Finding family who served in 19th century wars

Last time I wrote about finding records of your ancestors’ service in the Colonial and Revolutionary wars.  In this column we’ll examine the conflicts of the 19th century:  the War of 1812, Mexican-American, Civil, and the Spanish-American Wars.

Ancestry.com, U.S. version, and Fold3 (www.fold3.com) are good sites to find information on those who served. The National Archives (NARA at archives.gov) houses all military pension and service records until World War I.  On this site there are forms allowing you to order copies of service and pension records.

Remember, Ancestry.com is free in many libraries and at Family History Centers run by the LDS Church.  You can ask for a trial or monthly subscription to Ancestry.com or Fold3, too, and there are often free weekends.

The War of 1812 finally established the U.S. as a nation recognized by other countries.  While the war was deeply unpopular in New England, which threatened to secede from the Union, many men from Maine volunteered.  Several in my own family served including one who fought at the Battle of Hampden (Maine).

Fold3 is beginning to scan the 1812 records onto its site and they have service cards with the numbers you’ll need to order records from NARA or you can fill out a form on the NARA site.  There’s a fee for the record.  Bounty land was offered to veterans of this war as well as the Mexican-American War fought in 1848 over the fate of Texas.  This war was mainly fought by regular Army regiments.

The U.S. Civil War was the seminal event of the 19th century.  For four bloody years men from the North and South battled each other.  Many Maine men fought so if your family has been here for any length of time you probably have a Civil War soldier or sailor in your family tree.

NARA is home to all the Civil War pension and military service records.  Also, the Soldiers & Sailors record cards at the Maine State Archives are of great value and contain details of soldier enlistments including physical descriptions and birthplaces.

The reports of the Maine Adjutant General are invaluable for locating Civil War and other military ancestors.  These aren’t online but libraries often have one or more volumes.  The Bangor Public Library has a large collection.  In these you can locate and identify your ancestor, the unit(s) he served in, when and where wounded or killed, and other information.  There are also many regimental histories you can search for more details.

The Spanish-American War was over almost before it started.  This conflict was fueled by the “Yellow Press” and the now disproven charge that the battleship Maine was sunk by the Spanish in Cuba.   Militia units shipped out but most returned home immediately because they were not needed.  Those who served have their records stored at NARA.

Also, Cyndi’s List (www.cyndislist.com) has links to numerous societies and archives which might help in your search.

Next time we’ll look at the great wars of the 20th century.

Nancy Battick is a Dover-Foxcroft native who has researched genealogy for over 30 years. She is past president of the Maine Genealogical Society, author of several genealogical articles and co-transcribed the Vital Records of Dover-Foxcroft.  Nancy holds a MA in History from UM and lives in DF with her husband, Jack, another avid genealogist.  You can contact Nancy at nbattick@roadrunner.com.