U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal & State Sources, Colonial America to the Present

From the earliest days of the United States, millions of Americans have served their country in the military. Indeed, most families have seen one or more members serve in America's armed forces. For this reason, genealogists and others wisely look to military records for information needed to enhance their research. Enlistment forms, muster rolls, pension applications . . . records created as a result of individuals' military service are extremely valuable because they often contain detailed personal information about their subjects—date and place of birth, places of residence, names and addresses of loved ones, and more. The researcher's dilemma is in knowing what records are available and how to find them among the overwhelming abundance of military records. James Neagles' U.S. Military Records is the answer to this dilemma. U.S. Military Records describes the records that are available and where they can be found. Gathered in this volume is source information for the National Archives and its adjuncts; historical institutions and archives of the armed forces; the Department of Veterans Affairs (Veterans Administration); state archives, libraries and historical organizations; and such patriotic organizations as the Daughters of the American Revolution. Extensive bibliographic listings of published sources for the United States in general and published sources for each state are also included.

James C. Neagles was born in Missouri and graduated from the University of Missouri. He performed graduate work at Washington University in Saint Louis in social work and correction. He was a juvenile parole officer in Missouri and swerved as the superintendent of Boys Town of Missouri. In 1979 he completed a thirty-year career in corrections, retiring from his position as Staff Director and hearing Examiner with the United States Parole Commission in Washington, D.C.

James Neagles has pursued genealogy as an avocation since 1970―compiling his own family histories, serving as a classroom instructor, and working as a genealogical researcher in the Washington, D.C area. He resides in Waldorf, Maryland, but travels extensively, both for recreation and to visit state archives and libraries.

Mr. Neagles is the author of three other Ancestry publications: The Library of Congress: A Guide to Genealogical and Historical Research; Confederate Research Sources: A Guide to Archive Collections; and Summer Soldiers: A Survey and Index of Revolutionary War Courts-Martial. He is the co-author of two works: Locating Your Immigrant Ancestor: A Guide to the Naturalization Records and Locating Your Revolutionary War Ancestor: A Guide to Military Records. In addition, Mr. Neagles is the author of the recently publishing Boys Town of Missouri: A History.