How to Find War of 1812 Military Records for Ancestry Research

Use this article to help find and use soldier records and memorabilia for Ancestry Research.

Researching and writing about military service and war experiences before 1900 will be very challenging but not impossible. This article will help provide insights and direction on finding records to help you build and write a narrative about a Mexican War soldier. Civil War soldier stories can be about the individual who served in the military and the individuals who stayed home, such as spouses, children, extended family, and friends.

See these articles to help you find articles for other military records.

• Meaning of Each Religious Emblem of Belief for U.S. Military Headstones

War of 1812 (1812-1814)

The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and the British Empire, including Great Britain, Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. The Treaty of Ghent, which became effective on February 18, 1815, ended the War. With the treaty’s signing, the U.S. and Britain recognized the pre-war boundaries between the United States and Canada and gave the United States fishing rights to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 286,000 U.S. soldiers served in the War with an age range of 15-50 years old.

Finding Evidence that Your Ancestor Served in the U.S. Military

The following are some tips I have used to define if my ancestor might have served in the military during this period.

• Please list all the wars that existed during each ancestor’s lifetime and their age during the War. As a rule of thumb, the age range for soldiers during a war period is 16-60.

• Look for clues that might be found on gravestones, family papers, obituaries, and biographies.

•  Look where the ancestor lived. Does your ancestor live on what is referred to as the frontier (westernmost land) of the United States in the early 1800′? This might indicate that he received bounty lands.

• Search indexes for military land patents and other military records. If you don’t find an ancestor in one index, try another. It is not uncommon to have ancestors who were veterans of multiple wars.

Search for the Following War of 1812 Records

Pension records

Pension records usually contain the soldier’s or widow’s application file, a statement of service usually provided by the Pension Bureau, and other papers prepared by the Third Auditor’s Office. The widow’s or minor’s applications contain the most genealogical information because the widow had to provide proof of marriage, including the date or place of marriage and usually the maiden name. Essential data about marriages before 1815 found in some files may not be available anywhere else. Also, look for “remarried widow’s card index 1816-1860″ shows the new remarried name of the veteran’s widow and the veteran’s name. If your ancestor did not receive a pension, see if his pension request was denied. Complete pension files from NARA, M313 of RG 15 are being digitized.

Bounty land applications and warrants

Bounty land warrants for service in the War of 1812 are based on acts of 1811 and 1812. Surviving veterans also qualified for such benefits under 1842, 1850, 1852, and 1855. Veterans and later their widows and heirs could apply for bounty land. They were entitled to 160 acres, with some getting 320 acres (double bounties). Until 1842, the land lay within the states of Arkansas, Illinois, and Missouri. A typical bounty land application warrant file contains the veteran’s name, age, unit, residence, period of service, and the widow’s (or heir’s) name, age, and place of residence. Many War of 1812 bounty land records is also interfiled with War of 1812 pension files. The actual bounty land warrants have less information. Digitized land patents may be found on the Bureau of Land Management.

Service records

The service records consist of compiled service records (CMSRs) or records of service (i.e., muster and payrolls.) The service records can show the soldier’s name, rank, regimental unit (usually showing the last name of the regimental commander), the company commander’s name, dates of service and pay, whether the soldier was a substitute, date of discharge, and sometimes, distance to the soldier’s home from the place of discharge, date of death, if applicable, and periods of sickness.

Societies

Search for information and records provided by various societies related to the War of 1812, including General Society of the War of 1812, National Society United States Daughters of 1812 and Military Society of 1812.

On the internet

To find records and learn more about the War of 1812, try the following Google searches

• War of 1812 Index to pension application files
• War of 1812 bounty land applications OR warrants
• War of 1812 service records
• War of 1812 FamilySearch OR Ancestry.com OR Fold3
• National Archives War of 1812
• War of 1812 societies
• Georgia War of 1812 (Replace Georgia with the desired state)
• Canada War of 1812
•  Great Britain War of 1812
• United States War of 1812
•  War of 1812 history

Search the cemetery

Finding graves of your ancestors is hit and miss. Resources to consider as a starting point follow:

• Department of Veterans Affairs National Gravesite Locator. Search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker using the Gravesite Locator.