While the Society is not an official repository for original military personnel
records, it does have many books and rolls of microfilm that include lists of soldiers'
names, biographies of military men, and reports of military activities. In addition,
the Society has indexes and guides to records kept by other institutions.
The Newspaper Library has a card index to
subjects and individuals' names which appeared in St. Louis newspapers dated 1808-1828. It
can be helpful in locating items concerning early Indian wars and the War of 1812. The
Liberty Tribune card index, covering newspapers dated 1843-1869, and the Columbia
Missouri Statesman card index 1844-1885, are useful for Mexican War and Civil War
research.
Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union (and Confederate) Soldiers Who Served
in Organizations From Missouri are on microfilm. Both sets of service records have
microfilm indexes accessed by surname. These records are duplicates of those in the
National Archives, Washington, DC. The Society cannot offer copies of these records.
The 1890 Missouri Census Index of Civil War Veterans or Their Widows, a
printed index to the special census of 1890 microfilm, is also available. This index
contains mostly Union veterans, but some Confederates are also listed. It covers
veterans living in all Missouri counties except Daviess, DeKalb, Dodge, Gentry, and Van
Buren.
The Society has microfilmed indexes to the following records held by the National
Archives in Washington, DC: Index to War of 1812 Pension
Application Files, Military Bounty Land Warrants, 1815-1858; Index to "Old
War" Pension Files, 1815-1926; and Index to Mexican War Pension Files, 1846-1848.
All of these are arranged alphabetically by surname of pensioner or applicant.
Microfilmed military and pension index collections must be used in-house; the Society does
not send them through interlibrary loan, nor can we make copies from these sources.
Contact the National Archives
for such services.
The 1840 Federal Census enumerated those persons then receiving a federal pension. A
printed index is available to all U. S. pensioners of 1840 as indicated in, and taken
from, the 1840 census records. The Newspaper Library does not make photocopies from any of
its printed indexes.
The Reference Library has a card catalog
through which patrons may find regimental histories, Adjutant Generals' reports, military
rosters, and muster rolls as well as lists of personnel, official government publications
and publications compiled by patriotic organizations. Annual reports from the Confederate
Veterans and the Ex-Confederates Associations often contain lists of men who died during
the year and/or joined during the year. The Confederate Veteran magazine
(1894-1932) contains many names of soldiers from all over the United States, and it is
indexed. The War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Armies (part of the Making of America collection) contains letters and reports that are particularly useful for tracing activities of
military units, and this 128 volume set is indexed. The indexed Missouri
Historical Review may contain or refer to articles about battles and biographies
about specific soldiers. The Society's preservation policies apply to these materials; and
so, some items may be photocopied only in part and some not at all.
The following sources are on microfilm and may be borrowed through interlibrary loan: Missouri
Adjutant General Reports for the years 1861-65, 1897-98, 1915-16, and 1917-20 (three
rolls, poorly indexed); and Missouri Confederates: A Microfilm Collection of Lists of
Confederate Men Taken from Various Souces in the State Historical Society of Missouri
(one roll, not indexed).
Several Civil War indexes are available for sale from the State Historical Soicety.
They include Missouri Union Burials: Missouri Units and the 2 volume set Selected
Union Burials: Missouri Units, which list burial places of some Union soldiers who
fought in Missouri units. The index Grand Army of the Republic--Missouri
Division--Index to Death Rolls, 1882-1940 lists deaths of about 10,000 Union veterans
who died in Missouri between 1882 and 1940. The book Index of Residents, State Federal
Soldiers' Home of Missouri, St. James shows names of Union veterans and their wives
or widows who went to live at the home during their final years. Our Index to Missouri
Military Pensioners, 1883 gives names, counties and federal pension certificate
numbers for all disabled Union veterans and widows who were receiving a pension as of
January, 1883. For more information on these and other books produced by the State
Historical Society of Missouri, see our publications page.
An excellent source for home reference is How to Locate Anyone Who is or Has Been
in the Military: Armed Forces Locator Directory, by Lt. Col. Richard S. Johnson,
Military Information Enterprises, P. O. Box 340081, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, 78234.
Complete records of men and women who served in
Missouri units from 1812-1940 are
stored at the Missouri State Archives, Records Management and Archives Service, 600 W.
Main Street, P. 0. Box 1747, Jefferson City, MO 65102. Two indexes are
available online:
World War I Military Service Cards Database and
Missouri's
Union Provost Marshal Papers, 1861-1866. When requesting a search for
records give as much information as possible concerning the individual. For a Civil War
record state whether service was Union or Confederate.
Records of men and women who served in Missouri units after 1940 may be obtained from
the archivist of the Adjutant General of Missouri, 2302 Militia Drive, Jefferson City, MO
65101. When making a request, provide the full name of the person and all known details,
such as place of residence, birth and death dates, dates of service, and name of unit, if
known.
Other records, differing from those in the state, may be obtained from the National
Archives and Records Administration for a fee. Write for request form NATF 80, which gives
information as to charges and kinds of records available, from General Reference Branch
(NNRG-P), National Archives and Records Administration, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20408. The form may also be requested by email.
The National Archives has United States military records dated 1775-1912, with a few as
late as 1917, and burial records of soldiers to 1939. Fires in Washington, DC in 1800 and
1814 destroyed many Revolutionary and other records.
The Archives has many veteran benefit and pension records relating to military service
between 1775 and 1934 excluding Confederate and World War I service.
Many recent records are at the branches of the National Personnel Records Center,
Military Personnel Records (MPRC), 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132-5100, as
follows:
- Army Branch - records of Army officers separated between June 30, 1917 and
October 6, 1945, Army enlisted men between October 31, 1912 and October 6, 1945. Also Army
Air Corps and Army Air Force personnel records for these years.
- Air Force Branch - records for Air Force officers and enlisted men separated
since September, 1947.
- Navy Branch - records of Navy enlisted men who served after 1885 and Marine
officers and enlisted men after 1895.
In July, 1973 a fire at the MPRC destroyed about 80% of the records for Army personnel
discharged between November 1, 1912 and January 1, 1960. About 75% of the records for Air
Force personnel with surnames from Hubbard through "Z," discharged between
September 25, 1947 and January 1, 1964, were destroyed. Some alternate information may be
obtained from records in the various state offices of the Adjutant General and in the
offices of veteran service, military and patriotic organizations.
Records of Army and Air Force personnel separated after October 6, 1945, are at Army
Records Center, Department of the Army, 9700 Page Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100.
Requests for Naval Records
World War I draft registration cards are located in the Federal Records Center, 1557
St. Joseph Avenue, East Point, GA 30344. All U. S. men born between 18731900 were required
to register for the draft in 1917-1918.
Some information in recent military records may be restricted.
This site, sponsored by the Missouri Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal
Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), contains hundreds of links and a great deal of
online information about Missouri Civil War soldiers and Missouri Civil War history.
This site, sponsored by the U. S. Army Military History Institute,
provides a gateway to many libraries and archives holding books, papers, photos, and other
materials on military history and biography.
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Newspaper Library