We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their CREATOR, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

As I read these words from the Declaration of Independence, I still get chills. The Fourth of July holiday brings to mind stories of the Continental Congress gathering to approve the Declaration of Independence, American colonists valiantly fighting battles for freedom from British rule, the midnight ride of Paul Revere, and other heroic stories of the Revolution. It can also inspire family historians to do a little digging and learn more about Revolutionary patriots in their family trees.

Where Do I Start?
The National Archives has pensions, bounty land warrants, and some service records from the Revolutionary War. Many of the original military service records burned in a fire in 1800, but according to U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, by James C. Neagles, "Beginning in 1894, service records were compiled by abstracting data from muster rolls, payrolls, various receipts, account entries, unit returns, correspondence, and data from 23 of the 176 numbered record books in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records. A card was prepared for each abstracted entry, and these cards were arranged in jacket-envelopes—one for each individual." These records, along with pension records, and bounty land warrants are available on microfilm at the National Archives, regional facilities, and some genealogical libraries.

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) have done a lot of work to preserve and index the records of Revolutionary War soldiers. The DAR Patriot Index lists established Revolutionary War ancestors of DAR members. The DAR Lineage Books are available online to Ancestry.com members at: http://www.ancestry.com/ancestry/search/3174.htm. The DAR Lineage Books contain the lineage of accepted members, but although this can provide great clues about the lineage of American patriots, these lineages are often undocumented and, as with any undocumented secondary source, all aspects should be documented with further research. Information about the society’s extensive holdings can be found in American Research at the DAR, Washington, D.C., by Eric G. Grundset and Steven B. Rhodes.

But your family history shouldn’t consist of just names and dates. Once you have found out what military unit your ancestor served with, don’t over look military histories. Regimental histories can add spectacular details that highlight exactly what these heroes went through to ensure future generations the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

See also George Morgan’s column "Military Regimental Histories."