military records
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The benefits and value of Oregon military records in family history research for ancestors who have been veterans are evident but Oregon military records can also be valuable to researchers whose immediate ancestors just weren’t soldiers in any war. Due to the quantity of genealogical information and facts contained in a number of Oregon military pension files they ought to never be disregarded all through the research process.

There are many military records from various modern and early time periods at the Oregon State Archives. There are records for the Oregon National Guard there, as well as records from the Indian Wars. The FHL and the Oregon State Archives also have records from the Roseburg Oregon Soldiers Home, which is where many Oregon soldiers lived out their golden years.

Many Oregon military records have also been organized into databases by the Oregon GenWeb Project.

One good resource for Spanish War records is C.U. Gantenbein’s Official Records of the Oregon Volunteers in the Spanish War and Philippine Insurrection. That publication contains names, ages, physical descriptions, birthplaces, occupations, service dates, and more.

The Oregon State Archives holds many records from World War I. For example, it is home to a World War I Oregon veterans index. There are also several questionnaires on file, which can yield useful genealogical information. The FHL and the National Archives have World War I Draft Registration Card copies on file. A Oregon State Reserve in World War II, 1940 to 1945 index and a Korean Police Action, 1950 to 1954 index can each be found at the Oregon State Archives.

Oregon 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:
  • Oregon, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 (familysearch.org) Union service records of soldiers who served in organizations from Oregon. 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 M1816. Index courtesy of Fold3.
  • 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
  • Oregon Civil War Books (amazon.com)

Oregon Modern Wars

War Website Links