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Tennessee Military Records

See Also Researching in Military Records and Colonial & United States Wars From Earliest to 1865

The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.

Military records have originated at the federal, state, and local levels. Whether created in time of war or in time of peace, these records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served in the military forces of the United States. Almost every American family, in one generation or another, has seen one or more of its members serve in America’s armed forces. From regimental histories, which provide blow-by-blow accounts of a unit’s participation in military actions, to the personal details contained in the service and pension files of individual men and women, military records provide valuable information concerning a large and significant portion of the American population. And because military records have been preserved and made available at and through a number of research institutions, much information awaits the well-prepared researcher.

Military and pension records are one of the most helpful sources accessible to genealogists s a result of the detail they provide. These records are essential as they may sometimes provide an ancestor’s date of birth, place of residence, the names and addresses of members of the family, and various facts that can round out a image of his or her lifetime.

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Revolutionary War in Tennessee

Search Revolutionary War 1775-83 Service Records, Rejected Pensions, Loyalists Records, 1775-1783 Pay Rolls, Courts-Martial, Officers, Pension Index, 1841 Pensioner Census

When independence was declared on 4 Jul 1776, only East Tennessee was settled -- at that time a part of both Washington District, North Carolina, and Fincastle (later Washington County), Virginia, but Tennessee has been known as the Volunteer State since the 1780 Battle of King's Mountain when hundreds of Tennessee militiamen helped turn the tide of the Revolution in the South. In December of that same year, the only battle (as such) within the present-day boundaries of Tennessee was fought at Boyd's Creek, against the Cherokees, then-allies of the British. Although the Treaty of Paris was signed with Great Britain in 1783, the Indian Wars continued to rage in Tennessee and other American frontiers for another twelve years, until the 1795 signing of the Treaty of Greenville, a peace pact with British-allied Indians. In 1790, Tennessee became part of the Territory South of the Ohio River, and in 1796 was granted statehood.

After the War, hundreds more Revolutionary War veterans streamed into Tennessee, their total number unknown, but with over 2,200 known pensioners alone by 1835 (Federal Pension Rolls). Over 3,200 records have been added to the Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War database already, although most entries are still incomplete

Below is a list of online resources for Tennessee in the Revolutionary War.

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Civil War in Tennessee

Search Civil War Soldiers, Service Records, Regiments, General Officers, Battle Summaries, Pension Index: 1861-1934, CSA Field Officers and the War of the Rebellion

Below is a list of online resources for Tennessee in the Civil War.

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