Military Records
African Americans have served in every U.S. Military conflict since the Revolutionary War. Military records, for example draft cards and pension records can provide a wealth of unique information that might not be found in other official documents.
NYPL Digital Collection.
Types of Military Records
- Draft cards
- Enlistment records
- Rolls
- Service records
- Pension applications
- Bounty land warrants
- Final payment vouchers
- Casualty lists and reports
- Wounded and missing
- Imprisonment records
- Society applications
- Military cadet applications
- Burial records
- Medal of Honor recipients
- Headstone applications
- War diaries
- Correspondence
- United States Sanitary Commission
- Congressional reports
- Maps
- Photographs
- Personal archives
Databases
- Fold3Historical primary documents featuring U.S. city directories, naturalization records, and Revolutionary War Pensions. Collections include: History and Genealogy Archives, African American Archives, Native American Archives, Revolutionary War Archives, US Bureau of Investigation Case File Archives, and World War II Archives. Formerly known as Footnote.com.
**Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.** - Ancestry Library Edition
Access billions of names in thousands of genealogical databases including Census and Vital Records, birth, marriage and death notices, the Social Security Death Index, Passenger lists and naturalizations, Military and Holocaust Records, City Directories, New York Emigrant Savings Bank records, and African American and Native American Records. Library version of Ancestry.com.**Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
The National Archives
- Records of Military Agencies Relating to African Americans from the Post-World War I Period to the Korean War
- Documenting African Americans in the Records of Military Agencies
- An Overview of Records at the National Archives Relating to Military Service
- Researching Military Records at the National Archives
All African American Military Units
After the Civil War through World War II African Americans served in segregated all-African American military units. Some examples of these units are:
- The Ninth and Tenth U.S. Cavalries (established 1866)
- The Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Regiments (established 1869)
- 92nd Division (WWI)
- 93rd Division (WWI)
- 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (1942)
- 332nd Expeditionary Operations Group (Tuskegee Airmen)
Handboooks
Tracing your African-American ancestry using military records by Call Number: Sc F 09-73
The African-American Military Experience in the Civil War by Call Number: Sc D 19-992ISBN: 9780788458095
Mastering Census and Military Records 2ECall Number: *R-USLHG CS47 .Q549 2013ISBN: 9781593601720Publication Date: 2013-05-14
How to Locate Anyone Who Is or Has Been in the MilitaryCall Number: JSD 08-2 ed. 8ISBN: 1877639508Publication Date: 2003-09-01
