The benefits and significance of Louisiana military records in family history research for ancestors who were veterans are evident but Louisiana military records can also be valuable to researchers whose immediate ancestors were not soldiers in any war. Because of the quantity of genealogical information included in several Louisiana military pension files they ought to never be ignored throughout the research process.There are many Louisiana military records available to researchers. For example, Segovia, Spain is home to the General Military Archives, which holds military records from colonial Louisiana. It contains records of Spanish military soldiers dating from 1680 to 1920. Those records include names of soldiers and their parents, ranks of the soldiers, and often descriptions of the soldiers as well.Many of Louisiana’s original military records have been placed on microfilm and stored at the National Archives. Those records include:
- War of 1812-M229, 3 Rolls
- Florida War of 1836-M239
- War of 1836-38-M241
- Confederate War Index-M378, 31 Rolls
- Military Service Records-M320, 414 Rolls.
Louisiana began issuing pensions to veterans of the Confederacy and widows of veterans in 1898. Both the original pension applications and microfilmed copies are available at the Louisiana State Archives. An online index is available and copies may be requested by writing to the Louisiana State Archives.
- Louisiana Military Records (Fold3.com)
- Louisiana Military Record
- Louisiana Military Record Books (amazon.com)
Louisiana in the Colonial War
Colonial War Website Links
- Louisiana Troops 1720-1770
- Louisiana Colonial War Books (amazon.com)
Revolutionary War Website Links
- Research in the Revolutionary War 1775-1783 (uswars.net)
- Churchill, E. Robert, comp., Soldiers of the American Revolution under Bernardo De Galvez. Five copies of this book were originally printed: one was placed in the Sons of the American Revolution Library housed in the Howard-Tilton Library at Tulane University, Louisiana; one was deposited in the DAR Library in Washington, D.C.; a third copy can be found in the Library of Congress.
- Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Natchitoches Colonials: Censuses, Military Rolls, and Tax Lists, 1722–1803. Tuscaloosa, Ala.: Mills Historical Press, 1981.
- Louisiana Revolutionary War Books (amazon.com)
Louisiana in the War of 1812
War of 1812 Website Links
- Research in the War of 1812 1812-1815 (uswars.net)
- Louisiana, War of 1812 Pension Lists (familysearch.org)
- Louisiana Soldiers in the War of 1812
- Louisiana War of 1812 Books (amazon.com)
Louisiana in the Civil War
Civil War Website Links
- Research in the Civil War 1861-1865
- Civil War links from fold3.com with original data from the National Archives:
- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Louisiana – Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Louisiana units, labeled with each soldier’s name, rank, and unit. Original data from the National Archives
- Civil War and Later Veterans Pension Index from Louisiana
- Louisiana Confederate Amnesty Papers – Case Files of Applications from Louisiana of former Confederates for Presidential Pardons (“Amnesty Papers”), 1865-1867
- Barred and Disallowed Louisiana Claims – The Southern Claims Commission denied these claims by Louisiana citizens seeking compensation for property loss. They were barred or disallowed for a number of reasons. Original data from the National Archives
- Louisiana Civil War Maps – Maps, charts, and atlases depicting battles, troop positions and movements, engagements, and fortifications in Louisiana during the Civil War, 1861-1865.
- Louisiana Civil War Infantry Regiments and Units
- Louisiana Civil War Cavalry Regiments and Units
- Louisiana Civil War Artillery Regiments and Units
- Mills, Gary B. Civil War Claims. Vol. 1. An Index to Cases Filed with the Southern Claims Commission. Laguna Hills, Calif.: Aegean Park Press, 1980.
- Civil War links from ancestry.com:
- U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 – This database contains an index to compiled service records (CSRs) for soldiers who served with units in the Confederate army. Most of the men whose names appear in this index served with units from 15 different states or territories; others were soldiers raised directly by the Confederate government, generals and staff officers, and other enlisted men not associated with a regiment. Compiled service records are files of cards that abstract original military records relating to an individual soldier. A typical CSR will include an envelope that lists a soldier’s name, rank, unit, and card numbers, followed by cards with details extracted from muster rolls, rosters, hospital rolls, Union prison records, payrolls, and other records, with a new card being created each time a soldier’s name appeared on a new document. The CSRs may also include original documents pertaining to the soldier. The CSRs do not constitute an exhaustive list of all men who served in the Confederate army.
- U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865
- Louisiana Confederate Soldiers
- History of the Ram Fleet and the Louisiana Marine Brigade in the War for the Union on the Louisiana and its tributaries
- A Southern record : the history of the Third Regiment Louisiana Infantry
- List of staff officers of the Confederate States Army
- Louisiana, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 (familysearch.org)
- Louisiana, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 (familysearch.org)
- Louisiana, Confederate Pensions,1898-1950 (familysearch.org)
- Louisiana Confederate Soldier Burial Database (lascv.com)
- Louisiana Civil War Books (amazon.com)
Louisiana Modern Wars
War Website Links
- Louisiana, First Registration Draft Cards, 1940-1945 (familysearch.org)
- Louisiana, Second Registration Draft Cards, compiled 1948-1959 (familysearch.org)