Any question this was not going to an Internet intensive issue evaporated when the WGW unceremoniously dropped this one in my e-mail account. Naval History & Resources From "U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal & State Sources," by James C. Neagles http://www2.viaweb.com/ancestry/usmilrec1.html "The Continental Navy had its beginnings in October 1775, when the Continental Congress authorized Gen. George Washington to acquire several small ships to be used to attack and capture British transport vessels. Encouraged by the successes of these raiders, the Congress soon authorized the construction of more ships. The Continental Navy along with privateers and ships of the states' navies, operated against British shipping throughout the American Revolution. "With the end of the war, the Continental Navy effectively ceased to exist. However, pirate attacks on American merchant shipping in the Mediterranean Sea and European hostility underlined the need for a permanent navy. On 27 March 1794, President Washington signed an act that allowed for the purchase of six new warships, thus officially creating the U.S. Navy. The Department of the Navy was established in 1798. "The compiled service records for the American Revolution and Confederate forces in the Civil War include U.S. Navy personnel as well as those of other branches in the military. In some instances navy, marine, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine service records are arranged separately and have their own indexes, which may or may not duplicate general indexes. These naval personnel service records contain abstract cards from the records of several ships, lists of sailors, and other naval sources. There are no compiled military service records for navy personnel of the nineteenth century other than for the American Revolution and the Civil War. "A large collection of unbound papers assembled by the navy since the American Revolution is available in the National Archives' "area files." These papers date from the time of the American Revolution; they are arranged by the part of the world to which the papers relate. The content of these papers varies widely; they can be searched successfully only by those willing to spend considerable time and careful effort. Other papers are in bound volumes or collections, many with indexes. "The navy has created several card indexes relating to papers of the revolutionary war era: persons confined as prisoners of war at the Forton and Old Mill prisons in England, and prize money due the heirs of John Paul Jones." Compiled Military Service Records (From NARA -Military Service Records) http://www.nara.gov/publications/microfilm/military/service.html "Abstracts of the active military service of volunteer soldiers are called compiled military service records. Those held by the National Archives cover service during the Revolutionary War period, 1775-83; the Post-Revolutionary War period, 1784-1811; the War of 1812, 1812-15; the Indian wars, 1816-1860; the Mexican War, 1846-48; the Civil War, 1861-65; the Spanish-American War, 1898; and the Philippine Insurrection, 1898-1903. Volunteers also served during Indian disturbances, civil disorders, and disputes with Canada and Mexico. Microfilmed compiled service records for naval personnel are available only for the Revolutionary War. "The military service records of volunteer soldiers were abstracted onto cards from muster and payrolls, rank rolls, returns, hospital and prison records, accounts for subsistence, ration and ordnance records, receipts for pay and bounties, clothing returns, and other records. The abstracts for each soldier were placed in a jacket envelope bearing the soldier's name, rank, and military unit. In some instances, the envelope also includes one or more original documents relating specifically to that soldier. "A typical record gives the soldier's name, rank, military unit, and dates of entry into the service and separation by discharge, desertion, or death. It may also show the soldier's age, place of birth, and residence at the time of enlistment. "A compiled military service record is as complete as the records of an individual soldier or his unit. Some Civil War records also show facts about a soldier's imprisonment. If he was captured, his record may show the date of his release and parole, or if he died in prison, the date of his death. The National Archives also has some compiled military service records of Confederate officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted men, which are similar to the records of volunteer Union soldiers. "The service records were compiled under a War Department program begun some years after the Civil War to permit more rapid and efficient checking of military and medical records in connection with claims for pensions and other veterans' benefits. The abstracts were so carefully prepared that it is rarely necessary to consult the original records from which they were made. Although the War Department made every effort to assemble available official information, many compiled service records are not complete. Full records of the participation of a given unit may not have been available. A soldier may have served in a state militia unit that was never called into service by the Continental, Federal, or Confederate government. Records of such service, if available, are most likely in state archives or in the custody of the state adjutant general. "The compiled military service records are arranged by war, thereunder by state, thereunder by regiment or other military unit, and thereunder alphabetically by surname. To consult the records for a particular soldier, the researcher must know, or determine from an appropriate index, in which regiment he served. Not all of the indexes or compiled military service records have been microfilmed. The catalog notes when companion records are not available on microfilm." Helpful Navy Addresses Dept. of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20420 Tel: 202-233-4000 800-827-1000 URL: http://www.va.gov/foia/index.htm National Personnel Records Centers, NARA Military Records Facility 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100 Recorded Information Lines 314-538-4243 Air Force 314-538-4261 Army 314-538-4141 Navy/Marine/Coast Guard Fax: 314-538-4175 Email: center@stlouis.nara.gov URL: http://www.nara.gov/regional/mpr.html National Cemetery System Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20420 Tel: 202-273-5221 Email: ncscss@mail.va.gov URL: http://www.va.gov/cemetery/index.htm Naval Historical Center Washington Navy Yard 901 M Street, SE Washington, DC 20374-5060 Library: Tel: 202-433-4132 Fax: 202-433-9553 Museum: Tel: 202-433-4882 Fax: 202-433-8200 Operational Archives: Fax: 202-433-2833 Ships History Branch: Tel: 202-433-3643 Fax: 202-433-6677 URL: http://www.history.navy.mil/ U.S. Naval Academy Nimitz Library 589 McNair Road Annapolis, MD 21402-5029 Tel: 410-293-2220 (Special Collections) 410-293-2178 (Archives) Email: cummings@nadn.navy.mil URL: http://www.nadn.navy.mil/Library U.S. Naval Institute U.S. Naval Academy Campus 118 Maryland Avenue Annapolis, MD 21402-5035 Tel: 410-268-6110 URL: http://www.usni.org/ U.S. Naval War College/Library Code 1E3 686 Cushing Road Newport, RI 02841-1207 Tel: 401-841-1435 401-841-3397 401-841-4345 (Government Documents) Email: LIBREF@USNWC.EDU URL: http://users.ids.net/~nwcird/ Back to Cry Havoc #25 Table of Contents Back to Cry Havoc List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by David W. Tschanz. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com