military records
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United states military history in New Jersey started out with the establishment of the colonial militia early in the seventeenth century primarily to battle against attacks from native inhabitants. The applications and significance of New Jersey military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are evident but New Jersey military records can also be crucial to researchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. A result of the quantity of genealogical facts contained in quite a few New Jersey military pension documents they should never be disregarded during the research process.

The National Archives-Northeast Region and the New jersey State Archives both hold several military records from the Revolutionary era. In fact, the most complete New Jersey Revolutionary War service collection, the Adjutant General’s Office materials, are housed at the state archives. New Jersey Loyalist information can also be found there, along with both American and British war damage claims filed between 1776 and 1782.

The National Archives-Northeast Region is home to a microfilm collection called “Index to Compiled Service Record of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served from New Jersey.” A Spanish-American War index and some other early military records can be found at the state archives. That includes material on the war of 1812, as well as the Mexican War and the 1789 to 1947 state militia records. National Guard records up until around 1910 can also be found there.

The New Jersey State Archives holds most of the state’s military records up until the end of World War I. The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs holds later records, as well as World War I records. Militia lists, correspondence, personal diaries, and paymaster accounts, as well as a Civil War veterans burial list can be found at the New Jersey Historical Society. However, the burial list is incomplete. Several military records for the state have been published, but that does not include many colonial records. The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has a typescript called “Military Lists from the Office of the Adjutant General, Trenton, New Jersey” available. The New Jersey State Archives also holds a few scattered colonial military records.

The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs holds more current military records for the state. The National Archives-Northeast Region holds fourth draft cards from World war II, called cards of the “old men.”

New Jersey in the Colonial Wars

Colonial War Website Links

Revolutionary War Website Links

New Jersey in the War of 1812

War of 1812 Website Links

Records of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the War with Mexico, 1846–1848 (Trenton, N.J., 1900)

New Jersey in the Civil War

Civil War Website Links

New Jersey Modern Wars

War Website Links