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Archiver > APG > 1999-02 > 0919891072


From: "Craig R. Scott" <>
Subject: Re: APG- War of 1812 Records??
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 16:17:52 -0500


At 03:03 PM 2/24/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Does anyone know where to look for the "War of 1812" records? Several in our
>family have been unable to retrieve anything from the NARA, yet they are
>listed in books, databases, etc. Any ideas?

During the War of 1812 there were two kinds of soldiers; regular Army and
militia. In some cases militia units became the core of regular Army units
(such as the 24th Infantry raised from Tenn. and the 35th Infantry raised
from Va.). Some militia units crossed state lines (such as the Virginia
units that were stationed in Baltimore). Knowing the kind of unit an
ancestor belonged to is important to 1812 research. If a member of the
regular Army there is no compiled military service record and a record will
have to be compiled from various series of records found in Record Group
94, Records of the Adjutant General Office, including the NARA microfilm,
M233, Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army. For officers the various
rolls of letters sent and letters recieved relating to the Adjutant
Generals Office should also be examined. It the soldier was in the militia,
but did not cross state lines during his service, he more than likely was
paid for his service by his state. Those muster rolls and pay or receipt
rolls will usually be found in the State Archives. In the case of Virginia
most of the muster rolls for central and southern militia units are found
in the Library of Virginia. However there are no muster rolls in the
Library of Virginia for northern counties such as Loudoun and Fairfax.
These muster rolls and receipt rolls are found in the RG 94 in the National
Archives. Both the National Archives and the State archives should be
consulted.

RG 217, Records of the Accounting Officers of the U.S. also contain muster
rolls, receipt rolls and state claims for the war of 1812. Also included
among these records are two series of records that apply to men who were
killed during the war or of wounds immediately following the war. I have
been abstracting final payment accounts for widows and orphans found in
entry 726 and have identified about 1,700 unique individuals who died in
the war, their wives and where the wife remarried her new husband and
sometimes the names, ages, and dates of birth of children of the soldier.
Additionally, located in entry 516, Settled Accounts of Army Paymasters
(but almost impossible to use because of the way that they are arranged)
are the application letters from the widows that establish her marriage to
the soldier, his military service and the circumstances of this death.

Two other sources in RG 94 should also be consulted. The microfilm index,
M1747, Index to Records Relating to War of 1812 Prisoners of War will lead
to other records. The manuscript index to the War of 1812 manuscript file
will also lead to additional information.

Finding an individual in books and databases should be able to lead you
directly to the source of the information. One would hope that this was the
case.

Craig

Craig R. Scott, CGRS
Proprietor, Willow Bend Books and Family Line Publications
<www.willowbend.net>

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