Revolutionary War Records

The American revolutionary era began in 1763, after a series of victories by British forces at the conclusion of the French and Indian War ended the French military threat to British North American colonies. Adopting the policy that the colonies should pay an increased proportion of the costs associated with keeping them in the Empire, Britain imposed a series of direct taxes followed by other laws intended to demonstrate British authority, all of which proved extremely unpopular in America. Because the colonies lacked elected representation in the governing British Parliament, many colonists considered the laws to be illegitimate and a violation of their rights as Englishmen. In 1772, groups of colonists began to create Committees of Correspondence, which would lead to their own Provincial Congresses in most of the colonies. In the course of two years, the Provincial Congresses or their equivalents rejected the Parliament and effectively replaced the British ruling apparatus in the former colonies, culminating in 1774 with the coordinating First Continental Congress. In response to protests in Boston over Parliament's attempts to assert authority, the British sent combat troops, dissolved local governments, and imposed direct rule by Royal officials. Consequently, the Colonies mobilized their militias, and fighting broke out in 1775. First ostensibly loyal to King George III, the repeated pleas by the First Continental Congress for royal intervention on their behalf with Parliament resulted in the declaration by the King that the states were "in rebellion", and the members of Congress were traitors. In 1776, representatives from each of the original thirteen states voted unanimously in the Second Continental Congress to adopt a Declaration of Independence, which now rejected the British monarchy in addition to its Parliament. The Declaration established the United States, which was originally governed as a loose confederation through a representative democracy selected by state legislatures. See Wikipedia

1775-1783

Records for the Revolutionary War

• General Index of Pension Files, 1861-1934
• Revolutionary War Records (hosted at National Archives)
  • Images of the Revolutionary War
  • Timeline of the War
  • Tracking Revolutionary War Army Pension Payments

• Revolutionary War Mailing Lists

• Revolutionary War Cemeteries

• Revolutionary War Maps

• Records by State

• Chronological Record of Battles and Engagements (hosted at Colonial Ancestors)

• Women of the Revolution

• DAR Genealogical Research System (hosted at DAR)

• Southern Campaign Pension Statements & Rosters (hosted at Southern Campaign)

• Dunmore's War Rosters

• Dunmore's War

• The American Revolution (hosted at ALHN)

• Volume I

• Volume II

• Timeline for Independence

• Important Dates

Military Cemeteries

• US Military National Cemeteries

• Burial Search

• US Military State Cemeteries 

Revolutionary War Records by State

You should check the following sites for County information for Service Records, Pension, Unit Histories, Census, Cemetery and History.

• USGenWeb Archives Search States for Military Records

• USGenWeb Special Projects

• USGenWeb Project Search by State and County

• American Local History Network (ALHN)

• American History and Genealogy Project (AHGP)

• State Archives

• Revolutionary War Military Records (hosted at FamilySearch)

Alabama

• Alabama's Revolutionary War Soldiers and Patriots (hosted at ALSSAR)
• Revolutionary Soldiers in Alabama (hosted at Alabama Dept. Archives & History)
• Alabama Revolutionary War Soldiers $ (Ancestry.com)
• Revolutionary Soldiers in Alabama - Free Index

Connecticut

• Colonial Wars, 1675-1775 (hosted at Connecticut State Library)
  • Revolutionary War Series
• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Service (hosted at ALHN)
  • A-B  C-D  E-F  G-H  I-J  K-L  M-N  O-P  Q-R  S-T  U-V  W-X  Y-Z
• Connecticut Men in the Revolutionary War $ (Ancestry.com)

Delaware

• Guide to Revolutionary War Records, Delaware (hosted at State of Delaware Archives)
• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Service (hosted at ALHN)

Florida

• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Service (hosted at ALHN)

Georgia

• Revolutionary War Veterans (hosted at Georgia Secretary of State)
• 1832 Cherokee County Land Lottery (Lists Revolutionary Soldiers)
• 1803 Pulaski County Land Lottery (Lists Revolutionary Soldiers)
• Troup County Georgia Land Lots (Lists Revolutionary Soldiers)
•  Georgia's Black Patriots (hosted at Scott's History Web)
• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Service (hosted at ALHN)
  • A-L Surnames
  • M-Z Surnames
• Roster of Revolutionary Soldiers in Georgia Vol. I $ (Ancestry.com)
• Roster of Revolutionary Soldiers in Georgia Vol. II $ (Ancestry.com)
• Roster of Revolutionary Soldiers in Georgia Vol. III $ (Ancestry.com)

Illinois

• Revolutionary War Veterans buried in Illinois (hosted at Genealogy Trails)
  • 1835 Pensioners by County
  • Long Knives Campaign
• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Service (hosted at ALHN)
  • Surnames A-L
  • Surnames M-Z
• Illinois Revolutionary War Veteran Burials $ (Ancestry.com)

Kentucky

• Revolutionary War Warrants (hosted Kentucky Secretary of State)
• Virginia and Old Kentucky Patent Series
• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Service (hosted at ALHN)
  • A-C E-H I-L M-P Q-T U-Z

Maine

• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Service (hosted at ALHN)
  • A-D E-H I-L M-P Q-T U-Z
• An Alphabetical Index of Revolutionary Pensioners Living in Maine $ (Ancestry.com)
• Maine Pensioners, 1835 $ (Ancestry.com)
• Maine Revolutionary War Bounty Applications, 1835-36 $ (Ancestry.com)
• Names of Soldiers of the American Revolution [from Maine] $ (Ancestry.com)

Maryland

• Muster Rolls and Other Records (hosted at Archives of Maryland Online)
• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Services (hosted at ALHN)
• Maryland Revolutionary Records $ (Ancestry.com)
• Maryland Revolutionary War Records $ (Ancestry.com)
• Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774 $ (Ancestry.com)
• Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, 1775-1783 $ (Ancestry.com)
• Orderly Book of the Maryland Loyalists Regiment, June 18, 1778, to October 12, 1778 $ (Ancestry.com)

Massachusetts

• Online Databases (hosted at Massachusetts Archives)
• Revolutionary War Cemeteries (hosted at Sutton Massachusetts)
• Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War (Images Online)
• Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, 17 Vols.
• Massachusetts soldiers and sailors of the Revolutionary War $ (Ancestry.com)

New Jersey

• Loyalist Muster Roll Index (hosted at On the Trail of our Ancestors)
• Index of the Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War $ (Ancestry.com)

New York

• New York Volunteers (hosted at On the Trail of our Ancestors)
  • Capt. John Howard's Company
  • Capt William Gray's Company
• New York Colonial Muster Rolls, 1664-1775, Vol. I $ (Ancestry.com)
• New York Colonial Muster Rolls, 1664-1775, Vol. II $ (Ancestry.com)
• New York in the Revolution $ (Ancestry.com)
• New York Military in the Revolution $ (Ancestry.com)

North Carolina

• Revolutionary War Records of Primary Interest (hosted at Gaston-Lincoln Regional Library)
• Revolutionary War Pension Applications (hosted at Jarvis Homepage)
• North Carolina Revolutionary War Soldiers $ (Ancestry.com)
• Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774 $ (Ancestry.com)

Ohio

• Revolutionary War Pensioners in 1818-1819 (hosted at Darke County Ohio Researchers)

Pennsylvania

• Revolutionary War Abstract Card File (hosted Pennsylvania State Archives)
  • Militia Officers Index, 1775-1800
• Valley Forge Muster Roll (hosted at Valley Forge Legacy)
  • Continental Army
• Oaths of Allegiance and Non-Associators (hosted at On the Trail of our Ancestors)

Rhode Island

• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Services (hosted at ALHN)
  • A-L Surnames
  • M-Z Surnames
• Death Seem'd to Stare: The New Hampshire and Rhode Island Regiments at Valley Forge $ (Ancestry.com)
• Rhode Island Colonial War Servicemen, 1740-62 $ (Ancestry.com)

South Carolina

• Women of South Carolina in the Revolution (hosted at Revolutionary in SC)
  • Patriot Records
  • Loyalist Records
• Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution
• South Carolinians in the Revolution . . .
• Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774

Tennessee

• Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War (hosted at Tennessee GenWeb)
• Record of Commissions of Officers in the Tennessee Militia $ (Ancestry.com)
• Some Tennessee Heroes of the Revolution $ (Ancestry.com)

Vermont

• Pawlet Vermont in the Revolutionary War (hosted at Colonial Ancestors)
• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Services (hosted at ALHN)
  • A-D  E-H  I-L  M-P  Q-T  U-Z
• Vermont Men in the Revolutionary War $ (Ancestry.com)

Virginia

• Virginia and Old Kentucky Patent Series (hosted Kentucky Secretary of State)
• West of Tennessee River Military Patents
• Revolutionary War Rosters (hosted at Charles City County)
  • Search
• Dunmore's War (hosted at Library of Virginia Online Catalog)
  • Military Certificates
  • Public Service Claims
• 1840 Census of Pensioners Revolutionary or Military Services (hosted at ALHN)
  • A-D  E-H  I-L  M-P  Q-T  U-Z
• Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution
• List of the Colonial Soldiers of Virginia
• Revolutionary War Records: Virginia
• The History of Virginia's Navy of the Revolution
• Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War
• Catalogue of Revolutionary Soldiers and Sailors of the Commonwealth of Virginia
• Virginia Navy in the Revolution
• Virginia Revolutionary War Records
• Virginia Colonial Militia, 1651-1776
• Virginia Colonial Militia, 1651-1776
• Virginia Colonial Militia, 1651-1776, Vol. II
• Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774
• Virginia Colonial Soldiers - Free Index
• Virginia Soldiers of 1776
• Virginia Soldiers of 1776, Vol. 1

Revolutionary War Maps

• Mapping the American Revolution (hosted at Library of Congress)

• Map of the Regions (Northern States)

• Map of the Regions (Southern States)

  • Map of the Regions (Mid Atlantic States)

  • Map of the Regions (New England)

  • Map of the Regions (South Atlantic States)

• New Jersey Revolutionary War Maps (hosted at Rutgers Cartography Services)

• Rare Map Collection-Revolutionary America (hosted at University of Georgia Libraries)

• Interactive Revolutionary War Map (hosted at Education Place)

• South Carolina-Revolutionary Maps (hosted at SCIWAY)

• Rochambeau Map Collection in Order (hosted at Library of Congress)

• Maps of Battles of the Revolutionary War (hosted at US History Images)

• Revolutionary War Maps (hosted at David Ramsey Map Collection)

Revolutionary War Subscription Databases

• Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots

• Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Books (152 Vols.)

• Land Grants to Georgia Revolutionary War Veterans

• Muster and Pay Rolls of the War of the Revolution, 1775-1783: Miscellaneous Records

• Revolutionary War Courts-Martial

• Revolutionary War Heroes

• Revolutionary War Officers

• Revolutionary War Pension Index

• Revolutionary War Rejected Pensions

• Revolutionary War Service Records, 1775-83

• Sons of the American Revolution

• American Revolutionary War Rejected Pensions

• Muster and Pay Rolls of the War of the Revolution
• Muster and Pay Rolls of the War of the Revolution, 1775-1783: Miscellaneous Records
• Pensioners of the Revolutionary War--Struck Off the Roll
• Records of the Revolutionary War
• Revolutionary Pensioners
• Revolutionary Pensioners of 1818
• The Pension Lists of 1792-1795
• The Pension Roll of 1835, Vol. I
• The Pension Roll of 1835, Vol. II
• The Pension Roll of 1835, Vol. III
• The Pension Roll of 1835, Vol. IV
• List of pensioners on the roll, January 1, 1883, Vols. 1-5
• U.S. Compiled Revolutionary War Military Service Records, 1775-1783 - Updated!
• Life of Joseph Brant-Thayendanegea, including the border wars of the American Revolution, and sketches of the Indian campaigns, Vols. 1-2

Suggested Reading or Viewing

Battles Of The Revolutionary War: 1775-1781 - The Americans did not simply outlast the British in the Revolutionary War, contends this author in a groundbreaking study, but won their independence by employing superior strategies, tactics, and leadership.

A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier - In this first-hand account of the Revolutionary War, Joseph Plumb Martin narrates his true adventures as an eighteen-year-old private in the Continental Army-and gives a rare glimpse of the earthy beginnings of our nation's history.