United States, Muster Rolls of the Marine Corps, 1798-1937
Index and images of muster rolls of the United States Marine Corps located at the National Archives. The records are arranged chronologically by month, then by post, station or ship, and are part of Record Group 127 Records of the U.S. Marine Corps. The muster rolls are from two National Archive microfilm publications, T1118, 1798-1892, 123 rolls and T977, 1893-1940, 460 rolls. The muster rolls from T1118, 1798-1892 have been indexed. Those from T977 are not complete in this publication. For a list of the rolls that are indexed and a list of the rolls that are not available in this publication, please see the supporting FamilySearch Wiki article for this collection, found by clicking on the “Learn More” link below. The browse collection for the two publications are arranged by roll number.
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United States, Muster Rolls of the Marine Corps
What is in This Collection?
This collection consists of an index & images of muster rolls of the United States Marine Corps located at the National Archives. The records are arranged chronologically by month, then by post, station or ship, and are part of Record Group 127 Records of the U.S. Marine Corps The muster rolls are from two National Archive microfilm publications, T1118 (1798-1892, 123 rolls) and T977 (1893-1940, 460 rolls). The muster rolls from T1118, 1798 -1892 have been indexed. Only those rolls from T977,1893-1940 listed below have been indexed.
The following rolls and dates from T977, 1893-1940 have been indexed.:
- roll 46 Sept-Oct 1905
- rolls 87-99 Sept 1912-Dec 1913
- rolls 122-123 May -Jun 1917
- roll 133 Feb 1918
- rolls 135- 160 Mar 1918 -Jan 1919 - World War I
- rolls 163-180 Feb 1919-Sept 1919
- rolls 282- 400 Mar 1928-Mar 1937
The browse collection for the two publications are arranged by roll number. Images for the following rolls from T977,1893-1940 are not available in this publication.
- roll 2 Jul-Dec 1893
- rolls 100-121 Jan 1914-Apr 1917
- rolls 124-132 Jun 1917-Jan 1918
- roll 134 Feb 1918
- rolls 161-162 Feb 1919
- rolls 181-186 Oct 1919-Mar 1920
- rolls 401-460 Apr 1937-Dec 1940
The Continental Marines were founded in 1775 to aid the original 13 colonies in their fight for independence. The Marine Corps was created in 1798. It was part of the Navy Department from 1834 until 1952, when it became a distinct branch of the military.
During the Civil War, muster rolls grew to include personal information including:
- Nativity (state or country)
- Date and place joined
- Age when enlisted
- Date and place mustered in
- Place and date mustered out
Related National Archives Collections
- Card Lists of Marine Corps War of 1812 Casualties, 1812–1815 NAID 7861697
- Carded Medical Records of the Marine Corps, 1821-1884 NAID 655645
- Card List of Marine Corps Dead Buried Overseas, 1898 - 1918 NAID 7861708 WWI
- Official Military Personnel Files, 1905–1998 NAID 299715
To Browse This Collection
| You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for United States, Muster Rolls of the Marine Corps, 1798-1937. |
Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.
What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
- Name of officer or enlisted man
- Rank and unit in which served
- Date of enlistment
- Date of re-enlistment
- Name of ship
- Notes regarding promotions, transfers, physical description, etc.
- Injuries or illness and type of treatment
- Date of death or discharge
- Date of desertion
- Date of apprehension
- Date of court martial
- Sentence of court-martial
Allow for variations of physical descriptions since officers enlisting marines did not use measuring devices and standard lighting was not used. General trends will show through multiples enlistments
Collection Content
Sample Images
1800 - 1803 Muster Roll
1803 Monthly Detail
Collection Details
Location of Original Records
National Archives and Records Administration
"United States, Muster Rolls of the Marine Corps, 1798-1937." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 25 April 2025. Citing NARA microfilm publication T1118. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
