New York State Library
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New York State Military Records - Before the Civil War

General Sources

Horowitz, Lois. A Bibliography of Military Name Lists from Pre-1675 to 1900: A Guide to Genealogical Sources. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Pr., 1990. (R,929.373,H816,90-14241)

Colonial Militia

These records were collected and published in the 2d and 3d volumes of the Annual Report of the State Historian, 1896 and 1897. (R,974.7,N556)

Revolutionary War

The State Archives has some muster rolls, bounty records and pension records for Revolutionary War soldiers, although many of those records were destroyed in the Capitol fire of 1911. The records do not contain personal information. Names of soldiers gathered from various original sources are listed in:

Daughters of the American Revolution, New York. Genealogical Data; New Project. (R,929,qD23d). Known as "grandparent forms," this material consists of genealogically documented DAR applications. They are indexed in the Local History and Genealogy card files.

Daughters of the American Revolution, New York. Graves of Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in New York. 15 volumes. (R,973.3447,qA2c). These books are indexed in the Local History and Genealogy card files and contain only the locations of graves and the graves of immediate family members. These volumes are also indexed in the Revised Master Index to the DAR Genealogical Records Volumes, Book 2 (R,929,qD23m).

Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York. Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company, 1853-1887. (R,974.7,qD63) Volume 15 contains information about New York State in the Revolution. Volume 15 is reprinted as Berthold Fernow's New York in the Revolution, Cottonport, LA: Polyanthus, 1972.(A,974.7,qD63,1972).

Hoyt, Max E. Index of Revolutionary War Pension Applications, Washington: 1943-1963 - 2 vols. (R,351.5,qH871)

The pension and bounty land warrant files indexed in this book are not in the New York State Library. For information from those records, one should write to the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408.

New York (State) Comptroller's Office. New York in the Revolution as Colony and State. Albany: J.B. Lyon Company, 1901-1904. 2 vols. (R,973.3447,qA2a). This work includes an alphabetical roster of State troops and other details extracted from muster rolls.

New York (State) Secretary of State. Calendar of Historical Manuscripts, Relating to the War of the Revolution, in the Office of the Secretary of State. Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company, 1868. 2 vols. (R,973.3447,qA). An index is at the end of volume 1.

War of 1812

The claim records and militia payroll cards are in the custody of the State Archives, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230, where they may be examined. Names of soldiers who served during the War of 1812 can be found in the following published sources:

List of Pensioners and Survivors of the War of 1812: taken from the list of pensioners on the roll, January 1, 1883, State of New York. New York: New York Co., Andrew Jackson Chapter, 1935. (R,973.524,qL773,85-32490)

New York (State) Adjutant-General's Office. Index of Awards on Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812.
Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. (R,973.52447,qA2a)

New York (State) Council of Appointment. Military Minutes of the Council of Appointment of the State of New York, 1783-1821. Albany: J.B. Lyon, State Printer, 1901-1902. 3 vols. and index (R,974.7,N555)

Mexican War

New York State furnished two regiments of Volunteers: The First (later renumbered 2nd) and the Seventh (later the 1st). The service records of these soldiers are on file at the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408. (The First fought in Mexico; the Seventh served in California).

Last Updated: September 1, 2021