West Virginia Military Records

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United States

U.S. Military Records

West Virginia

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 United States Wiki article provides more information about federal records. For information on records from the colonial period to 1863, see the Virginia Wiki article.

The Archives and History Library has the original adjutant general's records for the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Indian Wars, Civil War (Union and Confederate), and Spanish-American War. These include muster and descriptive rolls, enlistment records, and correspondence.

Online Resources

The US Military Records Wiki article provides more information on Federal military records amd search strategies.

• West Virginians in the American Revolution ($)
• United States Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications, 1800-1900 Index (free) and images ($)
• West Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 Index and images.
• West Virginia Volunteer Infantry.
• United States, World War I American Expeditionary Forces Deaths, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — index
• 1917-1940 - United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940 at FamilySearch — index
• West Virginia, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945, index and images.
• U.S. Index to Service Records, War with Spain, 1898.
• U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Korean War for Home-State-of-Record: West Virginia
• U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Vietnam War for Home-State-of-Record: West Virginia

Forts

• Fort Fincastle
• Fort Henry
• Fort Randolph
• Fort Vanmetre

Revolutionary War (1775-1783)

Two particularly helpful sources for West Virginia ancestors who participated in the Revolutionary War are:

Johnston, Ross B. West Virginians in the American Revolution. 1959. Reprint. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1977. FHL fiche 6087736 (1959 edition); FHL book 975.4 M2j This includes sketches of over 1,300 soldiers who lived in West Virginia at some time in their life.

Reddy, Anne Waller. West Virginia Revolutionary Ancestors Whose Services were Non-military. 1930. Reprint. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1963. FHL 1321057 item 6; book 975.4 N2r This book lists persons in the Revolutionary Public Claims records who gave aid and support, “provisions and other necessaries”, to the revolutionary forces. Most of these patriots do not appear in other Revolutionary War sources.

• West Virginia Revolutionary Ancestors at Ancestry.com ($)

Mexican War (1846-1848)

The Mexican War was caused by the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845. Most volunteer regiments were from southern states. Records of Mexican War veterans might exist in a state where the veteran later resided.

• Mexican War Index to Pension Files, 1887–1926. (NARA T317). FHL films 0537000–13 Alphabetically arranged and includes the veteran’s name, rank, and unit; names of dependents; date of filing and application; certificate numbers; act filed under; and state from which application was made. Also available at:
  

• United States, Mexican War Pension Index, 1887-1926 (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. (Learn more.)
  

• Robarts, William Hugh. Mexican War Veterans : A Complete Roster of the Regular and Volunteer Troops in the War Between the United States and Mexico, from 1846-1848… Washington, D.C. : Brentano’s, 1887. FHL book 973 M2rwh Digital version available at Internet Archive.
  

Click on these links to learn more about the Mexican War and about Mexican War pension records.

Civil War (1861-1865)

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia 1865

See West Virginia in the Civil War for information about West Virginia Civil War records, websites, etc. with links to articles about the West Virginia 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.

• 1861-1865 - West Virginia Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
West Virginia, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 - FamilySearch Historical Records

• West Virginia 5th Cavalry Roster at Ancestry.com ($)
• U.S. Southern Claims Commission Master Index, 1871-1880 Index only $

Spanish-American War (1898)

The Spanish-American War was largely fought in Cuba and the Philippines. Spanish-American War records might exist in the state from which the soldier served or in a state where the veteran later resided.

Indexes

• United States, General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 (NARA T288). (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. The index covers veterans of the Civil War, Spanish‑American War, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer Rebellion (1900 to 1901), and the regular Army, Navy, and Marine forces. (Learn more.)

• United States, Index to Service Records, War with Spain, 1898 (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. (Learn more.)

Click on the link to learn more about the Spanish American War.

World War I (1917-1918)

World War I was a global war fought on multiple continents with several nations involved. Over four million men and women served from the United States.

• United States. Selective Service System. West Virginia, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1987-1988. FHL film 1992327 (first film). Also available at:

• United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — index and images — free

• United States, YMCA World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — index and images

• United States, World War I American Expeditionary Forces Deaths, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — index

See WWI Draft Records for more information.

• West Virginia Revised List of Deceased Soldiers World War

World War II (1941-1945)

Draft Registrations

• West Virginia, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945

Fourth Registration

• On April 27, 1942, the Selective Service conducted the fourth of six draft registrations related to WWII. The "World War II Selective Service Draft Cards: Fourth Registration, 1942" is often referred to as the “Old Man’s Registration” or the “Old Man’s Draft" because it included men with a date of birth from April 28, 1877 to February 16, 1897. Since there is overlap in the WWI and WWII Selective Service registration, men born in the years 1877 to 1900 may have registered twice and have both WWII and WWI draft records.

• United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (Image Browse) (FamilySearch) - free
• United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (images with partial index) (FamilySearch) - free

Also available at:

• Ancestry ($)
• Fold3 ($).

A series of books entitled "Young American Patriots", published shortly after the war, documented the service of soldiers from different states including West Virginia. The series of books included photos and a short biography of some of the soldiers from the state.

World War II United States Military Records provides additional information.

Korean War (1950–1953)

The Korean War was a conflict between North Korea (and its communist allies) and South Korea (with support of the United Nations, primarily the United States). See the Korean War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Vietnam War (1964–1972)

The Vietnam War was a conflict between North Vietnam (and its communist allies) and South Vietnam (with support of its anti-communist allies, including the United States). See the Vietnam War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Additional Military Records

Various rosters of soldiers for the French and Indian War, Indian Wars, Lord Dunmore's War, Revolutionary War, Whiskey Insurrection of 1794, War of 1812, Mexican War, and the Civil War, are in Virgil A. Lewis, The Soldiery of West Virginia. 1911, Reprint (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1978; Family History Library book 975.4 M2L). A separate index has been published. This book has also been reprinted (and updated through the Vietnam War) as Volume 9 of The West Virginia Historical Encyclopedia: Supplemental Series (see West Virginia History).

• The Soldiery of West Virginia at Ancestry.com ($)

Websites

The West Virginia Veterans Memorial Archives Database contains information on deceased veterans from West Virginia that served in wars from WWI, WWI, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War.

West Virginia Military Records (West Virginia Genealogy)

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.