The benefits and significance of Nevada military records in family history and genealogical research for ancestors that were veterans are apparent but Nevada military records can also be important to researchers whose primary ancestors just weren’t soldiers in any war. A result of the quantity of genealogical details included in several Nevada military pension data files they should never be ignored during the research process.
The Union raised an infantry volunteer regiment, which served alongside troops from California, in 1861. The next year, Fort Churchill was erected and turned into a Nevada and Utah military district. Six infantry outfits and six cavalry companies were raised in 1863. Those Union soldiers only serve within their regional areas. The legislature controlled the militia. Nevada state army volunteer indexes are housed at the National Archives. They are also available on Ancestry.com and through the FHL.
Service records from the start of World War I until 1972 are on file at the Nevada State Library, along with discharge paper copies. However, only the immediate family or the person of record themselves may access those records. WWI Draft Registration cards for the entire state have been indexed and placed online at Ancestry.com , and many of them are also available on microfilm through the FHL.
- Nevada Military Records (Fold3.com)
- Nevada Military Records (ancestry.com) from Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
- Nevada Military Record Books (amazon.com)
Nevada in the Civil War
Civil War Website Links
- Research in the Civil War 1861-1865
- Nevada, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 (familysearch.org) Union service records of soldiers who served in organizations from the Territory and State of Nevada. The records include a jacket-envelope for each soldier, labeled with his name, his rank, and the unit in which he served. The jacket-envelope typically contains card abstracts of entries relating to the soldier as found in original muster rolls, returns, rosters, payrolls, appointment books, hospital registers, prison registers and rolls, parole rolls, inspection reports; and the originals of any papers relating solely to the particular soldier. For each military unit the service records are arranged alphabetically by the soldier’s surname. The Military Unit field may also display the surname range (A-G) as found on the microfilm. This collection is a part of RG 94, Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780’s-1917 and is National Archive Microfilm Publication M1789. Index courtesy of Fold3.
- Civil War links from fold3.com with original data from the National Archives:
- Nevada Civil War Infantry Regiments and Units
- Nevada Civil War Cavalry Regiments and Units
- Nevada Civil War Artillery Regiments and Units
- 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
- Nevada Civil War Volunteers – With the onset of the American Civil War in 1861, the Territory of Nevada set a process in motion to create the 1st Nevada Volunteer Cavalry. This database consists of muster rolls indexes for this unit from its creation in 1863 through 1866. Information provided include the recruits name, place of birth (indicated by “Nativity”), muster location and date, date, location and reason for leaving the unit, and company and rank. Persons volunteering for this unit came from as many as 28 different states and 18 foreign countries, including the territories of Utah and Nevada and the State of California.
- Nevada Civil War Books (amazon.com)
Nevada Modern Wars
War Website Links
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