United States, Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914

What is in This Collection?

The collection consists of registers and index of men that enlisted in the United States Army between 1798 and 1914. The Regular Army is comprised of career soldiers and is maintained through peacetime. The registers are from the Adjutant General’s Office, Washington, DC NARA M233 part of Record Group 94 Records of the Adjutant General's.The records are arranged chronologically, then by the first letter of the surname. The registers will not usually include individuals who enlisted as part of a militia or reserve unit or in a volunteer military unit raised by a state. Data in these registers was compiled from a variety of other military records, including enlistment papers, muster rolls, and unit records. Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

• Army of the United States. 6/3/1784-9/4/1792 Organization Record

Key to Abbreviations (See Remarks Column)

• D.R. Descriptive Rolls
• Hospl. Ret. Hospital Return
• I.R. Inspection Return
• M.R. Muster Roll
• Mo. Ret. Monthly Return
• O.B. Order Book
• Ord. Order
• Pri. or Pvt. Private
• Rect. or Rct. Recruit
• Regtl. Regimental
• R.R. Recruiting Return
• S.A. I.R. Semi-annual Inspection Return
• S.A.M.R. Semi-annual Muster Roll
• “See Pension Case” is added to records, part or whole of which, were copied at the Pension Office
• Additional abbreviations will be found if Gardner’s Dictionary of the United States Army. See related digital books in this article

These records were created as a permanent record of those individuals who enlisted in the Army.

The records are generally reliable although some ages may have been falsified. Physical descriptions will generally vary in height and hair color over time due to the observation (not direct measurement) of the officer recording the enlistment.

See also:

• Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens Tracking a Soldier between Enlistment and Discharge: The Example of Private Charles Plucker. National Genealogical Society Quarterly 82 (December 1994): 245 -254. FS Library 973 B2ng
• Claire Prechtel-Kluskens U.S. Regular Army Registers of Enlistment and enlistment papers, 1798-1917 NGS Magazine 35 #4 (October-December 2009): 40-44. FS Library 973 D25ngs
• Richard M. Lytle. The Soldiers of America's First Army, 1791 Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004

Related National Archives Collections

• Muster Rolls of Regular Army Organizations, 1784–October 31, 1912 NAID 654583
• Adjutant General's Office. RG 94 Enlistment Papers, 1798–October 31, 1912 NAID 300390
• Returns of Military Organizations, ca. 1800–December 1916 NAID 300181
• Post-Revolutionary War Enlistment Papers, 1784–1815 NAID 1588362
• Muster Rolls of Volunteer Organizations During the War with Northwest Indians, 1790–1795 NAID 654587
• Discharge Certificates and Records Relating to the Discharge of Soldiers from the Regular Army, 1792–1815 NAID 654846
• Consolidated Returns of Enlisted Men, 1789–1792 NAID 1487552
• Registers of Deaths in the Regular Army, Volunteers, and Naval Forces, 1861–1867, RG 94, NAID 7423809
• Index to Register of Enlistments Arizona Indian Scouts. Office of Indian Affairs. Phoenix District Office. San Carlos Agency. NAID 295240 See NARA rolls 70 & 71 in this collection of enlistment registers.
• Dept. of the Treasury. Office of the Second Comptroller. Claim Book for the 1st - 20th U.S. Infantry Regiments, 1866–1868 NAID 12562222
• Dept. of the Treasury. Office of the Second Comptroller. Register of Reports on Claims for Pay Due Deceased Soldiers, February 24, 1854–March 15, 1861 NAID 2544445

• Medical Records
• Carded Medical Records for Soldiers in the U.S. Army, 1821–1912
• Carded Medical Records of the Regular Army, 1821-1884. NAID 655638
• Carded Medical Records of the Regular Army 1894-1912 NAID 655639
• Carded Medical Records of Civilians, 1894–1912 NAID 655726
• Marriage Records
• United States, National Archives, Carded Marriage Records, 1883 - 1916 - A - L NARA Finding Aid
• United States, National Archives, Carded Marriage Records, 1883 - 1916 - M - Z NARA Finding Aid
• Birth Records
• United States, National Archives, Carded Birth Records, 1884 - 1912 NARA Finding Aid
• Death Records
• Carded Death Records of Civilians, 1884–1912 NAID 655728
• Final Statements, 1862–1899 NAID 654719
• Military Units
• War Department. 1st Infantry Regiment. (1815 - 09/18/1947)
• War Department. 2nd Infantry Regiment. (03/03/1791 - 1792)
• War Department. 2nd Infantry Regiment. (1815 - 1920)
• War Department. 3rd Infantry Regiment. (1796 - 1802)
• War Department. 3rd Infantry Regiment. (1808 - 1815)
• War Department. 3rd Infantry Regiment. (1815 - 1919)
• War Department. 11th Engineer Regiment. (1917 - 05/06/1919)
• War Department. 23rd Infantry Regiment. (09/22/1917 - 09/18/1947)

To Browse This Collection

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Image

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  1912 Enlistment Register