTY LAND
(service before 1856 Only)
(Tip:) You CAN NOT
check all three boxes on one (1) application. You will need three
separate application forms filled out with the correct choice made. So
make sure to order more then one (1) application form for each set of
records you wish to receive.
(Tip:) When
ordering your Civil War Military Records, you must check the box
MILITARY.
You will receive his original agreement with the Government to serve
in a Company for usually a 3 year period. You will also receive his
Muster-In and Muster-Out dates.
You will also receive if he was
discharged for any reason, on sick leave, a deserter or information on
whether he was there or absent during a roll call.
These papers will
be sent to you as long as they themselves have copies of them.
(Tip:) When
ordering a Civil War Pension Record, you must check the box PENSION.
You will receive more personal information about the Soldier. If a
Soldier died before he could claim his own pension, there will be what
is called a “Widows Pension”,
whereas the wife of the Soldier who had
children under the age of 16 could place a claim on their husbands
service record and collect upon his pension.
Sometimes these records
are filled with notes about the doctors he had to visit to claim that
the Soldier was incapable of work.
Sometimes the records will contain
information about family members the Soldier had to use a witnesses to
his disability.
The pension records will cost you the most money. If
you wish to receive the entire pension record of your solder, I
suggest along the top of the application you write in big BOLD black
letters, “COPY ALL FILES”.
If you do not do this, the volunteer
at the National Archives will pick though the file and only send you
what they think you need.
(Tip:)
When requesting a Bounty Land warrant for War
enlistments or service to this country even if not a Soldier, you must
check the box, BOUNTY LAND WARRANT.
This will cover any
service your ancestor might of had before 1856. A Bounty Land Warrant
was a grant of land a person received if he gave service to his
Country prior to the Civil War time era.
The service could have been
anything from being a Soldier to giving medical help or offering food
or shelter to Soldiers in need at the time of War.
NOTE: I also
want to note that when you receive the blank applications from the
National Archives, they will come from a different address then where
you need to send them when completed. The address where you send in
your filled out application is:
GENERAL REFERENCE BRANCH (NNRG-P)
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
7th and PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW
WASHINGTON , DC20408
According to the National Archives “Important Information about your
order” the NATF form 80 says the following information.
“The success of our search depends on the completeness and accuracy of
the information you provide in blocks 3-18 on this form. Please note
that each NATF Form 80 is handled separately.
When you send more then
one form at a time, you may not receive all of your replies at the
same time.
Military service records rarely contain family information. Pension
application files generally are most helpful to those who are doing
genealogy research and contain the most complete information regarding
a man’s military career.
We suggest that you first request copies of a
man’s pension file. You should request copies of a bounty-land warrant
file or a military record only when no pension file exists.
If the
veteran’s service was during the Revolutionary War, bounty-land
warrant applications have been consolidated with pension application
papers. You can obtain both files by requesting the pension file only.
We will copy complete military service and bounty-land application
files. When we are unable to provide copies of all pension documents
because of the size of a pension application file,
we will send copies
of the documents we think will be most useful to you for genealogical
purposes. Many of the documents in these files are repetitive or
administrative in nature.
You may order copies of all remaining
documents in a file by making a specific request. We will notify you
of the cost of the additional copies.”
| INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THIS FORM |
Use a separate NATF Form 80 for each file that you request. DO NOT SEND PAYMENT WITH THIS FORM.
Remove
this instruction sheet (from the top of the form) and address in the
block provide at the bottom of the form, which is your mailing label.
The information must be legible on all copies. Keep the PINK copy for
your records.
Mail the remaining three pages of the (4-part) form to:
General Reference Branch (NNRG-P)
National Archives and Records
Administration
7th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408.
When they search your order, they will
make photocopies of records that relate to your request.
For credit card orders, they will mail the copies immediately. For
other types of orders, they will invoice you for the cost of these copies and hold them
until we receive your payment.”
TYPES OF RECORDS THAT CAN BE ORDERED WITH THIS FORM
a. Pension application files, based on Federal (not State) service
before WWI, usually include an official statement of the veteran’s
military service, as well as information of a personal nature.
b. Pension
based on military service for the Confederate States of America were
authorized by some Southern States but not by the Federal Government
until 1959.
Inquiries about State pensions should be addressed to the
State archives or equivalent agency at the capital of the veteran’s
state of residence after the war”.
BOUNTY-LAND WARRANT APPLICATION FILES
Bounty-Land warrant application files are based on Federal (not
State) service before 1856.
Documents in a bounty-land warrant application file are similar to those in a pension application
file.
In addition, these files usually give the veteran’s age and
place of residence at the time the application was made.”
MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS
“Military service records are based on service in the UNITED STATES
ARMY (officers who served before June 30th 1917,and enlisted men who
served before October 31st ,1912); NAVY (officers who served before
1903 and enlisted men who served before 1886);MARINE CORPS (officers
who served before 1896 and enlisted men who served before 1905);
CONFEDERATE ARMED FORCES (officers and enlisted men, 1861-65).
In
addition to persons who served in regular forces raised by the Federal
Government, volunteers fought in various wars chiefly in the Federal
Government’s interest from the Revolutionary War though the Philippine Insurrection,1775-1902.
Compilations of information concerning most military service performed
by individuals in volunteer organizations during the 19th and early
20th centuries are available, but such records were not compiled for
Regular Army officers who served before 1863 and for Regular Army
enlisted men and Navy and Marine Corps personnel who served during
most of the 19thcentury. Records pertaining to such service are
scattered among many files and generally contain few details
concerning a man’s service. We cannot undertake the research necessary
to locate all such documents. If you request a military service
records, we will copy the documents that best summarize the veteran’s
service.
The record of an individual’s service in any one organization is
entirely separate from his records of service in another organization.
We are unable to establish accurately the identity of individuals of
the same name who served in different organizations. If you know that
a individual served in more then one organization and you desire
copies of all of the military service records, submit a separate form
for the service record in each organization.
Discharge certificates are not usually included as part of a compiled
military service record. Before 1944, Army regulations allowed the
preparation of an original discharge certificate only, which was given
to the soldier. Confederate soldiers in service at the time of
surrender did not receive discharge certificates. They were given
paroles, and these paroles became the property of the soldier.”
I hope this information helps you in understanding the process to
request your ancestors military records. If you have any questions,
please feel free to e-mail me.
Sincerely,
Denise Perkins Ready- WebMaster
PerkinsResearch
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