One of the most valuable collection of records for this conflict is the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files which consists of some eighty thousand military application files. Service is based on participation of American military, naval, and marine officers and enlisted men in the Revolutionary War. Bounty land warrants were granted by the federal government to veterans who served in the Revolutionary War, or were granted to their heirs. The collection has been microfilmed by the National Archives (microfilm M804, 2,670 rolls) and is available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and the Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Records are arranged alphabetically by surname. See the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) for microfilm numbers. www.familysearch.org Other records for the Revolutionary War are housed at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D.C.

Some Additional Resources of Interest:
Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War (NARA M881, 1,096 rolls)

General Index to Compiled Military Service Records of Revolutionary War Soldiers (NARA M860, 58 rolls)

Printed Sources: A Selected List
There are many indexes and printed sources for this war. Here is a selected listing:

Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants Awarded by State Governments. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1996.

Hatcher, Patricia Law. Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots. 4 vols. Dallas, Texas: Pioneer Heritage Press, 1987-88.

National Genealogical Society. Index of Revolutionary War Pension Applications in the National Archives. Arlington, Va.: National Genealogical Society, 1976.

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. DAR Lineage Books. 166 vols. Washington, DC: NSDAR, 1890-1939.

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. DAR Patriot Index, Centennial Edition. 3 vols. Washington, DC: NSDAR, 1994.

Neagles, James. U.S. Military Records. Orem, Utah: Ancestry Publishing, 1994.

United States. Census Office. A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services. 1841. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965.

United States. War Dept. The Pension Roll of 1835. 4 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992. Reprinted with new index.

White, Virgil D. Genealogical Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files. 4 vols. Waynesboro, Tenn.: National Historical Publishing Co., 1990-92.

White, Virgil D. Index to Revolutionary War Service Records. 4 vols. Waynesboro, Tenn.: National Historical Publishing Co., 1995.

Internet Sites: A Selected List
American Revolution, 1775-1783, on the Internet
www.lineages.com/military/Links.asp?war=rw

Cyndi’s List, Military Resources
www.cyndislist.com/milres.htm

National Archives and Records Administration, Genealogy Page
www.nara.gov/genealogy/genindex.html

Revolutionary War
www.revwar.com

Roots Web’s Guide to Tracing Family Trees: United States Military Records
www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson14.htm

A Virtual Museum of the Revolutionary War
home.ptd.net/~revwar/museum.html

The War for American Independence
home.ptd.net/~revwar

Major Repositories: A Selected List Family History Library
www.familysearch.org

Library of Congress, Washington, DC
lcweb.loc.gov

National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC
www.nara.gov

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, DC
dar.library.net

National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, Louisville, Kentucky
www.sar.org

Selected Bibliography

Atlas of American History.
2nd edition. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1984.
Detailed Revolutionary War maps.

Neagles, James C.
U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1994.

Schweitzer, George K. Revolutionary War Genealogy.
Knoxville, Tenn.: G.K. Schweitzer, 1987.

Witcher, Curt B. “Finding Your Patriot: Basic Sources for Starting Revolutionary War Research”
Ancestry Magazine 14 (May/June 1996).

Kip Sperry is an associate professor of family history at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.

Terms & Conditions | Privacy Statement | About Us | Partner with Us | Contact Us
Copyright 2000, MyFamily.com.
This article may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes provided
that proper attribution (including author name) and copyright notices are included.