Military Records Research

 Sanders No. 502. General Pershing reviewing Texas troops, Camp Scurry, Corpus Christi (1972/115-68). Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

This guide is designed to help researchers who are interested in accessing the records of individuals who served in Texas military units between 1835 and 1945, with a focus on records held by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC). This research can involve using a combination of genealogy and historical resources. Although this webpage is organized by conflict, some collections described below cover several wars.

Texas Fights, a four-volume set, includes information about Texans fighting in the Texas Revolution, Mexican American War, Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II.

For records of other conflicts, such as the Revolutionary War, or records not held by TSLAC, please check these additional resources for military service records.

Access Options

This guide describes archival materials and publications available at TSLAC. Access options for these materials include:

• “Archival Collections” refers to original records in the Texas State Archives collections available in the Archives Reading Room. More information is on our "Before You Visit" webpage.
• “Publications” in the TSLAC library collections are available in the Reference Reading Room. Some items may be available online or can be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). You can search WorldCat , a catalog of library holdings worldwide, to find available print and digitized copies, or check with your local library about ILL services.

Republic of Texas military records provide information about the activities of the Army, Navy, and Ranger units during the Texas Revolution until statehood and document the service of individuals. Manuscript collections provide additional information about military activities during the time of the Texas Republic.

Archival Collections

You may search for individuals and military units who fought in the Texas Revolution by using the online index to service records  dating 1836-1935. The index links to images of scanned documents. Please note: Not everyone who served in the Revolution, Republic or State of Texas military has a service record. 

Military rolls, 1835-1846  consist of muster rolls, payrolls, receipt rolls, and lists of officers and/or men, for the various military and para-military organizations of the Republic of Texas. Please note: Most of the original military rolls from the Texas Revolution were destroyed in a fire in 1855. Copies created for use by the Texas General Land Office (GLO) are available through the GLO Archives .

Indexes to military rolls dating 1838 to 1900 are available by searching “Texas, Muster Roll Index Cards, 1838-1900” available through the Texas Digital Archive  (TDA) and Ancestry.com. Free access to Ancestry.com Texas is available for Texas residents.

Republic claims were submitted by citizens to the Republic of Texas government from 1835 through 1846 for payment, reimbursement, or restitution. These claims also concern pensions and claims against the Republic government submitted after 1846. Documents include vouchers, financial accounts, military records, receipts, notes, or letters.

Adjutant General’s Department records provide additional information on the activities of Texas Revolution and Republic-era military units. Please note: these records generally do not contain information on individual soldiers.

• Texas Adjutant General's Department Army Papers  
• Texas Adjutant General's Department Navy Papers 
• Texas Adjutant General's Department Ranger Records 

Publications

Defenders of the Republic of Texas includes the names and units of individuals who served in the Republic of Texas Army between 1836-1841.

The Alamo Reader and The Papers of the Texas Revolution, 1835-1836 include transcriptions from Adjutant General’s Department records from the Revolution. These publications also have transcriptions from other TSLAC collections and resources at other institutions.

The Mexican American War, a territorial dispute between the United States and Mexico, followed the American annexation of Texas in 1845. Most military records for individuals who served during this conflict are held by the National Archives and Records Administration  (NARA). Related TSLAC resources include the following archival and published materials:

Archival Collections

The Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar Papers , dating from 1846 to 1848, include letters from the Army of Occupation headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, to Lamar, regimental returns, and one original muster roll from Lamar's Company. An index to names, subjects, and places is located in The Calendar of the Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, available on the TDA .

An Executive Record Book of Acting Governor A. C. Horton from 1846 contains correspondence between the Governor and military officers of the United States concerning companies of volunteers raised under the requisition of Colonel Harney of the 26th of June 1846. For access options to microfilm reel #3473, review the Executive Record Books research guide.

The Mexican War Papers, a manuscript collection of newspaper clippings containing rolls and photos of veteran reunion attendees, along with veterans’ genealogical and biographical information. In addition, the collection includes The Vedette, a Mexican War veteran newspaper, from 1883 to 1893 containing reminiscences, death notices, and pension information. Email ref@tsl.texas.gov for more information about working with these records.

Publications

Texas Veterans in the Mexican War: Muster Rolls of Texas Military Units contains transcribed muster rolls of Texas military units and a name index to records held by NARA.

An Index to Mexican War Pension Applications held by NARA.

TSLAC does not hold files for individuals conscripted into the Confederate Army or rolls for Confederate units that saw service outside of Texas. NARA  is the repository of official Union and Confederate government records. 

TSLAC holds records documenting activities and service of individuals and military units, focusing on the actions of the Texas state government as a member of the Confederacy, between 1861 and 1865. Related TSLAC resources include the following archival and published materials:

Archival Collections

The online index to service records  dating 1836-1935 includes documentation for individuals and military units of the Texas State Troops and other state militia or law enforcement bodies operating during the Civil War. The index links to images of scanned documents. Please note: Not everyone who served in the Civil War or State of Texas military has a service record. 

Civil War Military rolls  consist of muster rolls, payrolls, receipt rolls, rosters, returns, and election returns of military units stationed in Texas on both sides of the Civil War. Our online guide Searching for Civil War military rolls in the Texas Digital Archive (TDA)  offers tips on how to search for individuals using the “Texas, Muster Roll Index Cards, 1838-1900” database on the TDA  and Ancestry.com.

Muster roll abstract cards for Texas Rangers, 1855-1874; Mounted Volunteers, 1847-1876; and Minute Men, 1858-1874, not specifically identified as Civil War units, are available in the “Texas, Muster Roll Index Cards, 1838-1900” database on the TDA  and Ancestry.com.

Confederate Pension Applications provide detailed documentation of the impoverished Confederate veterans and their widows who applied for pensions from the state of Texas beginning in 1899.

The Confederate Indigent Families Lists (1863-1865) is a list compiled by counties of servicemen and the number of their dependents eligible for relief.

The Confederate Home for Men  operated 1886 to 1950 as a residence for disabled Confederate veterans. It operated privately until 1891, then came under the supervision of the Texas State Board of Control. A separate Confederate Woman's Home opened in 1908. The home began admitting veterans and their spouses from the Spanish American War and World War I after 1939. A portion of these records are available on the TDA .

A name index to Records of Graves of Civil War Veterans points to Texas State Historical Survey Committee records  of a survey conducted between 1961 and 1965. The records do not include the names of every Confederate veteran buried in Texas; only the names supplied by survey participants.

The Raymond W. Watkins Collection card file documents Texas Confederate graves located in other states. This index to the names of known veterans is not comprehensive. Email ref@tsl.texas.gov for more information about these indexes.

Publications

Texas Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 is a two-volume index of military service records held by NARA. Arranged both by name and by unit, the index allows a researcher to confirm that records exist for Texan soldiers before requesting copies from NARA.

The Official Clayton Library Friends guide and index to the Texas confederate audited civil and military claims, 1861-65 is a guide and index to the Texas confederate audited civil and military claims, 1861-1865, described in Texas Comptroller's Office Claims Records (1835-1900) .

Texas Confederate Home Roster: with added data from Confederate Home ledgers lists indigent or disabled veterans and their wives or widows who lived in the Confederate Men’s or Women’s homes.

The Spanish American War saw the nationalization of the Texas Volunteer Guard, which was organized into four regiments of infantry and one of cavalry. NARA  is the official repository for original service and pension records for Spanish American War military personnel.

TSLAC records related to this conflict include the following Adjutant General’s Department records and manuscript collections:

Archival Collections

The Spanish-American War Military Rolls  for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Infantries and the 1st Cavalry are organized by company. Information in the muster rolls includes the following: name, rank, age, height, complexion, eyes, hair color; place of birth; occupation; marital status; and name and address of parent or guardian if single. They are all dated May or June 1898. If a name is located in the “Texas, Muster Roll Index Cards, 1838-1900” database available through the TDA  and Ancestry.com, more details will be located within the various military rolls.

The Texas Volunteer (Spanish-American War) Records, 1898-1902  consist of military orders and related printed matter, 1898-1902; records of personnel, 1898-1901; records of property, 1898; records of payment for services, 1898-1902; and claims, 1898-1901.

The General John A. Hulen papers  include documentation of his early military service in the Spanish American War.

The Adina de Zavala Collection has the Spanish American War papers of George Willrich, Captain of Company H of the 1st Regiment of Infantry, Texas Volunteers. The papers include quartermaster records and requests for furloughs and discharges; correspondence pertaining to the loss or theft of equipment belonging to company H; papers pertaining to deserters; an annual report of the Adjutant General of the Army, 1898; and miscellaneous correspondence and papers.

The 36th Division Association papers include Jaw Bone, a newspaper for veterans of the 33rd Infantry, containing veterans’ reminiscences and information on the veterans, dating 1936-1940, 1943, and 1951-1957. The collection also contains editions of the Fitzhugh Lee News, published by members of the Fitzhugh Lee Camp, a chapter of the United Spanish American War Veterans organization, an official souvenir roster of the Second Texas Regiment, USVI, and newspaper clippings and photographs of the 33rd Infantry’s activities in the Philippines.

NARA is the official repository for US military records of World War I  and World War II .

TSLAC holds the following state records and manuscript collections:

World War I

The Frank S. Tillman collection  contains printed material, diaries, rosters, and lists of wartime deaths, produced between 1915 and 1939, documenting and describing the participation of Texas soldiers in World War I. Rosters and diaries for the Thirty-Sixth Division and lists of World War I dead are on the TDA .

The General John A. Hulen papers  include correspondence relating to recruitment activities, photographs, and scrapbooks documenting Hulen’s service as commander of the 72nd Infantry Brigade during World War I. Select photographs are available on the TDA .

William Deming Hornaday transcripts of World War I letters and personal accounts A-L and unknown  and M-Z  include descriptions of military life, battles, and injuries; persons, places, and events in France and Germany, at sea, and on U.S. military bases; and the influenza epidemic and activities at home.

The 36th Division Association papers include correspondence, reports, military records, and scrapbooks, dating 1857-1954, with many items relating to Texans’ experience during World War I. A souvenir publication is available on the TDA .

World War II

Texas Adjutant General's Department Texas State Guard/Texas Defense Guard/Texas State Guard Reserve Corps Records  includes records of the Texas State Guard, its antecedents, and its successors, primarily dating from the Second World War (1941-1945).

Robert Wagner Collection of 36th Division Materials  is the research material of historian Robert Wagner, author of The Texas Army: A History of the 36th Division in the Italian Campaign. The bulk of the material is correspondence, clippings, printed material, and military records, 1942 to 1945, created by and collected by 36th Division soldiers which Wagner gathered for his research.

The 36th Division Association papers include unit rosters and information on 36th Infantry operations dating from December 1943 to June 1944.

Publications

The National Guardsman covers World War I, documenting action by specific units, messages from high level staff, promotions, obituaries noting cause of death ranging from influenza to accident to battle, and notices that highlight the role of women in nursing and recruiting.

Other Resources

The Texas Military Forces Museum  at Camp Mabry also holds collections about World War I soldiers and actions along the border with Mexico during the 1910s. Information about original records and collections  is on their website.