The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is January 2025)
Military records are another very useful set that will help you learn more about your ancestors. There are a ton of records that are available for free online, and there are some very robust collections (such as Fold3 and Ancestry) that have sizable online military collections as well.
Typically, military records online fall into 5 different categories:
- Military Service Records:
Includes enlistment information, such as location and date enlisted. Also includes demographic information, such as full name, birth date and location, residence, and occupation, plus contact information of next of kin, medical and military information, and unit assignations while in the military. - Selective Service Records:
Includes full name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, contact information, physical description, and other information. - Bounty Land Warrant Applications:
Includes similar information as in service records as well as other information. Only used between 1775 and 1855. - Pension Records:
Will include birth, marriage, and death records, demographic information, plus information about the spouse, and possibly children. - Special Records:
May include information if the person was a prisoner of war, was wounded or killed in action. 1910-1940 Census Records include questions about military service. Includes those buried in Veteran’s cemeteries.
A good primer on Military Records is found on FamilySearch’s Military Records page, available on their wiki.
Note: Some links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.
Below, listed by state are links to military records available for free online. Included in each state’s page are links to free nationwide collections since there are a sizable number of collections that are available for the entire country.
Texas Military Records
National
- American Battle Monuments Commission – Korean War Honor Roll
- American Battle Monuments Commission Burials Database
- American Prisoners of War During the Korean War, 1950-1953
- Burial Registers for Military Posts, Camps, and Stations,1768-1921
- Card Register of Burials of Deceased American Soldiers, 1917 – 1922
- Casualties of Army Personnel, Dependents and Civilian Employees, 1961-1981
- Casualties of the Vietnam War, 1956-1998
- Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890
- Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917
- Civil War Confederate Applications for Pardons, 1865-1867
- Civil War Confederate Papers of Citizens or Businesses, 1861-1865
- Civil War Records of Confederate Nonregiment Soldiers, 1861-1865
- Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865
- Civil War Service Records of Union Colored Troops, 1863-1865
- Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1864-1866
- Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database
- Civil War Soldiers Index, 1861-1865
- Civil War Unfiled Papers of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865
- Civil War Widows and Other Dependents Pension Files, 1861-1934
- Compiled Military Service Records Of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served With The Colored Troops, 1861-1866
- Confederate Navy and Marine Service Records, 1861-1865 Images only.
- Confederate Officers Card Index, 1861-1865
- Doughboy MIA Database 1917-1918
- Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1916-1939
- General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 Index Only.
- Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1949
- Index to General Correspondence of the Pension Office, 1889-1904 Index only.
- Index to Indian Wars Pension Files, 1892-1926
- Index to Naturalizations of World War I Soldiers, 1918
- Index to Service Records, War with Spain, 1898
- Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II, 1942-1946
- Japanese Registers of POWs WWII, Index.
- Korean War Battle Deaths, 1950-1957
- Korean War Dead and Army Wounded, 1950-1953
- Korean War POW/MIA List
- Korean War Repatriated Prisoners of War, 1950-1954
- Lists of Fatal Casualties of the Korean War (6/28/1950 – 3/10/1954) and the Vietnam War (6/8/1956 – 5/28/2006)
- Mexican War Index and Service Records, 1846-1848
- Mexican War Pension Index, 1887-1926
- Mexican War Soldiers & Sailors Database
- Military Personnel Who Died During the Vietnam War, 1956-2003
- Mormon Battalion Pension Applications, 1846-1923, Index
- Muster Rolls of the Marine Corps, 1798-1937, Index and Images
- National Archives, Archival Databases, Civil War
- National Archives, Archival Databases, Korean War
- National Archives, Archival Databases, Vietnam War
- National Archives, Archival Databases, World War II
- National Cemetery Administration – Nationwide Gravesite Locator
- National Graves Registration Database
- National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938 Partial Index and Images.
- National Park Service – US Mexican War Soldiers and Sailors Database
- National Society Daughters of 1812 – Ancestor Database
- Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891, Index and Images
- Navy Widows’ Certificates, 1861-1910, Index
- Never Forgotten, Taiwan POW List
- Old War Pension Index, 1815-1926
- Original Mormon Battalion Roster – Mormon Battalion Association
- Pearl Harbor Casualty List
- Prisoners of the First World War
- Records of Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865
- Records of Headstones of Deceased Union Veterans, 1879-1903
- Register of Confederates and Civilians Who Died in the North,1861-1865
- Registers of Enlistments in the Army, 1798-1914
- Remarried Widows Index to Pension Applications, 1887-1942
- Revolutionary War Compiled Service Records, 1775-1783
- Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications, 1800-1900
- Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818-1872
- Revolutionary War Records – Daughters of the American Revolution
- Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783
- Revolutionary War, Virginia Pension Application Files, 1830-1875
- Roster of All Regimental Surgeons and Assistant Surgeons in the Late War, with the Service, and last-known Post-office Address (1882)” Compiled by N. A. Strait. The Text is Searchable.
- Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783
- Service Personnel Not Recovered Following WWII
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Military Servicemen in World War I Records
- United States French Combatants in the Revolutionary War, 1778-1783
- Veteran’s Administration Master Index, 1917-1940
- Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Vietnam War POW/MIA List
- War of 1812 Index to Pension Application Files, 1812-1910
- War of 1812 Index to Service Records, 1812-1815
- War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
- War Relocation Authority Centers, Final Accountability Rosters, 1942-1946
- World War I American Expeditionary Forces Deaths, 1917-1919
- World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
- World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
- World War II Casualties for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard
- World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
- World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
- World War II Prisoners of War of the Japanese, 1941-1945
- World War II Prisoners of War, 1941-1945
- WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualties
- YMCA World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919
Texas
- Anderson County, Discharge Records, 1919-1947
- Bastrop County, Discharge Records, 1917-1943
- Bell County, Confederate Veterans
- Blanco County, Military Discharge Records, 1917-1943
- Brooks County, Record of Soldiers Discharged, 1919-1941
- Burleson County, Men and Women in the Armed Forces
- Burnet County, Soldier’s and Sailor’s Discharge Records, 1919-1968
- Caldwell County, Discharge Records, 1918-1931
- Callahan County, Discharge Records
- Cherokee County, Civil War Records
- Coleman County, Discharge Records, 1919-1954; Index, 1918-1990
- Coleman County, Military Records, 1849-2008
- Collin County, Soldiers and Sailors Discharge Records, 1917-1943
- Collin County, World War II Veterans
- Colorado County, Discharge Records, 1890-1953; Index, 1919-1993
- Comal County, Distribution of funds to Confederate Soldiers’ Families
- Comal County, Soldiers and Sailors Records, 1919-1956
- Comanche County, Military Discharge Records, 1918-1919, 1943-1955
- Comanche County, Military Records,1858-1955
- Cooke County, Soldiers Discharge Records, 1918-1945
- Coryell County, Military Discharge Records, 1919-1957
- De Witt County Discharge Records
- Dimmit County, Confederate Pension Records
- Dimmit County, Discharge Index
- Dimmit County, Soldiers Service Index
- Eastland County, Military Records, 1919-1951
- Ellis County Military and Genealogical Records, 1850-1950
- Ellis County, Discharges, 1919-1941; Index, 1919-1980
- Ellis County, The Men and Women in the Armed Forces
- Falls County, Discharges of Soldiers and Sailors, 1916-1919
- Fannin County, Names of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in the Civil War
- Fisher County, Soldiers, Sailors Discharge Record, 1919-1950
- Gillespie County, Military Records of Soldiers from WWI, ca. 1862-1919
- Gonzales County, Men and Women in the Armed Forces
- Gray and Roberts Counties, Civil War Veterans Buried in the Cemeteries of Gray and Roberts Counties
- Hamilton County, Men and Women in the Armed Forces
- Hardin County, Civil War Pensions, 1899-1940
- Harris County, History and Roster of Dick Dowling Camp No. 197, United Confederate Veterans
- Harris County, Roster of Confederate Veterans interred in Houston
- Haskell County, Discharge Records of Soldiers and Sailors, 1918-1921
- Hays County, Soldiers Discharge Records, 1908-1944
- Hood County, Discharge Records, 1918-1919
- Hunt County, Army Discharge Record, 1917-1919
- Irion County, Military Discharge Records, 1917-2000
- Jim Wells County, Soldiers and Sailors Discharge Record, 1911-1920
- Lavaca County, Soldiers and Sailors Discharge Records, 1919-1949
- Leon County, A Partial Roster of the Officers and Men raised in Leon County, Texas: for the Service of the Confederate States in the War between the States
- Leon County, Boys in the World War
- Limestone County, Men and Women in the Armed Forces
- Llano County, Discharge Records of Soldiers and Sailors, 1919-1943
- Matagorda County, Military Discharge Records, 1898-1931
- Milam County, Men and Women in the Armed Forces
- Mitchell County, Soldier Sailors Record, 1918-1931
- Nacogdoches County, Muster Roll of Reserve Militia, 1870
- Nolan County, Soldiers and Sailors Discharge Record, 1919-1924; General Discharge Index, 1919-1999
- Smith County, Men and Women in the Armed Forces
- Sterling County, Soldiers and Sailor Discharge Record, 1918-1919
- Swisher County, Military Discharge Records, 1919-1952
- Swisher County, Military Records
- Taylor County, Index to Discharges 1918-1947 and Discharge Records 1918-1948
- Taylor County, Men and Women in the Armed Forces
- Texas, A List of Confederate Soldiers Buried in Galveston, Texas, Compiled Principally before 1900
- Texas, Adjutant General Service Records, 1836-1935
- Texas, Big Ben Region County Military Records
- Texas, Camp Travis and its Part in the World War
- Texas, Card Records of Headstones provided for Union Veterans 1879-1903
- Texas, Civil War Military Rolls
- Texas, Civil War Pensions
- Texas, Civil War Regiments, Rosters and Muster Rolls
- Texas, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865
- Texas, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865
- Texas, Civil War Veterans
- Texas, Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Texas
- Texas, Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served during the Mexican War
- Texas, Confederate Army and Commanding Officer Card Index, ca.1861-ca.1865
- Texas, Confederate Indigent Families List
- Texas, Confederate Military Service Records Compiled from Muster Rolls in the Texas State Archives, 1860-1865
- Texas, Confederate Pension Index for Texas, 1870-1930
- Texas, Confederate Service Record, out of State, Texas, 1861-1865
- Texas, Confederate Soldiers held as Prisoners of War at Gratiot Street and Myrtle Street Military Prisons, St. Louis, 1862-1865
- Texas, Confederate Soldiers of the State of Texas
- Texas, Counties in Texas in which San Jacinto Veterans are known to be Buried
- Texas, County Military Records
- Texas, County Military Records
- Texas, Discharged Soldiers and Sailors, 1918-1951; Index to Military Discharges 1918-1990
- Texas, Draft Registration Cards, 1942
- Texas, Gulf Coast Region County Military Records
- Texas, Hill Country Region County Military Records
- Texas, History of Company M, First Texas Volunteer Infantry
- Texas, Index to Applications for Texas Confederate Pensions
- Texas, Index to Applications for Texas Confederate Pensions
- Texas, Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Texas
- Texas, Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Texas
- Texas, Index to Military Rolls of the Republic of Texas 1835-1845
- Texas, Index to Texas Confederate Commanding Officers
- Texas, Korean War Casualty List
- Texas, Muster Lists of the Texas Confederate Troops
- Texas, Muster Roll Company “C” of 24th Regiment, Texas Cavalry
- Texas, Muster Rolls
- Texas, Panhandle Plains County Military Records
- Texas, Panhandle Region County Military Records
- Texas, Piney Woods Region County Military Records
- Texas, Prairies and Lakes Region County Military Records
- Texas, R.E. Lee Camp, No. 158, United Confederate Veterans, 1890-1938: Rosters and Descriptive Lists, some Muster Rolls and Burial Records
- Texas, Ranger Service Records, ca. 1830-1900
- Texas, Republic Claims including Military Pensions
- Texas, Republic of Texas Pensions, ca. 1870-1900
- Texas, Roster of the Residents of the Texas Confederate Old Soldier’s Home in Austin, Texas
- Texas, South Texas Plains Region County Military Records
- Texas, State Military Files
- Texas, State Troops: December 5, 1863
- Texas, Statewide Military Records
- Texas, Statewide Military Records
- Texas, Texans Who Died from hostile Action during the Korean War: Korean conflict Casualty File: 1950-1957
- Texas, Texas Army of 1836
- Texas, The Alamo Heroes and their Revolutionary Ancestors
- Texas, U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Korean War
- Texas, U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Vietnam War
- Texas, Various Counties, Military Discharge Records, 1916-1990
- Texas, Veterans in the Mexican War: Muster Rolls of Texas Military Units
- Texas, War with Mexico, 1835-1836
- Texas, World War Heroes
- Texas, World War I American Expeditionary Forces, Deaths, 1917-1919
- Texas, World War I Records, 1917-1920
- Texas, World War I Records, 1917-1920
- Texas, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
- Texas, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947
- Texas, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947
- Texas, World War II Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Casualty List
- Texas. Batteries, battalions, Regiments, Commanders and Field Officers Confederate States Army, 1861-1865
- Tom Green County, Military Discharge Records, 1919-1949
- Van Zandt, Civil War Veterans, Muster Rolls and Pension Information
- Washington County, Soldiers and Sailors Discharge Record, 1917-1966; Index, 1919-1966
- Willacy County, Texas Honorable Discharge Records, 1944-1947
- Williamson County, Court Civil Case Papers, including Pensions, 1877-1906; Index, 1876-1911
- Williamson County, Discharge Records, 1918-1945; Index, 1919-1946
- Wise County, Discharge Records, 1919-1939
- Wood County, Soldiers and Sailors Discharge Records, 1918-1949
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!