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Atten-Hut!

© Mark W. Swarthout

Commands echo across the field, mixed with the clash and clink as vast numbers of troops moving in unison to comply. Gleaming brass and shiny boots marching in lock step across the field or down the street. We have always been fascinated by the image of the military. And nothing makes my eyes tear up like the Stars and Stripes passing by escorted by a military honor guard.

The military has historically been known for its red tape, second only to the government as a whole. But, as we shall see, this red tape is actually a good thing, at least for genealogists and historians. The military is normally held in high regard, though the decisions that affect them are not always as popular.

This series of articles is going to discuss resources for finding military related records and information that can make those ancestral shadows take on real form. My personal experience with a couple dozen records obtained from the government is that they seldom contain much in the way of genealogical information. Most of the information involves the individual in question, the unit he served with and the campaigns he participated in. It may even explain that limp that your second cousin remembered on Great Grandpa!

But occasionally you will hit a piece information of use to your family tree. Next of kin may be listed in the records. In one instance, included in the pension application of a Revolutionary soldier, was a letter typed in the 1930's in reply to a request from a distant cousin that listed all of the children of the serviceman.

So, did your ancestors fight in a war? The first thing you need to determine is which war they may have participated in. Basic history test, how many wars can you name? Most people can throw out the obvious ones, the Revolution, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam. With a bit of thought they will add the War of 1812 and the Spanish-American War, and maybe even the French and Indian War. Really digging through the memory banks may recall the the Mexican War, the Whiskey Rebellion, the Florida Wars or even the Blackhawk War. (Sure, you remember! The one where Abraham Lincoln got his military experience!)

To start with, you need to determine what persons in your tree might have been in the military. There wasn't a standing army in America until after the Revolution, but there were numerous battles and actions against the Indians, the Spanish and even the French. Early records have been indexed by various conflicts and are all centered around the actual wars. Organizations that commemorate the brave men who fought in them have collected vast quantities of documentation.

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