Finding Soldiers of "Other Wars"

North Carolina Soldiers

• 929.1 NGS NCC. “Researching Volunteer Soldiers of the War 1812” by Claire Prechtel-Kluskens. NGS Magazine. Vol. 37 No. 1 (Jan. – Mar. 2011): Pages 36 – 41.
• 929.1 NOR NCC. The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal. Vol. 39 No. 3 (Aug. 2013).
  • Feature Articles by Perrah Yarborough on the War of 1812:
    • "The War of 1812 and North Carolina"
    • "Researching State and Federal Records for the War of 1812"
    • "Deserters from North Carolina during the War of 1812"
• 973.5 DOU NCC. North Carolina roster of soldiers in War of 1812, 1812-1814. by James L. Douthat. This collection lists between 14,000 and 15,000 names of individuals that participated in the War of 1812 from every county in the state, except Greene County."
• 973.524 L NCC. North Carolina and the War of 1812 (pub. 1971) by Sarah McCulloh Lemmon.
• 973.52456 L NCC. Frustrated Patriots: North Carolina and the War of 1812 (pub. 1973) by Sarah McCulloh Lemmon.
• 973.52456 N NCC. Muster Rolls of the Soldiers of the War of 1812: Detached from the Militia of North Carolina in 1812 and 1814 by NC Adjutant General’s Dept. Originally published in 1851.
  • On spine: Soldiers of the War of 1812, North Carolina
  • Read the full text online at http://www.archive.org/details/musterrollsofsol00nort

Other Resources

• A list of resources on the War of 1812 from the National Archives. Learn more about the “War of 1812 Discharge Certificates and Miscellaneous Records Relating to the Discharge of Soldiers from the Regular Army, 1792-1815” M1856.
  Go to: http://www.archives.gov/research/military/war-of-1812/
• The Ancestry Library Edition (only available in all Gaston County library branches) has the following:
  • "War of 1812 Papers, 1789-1815" (some searchable by name, others only searchable by browsing the images),
  • "Pennsylvania, Volunteers in the War of 1812",
  • "Louisiana, Soldiers in the War of 1812",
  • "Kentucky, Soldiers of the War of 1812",
  • "War of 1812, Prisoner of War Records, 1812-1815",
  • "New York, War of 1812 Payroll Abstracts for New York State Militia, 1812-1815",
  • "New York, Military Equipment Claims, War of 1812".

• FamilySearch.org
  • Index to Service Records, 1812 – 1815
    Go to: https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1916219
• Fold3 
  • Go to: https://fold3library.proquest.com/barcode?accountid=11047 Log into Fold3 with your library card
  • War of 1812 Service Records Index (M602)
    Each index card gives the name of the soldier, his rank, and the unit or units in which he served. There are cross-references for names that appear in the records under more than one spelling.
  • War of 1812 Service Records - Mississippi (M678)
    Compiled service records consist of a jacket-envelope for each soldier, labeled with his name, rank, and unit. The records contain card abstracts created from original muster rolls, payrolls, hospital rolls, and other regimental information. They also contain images of original documents pertaining to a particular soldier.
  • War of 1812 Service Records - Lake Erie
    Service records are comprised of cards created from muster, pay, receipt and other rolls for men aboard various vessels attached to the Lake Erie Station during the War of 1812. The information for officers, seamen, ordinary seamen, landsmen, and boys includes name, service dates, terms of service, monthly pay, vessels upon which they served, and notes of interest.
  • War of 1812 Service Records - Creek Indians
  • War of 1812 Service Records - Chickasaw Indians                 
• The Ancestry Library Edition (only available in all Gaston County library branches) has the following:
  • "War of 1812 Service Records, 1812-1815" (name index),

• North Carolina War of 1812 Pay Vouchers were issued for military service. When a voucher was redeemed, it was cancelled by punching a hole through it. Vouchers are for 31 North Carolina counties only.
  Go to: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/collections/war-of-1812-pay-vouchers

• FamilySearch.org
  • Index to Pension Application Files, 1812 – 1910
    Go to: https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1834325
  • War of 1812, military bounty land warrants, 1815-1858 (NARA Series M848 and M851, Roll 1)
    "Warrants for the acts of 1812, 1814, and 1842 (excluding the general bounty land acts of 1850, 1852, and 1855) are reproduced in this collection."
    Go to: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/290307
• Fold3
  • Go to: https://fold3library.proquest.com/barcode?accountid=11047 Log into Fold3 with your library card
  • War of 1812 Pension Application Files (As of November 2021, this database is only 82% complete)
    "This series consists of approximately 180,000 pension and bounty land warrant application files relating to claims based on service between 1812 and 1815. The files generally contain documentation submitted in support of a claim, such as the original application form, affidavits, and statements from witnesses."                   
  • War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 1812-1815 (M313)
    "The application files indexed in this collection relate to claims of military service between 1812 and 1815. Most of the applications were filed as a result of acts instated in 1871 and 1878. These acts made it possible for veterans and their survivors to receive pensions based on service alone. Earlier acts provided pensions only for service related deaths or disabilities."
  • Final Payment Vouchers Index for Military Pensions, 1818-1864
    "Pension payment records are not typically found in pension application files. These cards were created as an index for the final payments made to either the veteran or his widow. They provide additional details on where a family may have moved in the early- to mid-19th century, death dates of veterans, widows, or dependent children, and sometimes the maiden name of a widow." "These slips serve as an index to final and last payments to over 65,000 veterans of the Revolutionary War and some later wars."
  • War of 1812 Military Bounty Land Warrants (M848)
    "Reproduced 105 bound volumes containing two series of military bounty land warrants issued between 1815 and 1858 to veterans of the War of 1812, and four volumes of indexes to the warrants. These military bounty land warrants were certificates issued to eligible veterans giving them rights to free land in the public domain."
• National Archives
  • Contact The National Archives for Pension files not currently available in digital form. According to Family Search, In order to obtain the original pension files you must contact the National Archives. National Archives' copies of military pension application files based on Federal (not State) service between 1775 and 1903 (before World War I) can be ordered by mail  (NATF Form 85) or ordered online.
    Go To: https://www.archives.gov/files/forms/pdf/natf-85.pdf
• The Ancestry Library Edition (only available in all Gaston County library branches) has the following:
  • "War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 1812-1815",
  • "Pennsylvania, War of 1812 Pensions, 1866-1879",
  • "Louisiana, War of 1812 Pension Lists".

War of 1812 Society Applications in the District of Columbia (Fold3 Library Edition)
The Society of the War of 1812 in the District of Columbia was formed in 1894 to commemorate those who fought in the War of 1812. Many members were descendants of the original Washington "Warhawks," younger congressman who pushed for going to war with Great Britain in what is often called America's Second War of Independence. The applications provide genealogical data connecting members of the society to their War of 1812 ancestor.
Go to: https://fold3library.proquest.com/barcode?accountid=11047 Log into Fold3 with your library card

National Society United States Daughters of 1812's Ancestor Database contains over 40,000 records that have been officially verified by the Society. To protect the privacy of members, limited information is available to the public.
Go to: https://usdaughters1812.org/ancestor-database/

National Society United States Daughters of 1812 - Private Vincent Key Chapter (Gastonia)
Go to: https://usdaughters1812.org/sites/north-carolina/

Virginia Bicentennial of the American War of 1812 has biographies of prominent Virginian natives who played key roles in the War of 1812, interactive map to places of interest, and timeline of events.
Go to: http://va1812bicentennial.dls.virginia.gov/index.html

General Society of the War of 1812 "The objectives of the Society are the collection and preservation of rolls, records, books, and other documents relating to the War of 1812."
Go to: https://gswar1812.org/