Starting Places

Ancestry Library Edition.
Location: Library Databases [restricted to UD]

Best viewed using the Internet Explorer browser. Select the Search tab, then "Browse by location", Delaware or select the "Military Records" section. Files include: Civil War Collection, WWI Draft Registration Cards, 1917-18, and Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II. Also see the Learning Center available free through Ancestry.com.

Delaware Archives: Military and Naval Records. 5 vols. Wilmington, DE: Delaware Public Archives Commission, 1911-1919.
Location: Morris Library (F161 .D29)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F161 .D29)

Based on manuscript materials relating to military personnel. Provides information on: Colonial, including King George's War (1744-48), French and Indian War (1754-1763); the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. Originals are in the Delaware Public Archives (DPA). (Note: DPA has additional materials which have not been published in the Delaware Archives volumes.)

Footnote.com.
Location: Internet (http://www.footnote.com/)

Produced in partnership with the National Archives, the Footnote.com website provides searchable digital images of indexes and source documents from National Archive collections. Site also provides capabilities for members to highlight documents and post comments. Some documents available only to paid subscribers.

Examples: Revolutionary War Service Records (M881), Revolutionary War Rolls (M246), Civil War Pensions Index (T289).

Heitman, Francis B. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army: From its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903. 2 vols. Washington, [D.C.]: G.P.O., 1903.
Location: Morris Library (U11 .U5 H6)
Location: Morris Library - U.S. Documents (U.S. Doc W 3.11:789-903)
Location: Internet (http://www.ahco.army.mil/site/search.jsp) (Vol 1 only) Army Heritage & Education Center
Location: Internet (http://books.google.com/books?id=iIUiAAAAMAAJ) (Vol 1 only) Google Books

The best starting place for army information. Contains a complete list of commissioned officers giving the officers' full names and showing their services as cadets and all services as officers or enlisted men, either in the regular or volunteer service. Biographical information on each officer includes state or country where born, state from which originally appointed, date of discharge, medals, battles participated in (when available), and, in about a fifth of the entries, date of death after leaving the Army. Volume 2 has a chronological list of battles and several other lists. Some information is included on officers of the Confederate States of America. For the online version on The Army Heritage & Education Center website, go to the Digital Documents collection> Browse>Time Period> [Name of War]> Library> Reference Works or use the Search the Digitized material feature for "Heitman."

Papers of the Historical Society of Delaware. Wilmington, DE: Historical Society of Delaware, 1879-1940.
Location: Morris Library (F161 .D45)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F161 .D45)

Papers relating to

• Revolution: nos. 8, 10, 13-16, 30, 35, 48, 56, 57, 92 and n.s. 3
• War of 1812: no. 33
• Civil War: nos. 53, 62

Pre-Federal to Civil War

Colonial Delaware Soldiers and Sailors, 1638-1776. By Henry C. Peden. Westminster, MD: Family Line Publications, 1995.
Location: Morris Library (F163 .P43 1995)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F163 .P43 1995)

DAR Patriot Index. Washington, DC: Daughters of the American Revolution, 1966-1986.
Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref E255 .D38 1966) and supplement

Delaware Continentals, 1776-1783. By Christopher Longstreth Ward. Wilmington, DE: Historical Society of Delaware, 1941.
Location: Morris Library (E263 .D3W3)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del E263 .D3W3)

Delaware Revolutionary troops were called "Delaware Continentals" or "Blues."

Delaware Militia in the War of 1812. By Henry C. Peden. Lewes, DE: Colonial Roots, 2004.
Location: Morris Library (E359.5.D3 P43x 2003)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del E359.5.D3 P43x 2003)

Delaware Papers, Colonial and Revolutionary Documents, Circa 1770-1850.
Location: Morris Library - Microforms (Microfilm nos.175-176)

Includes records pertaining to Delaware regiments and navy, lists of soldiers. No index is available.

Loyalists of Revolutionary Delaware. By Harold Bell Hancock. Newark, DE: University of Delaware Press,1977
Location: Morris Library (E277 .H26 1977)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (E277 .H26 1977)

Marylanders and Delawareans in the French and Indian War, 1756-1763. By Henry C. Peden. Lewes, DE: Colonial Roots, 2004.
Location: Morris Library (F180 .P435x 2004)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F180 .P435x 2004)

Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1959-.
Location: Morris Library - Microforms (Microfilm S 85)

National Archives M247. Related titles: Military Service Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications, which is available online; Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 available full text at the Library of Congress American Memory website; Index J 10 .A1 Index 1978.

"Return of Moneys Paid for the Colonie on the Delaware River," Pennsylvania Archives, ser. 2, v. 5, pp. 440-444.
Location: Morris Library (F146 .P44 ser.2 v.5)

Information on about 120 soldiers received by the colony of New Amstel (now New Castle) in New Netherlands, 1659-62.

Civil War

Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Delaware. 4 reels. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, 1964. (M537)
Location: Morris Library - Microforms (Microfilm no. 5697)
Location: Library Databases (via Ancestry Library Edition) [restricted to UD]

A card index to the compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers belonging to units from the State of Delaware. Each index card gives the name of the soldier, his rank, and the unit in which he served. There are cross- references for the names that appeared in the records under more than one spelling and for service in more than one unit or organization. This index is from National Archives RG 94 (M537). Copies of the complete records may be obtained from National Archives; Delaware Public Archives has microfilm of the complete records for Delaware.

Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. (Dyer's Compendium). 2 vols. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.
Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref E491 .D99 1959

v. 1. Number and organization of the armies of the United States. v. 2. Chronological record of the campaigns, battles, engagements, actions, combats, sieges, skirmishes, etc., in the United States, 1860 to 1865. v. 3. Regimental histories. In Volume 3 (pp. 1016-1018) is a list of the Delaware Civil War regiments, including a regimental history for each. Also see the website Civil War Archive: Regimental Index (http://www.civilwararchive.com/regim.htm) for transcription of regimental information provided in Dyer.

Roll of Honor: Names of Soldiers Who Died in Defense of the American Union, Interred in the National Cemeteries. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1994-.
Location: Morris Library - U.S. Documents (U.S. Doc W 39.7/a)

Compiled by the Quartermaster General's Office. 27 volumes reprinted in 10 volumes.

Scharf, J. Thomas. History of Delaware: 1609-1888. Philadelphia: L.J. Richards, 1888.
Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref F164 .S31)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F164 .S31)
Location: Morris Library (F164 .S31)
Location: Library Databases (via American County Histories to 1900) [restricted to UD]

A two-volume history. The print volumes are accompanied by a three-volume index. The online version is keyword searchable. Regimental histories, pp. 338-341, 356-360. Roster (list of members of the Delaware regiment), Appendix, pp. i-xxxiii. Note: the author's name is pronounced "Skarf."

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. (Navies OR). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1894-1922.
Location: Morris Library - U.S. Documents (U.S. Doc N 16.6:)
Location: Internet (http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/ofre.html) (Making of America)

Extensive collection of original documents. Includes dispatches, operations reports, muster rolls, statistics, and more. Series I consists of 27 volumes. It contains information on squadrons and flotillas, mainly in chronological order. Union reports are given first, followed by corresponding Confederate reports. Series II consists of 3 volumes and contains statistical data of ships, muster rolls of Confederate vessels, letters of marque and reprisal, and Confederate departmental investigations. The set has a general index.

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. (OR). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901.
Location: Morris Library - U.S. Documents (U.S. Doc W 45.5:)
Location: Library Databases (via Ancestry Library Edition) [restricted to UD]
Location: Internet (http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html) (Making of America)

Popularly known as the "OR". Extensive collection of original documents, reports, telegrams, dispatches, and more. The set consists of four series and has 128 volumes. Series I consists of 53 volumes and contains reports of military campaign including correspondence, orders, and returns for both Union and Confederate Armies. It Formal reports of military campaign including correspondence, orders, and returns for both Union and Confederate Armies. Series I follows the order of campaigns (chronological order) and the various theaters of operation. Union Reports appear first with confederate reports following. It is arranged in chronological order. Union Reports appear first with confederate reports following. Series II, 8 volumes, contains Union and Confederate correspondence, orders, reports, and returns pertaining to prisoners of war and to state or political prisoners. Series III, 5 volumes, presents other correspondence, orders, reports, and returns for the Union authorities. Series IV, 4 volumes, contains other correspondence, orders, reports, and returns for the Confederates.

U.S. Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1861-1865. (M1821)
Location: Library Databases (via Ancestry Library Edition) [restricted to UD]

Histories of Individual Regiments

Civil War Unit Histories: Regimental Histories and Personal Narratives. Bethesda, MD: University Publications of America, 1990.
Location: Morris Library - Microforms (Microfiche no. 2023)

Accompanied by a printed guide titled A Guide to the Microfiche Edition of Civil War Unit Histories, shelved in the microforms area. The Library has pt. 3 (11 microfiche) for Delaware regiments only.

Bennett, C. P. "The Delaware regiment in the revolution." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 9, Iss. 4; p. 451.
Location: Library Annex F146 .P48 v.9 (1885)

Murphy, T.G. Four Years in the War: The History of the First Regiment of Delaware Veteran Volunteers (Infantry). Philadelphia: James S. Claxton, 1866.
Location: Morris Library (E500.5 1st .M86)
Location: Morris Library (E500.5 1st .M86 1866a)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (E500.5 1st .M86)

Papers of the Historical Society of Delaware. Wilmington, DE: Historical Society of Delaware, 1879-1940.
Location: Morris Library (F161 .D45)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F161 .D45)

Nos. 5 and 53.

Pensions

Clark, Raymond B. Index to Delawareans in the Index of Revolutionary War Pension Applications. Arlington, VA: R.B. Clark, 1982.
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del Folio F163 .C55 1982)

A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services; With Their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Reprint ed. New York: N. Ross Publishing, 1990.
Location: Morris Library - U.S. Documents (U.S. Doc C 3.11:11) Census Area

Reprint of a volume from the Sixth Census, 1840, volume 4.

Delaware Pension Roll / Delaware Pensioners, 1835. United States Senate. Report from the Secretary of War, in Obedience to Resolutions of the Senate of the 5th and 30th of June, 1834, and the 3d of March, 1835, In Relation to the Pension Establishment of the United States. [Delaware Section], Washington, D.C.: Duff Green, 1835.
Location: Library Databases (via Ancestry Library Edition) [restricted to UD]
Location: Library Annex (Serial Set 250)
Location: Morris Library - Microforms (Microfiche S366)

Lists invalid soldiers covered by military pension in the early 1800s. Entries include: name of soldier, rank, area of military service, and date placed on the pension roll and date pension completed. In some cases, the age of the person is listed. Note: names are not in alphabetical order in the print version.

United States. War Dept. Letter from the Secretary of the War to the Committee of Ways and Means, in Relation to the Number of Militia Called into the Public Service in 1813, to a Provision for Paying the Bounties and Premiums to Soldiers...   Early American imprints. Second series; no. 33295. Washington: A. & G. Way, printers, 1814.
Location: Morris Library - Microforms (Microfiche S269.5 no. 33295)

United States. War Dept. Letter from the Secretary of War, Communicating a Transcript of the Pension List of the United States Shewing the Number of Pensioners in the Several Districts, Also, the Amount Allowed to Each Pensioner. Early American imprints. Second series; no. 30230. Washington: A. and G. Way, printers, 1813.
Location: Library Databases (via Ancestry Library Edition) [restricted to UD]
Location: Morris Library - Microforms (Microfiche S269.5 no. 30230)

Prisons and Prisoners

Garrisons Units (Stationed at Fort Delaware).
Location: Internet (http://www.destateparks.com/park/fort-delaware/civil-war/garrisons.asp)

Jamison, Jocelyn P. They Died at Fort Delaware, 1861-1865: Confederate, Union and Civilian. Delaware City, DE: Fort Delaware Society, 1997.
Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref E616 .D3 T54x 1997)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del Folio E616 .D3 T54x 1997)

Lists the 2,926 Confederate and 39 civilian prisoners, plus 109 of the 135 Union soldiers who died at the Fort and are now buried in Finns Point National Cemetery across the Delaware River in Salem County, NJ.

Prison Times.
Location: Internet (http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?ammem/cwnyhs:@field(SUBJ+@od1(Fort+Delaware++Del++))

One of only two known issues of this publication written by prisoners at Fort Delaware. April 1865 (issue 1).

DELCAT Examples

More Information

Research in Military Records. (National Archives).
Location: Internet (http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/military/)

National Archives and Records Administration page giving helpful information for genealogists. Web site includes forms necessary for obtaining records from National Archives. See especially: Selected military documents digitized in the Archival Research Catalog (ARC).

Delaware Public Archives (DPA).
Location: Internet (http://archives.delaware.gov/)

Delaware Public Archives holds originals and microforms of many military records. Resources include: Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War (16 microfilm reels) and Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of Delaware (117 microfilm reels). For other resources consult the "Services: Public/Finding Aids" pages or contact DPA directly. Many original documents have been scanned and are available on the DPA Web. See the "Services: Digital Archives" section. The digital collection is especially strong in Civil War materials, including muster rolls. See, the Revolutionary War Guide.

Delaware Genealogical Research Guide. 3rd ed. Wilmington, DE: Delaware Genealogical Society, 2002.
Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref F163 .D349 2002)
Location: Morris Library - Special Collections (Del F163 .D349 2002)

The most important guide for doing genealogical research in Delaware. It covers specific types of records and where they can be found in the state. Edited by Thomas P. Doherty and published by the Delaware Genealogical Society (http://delgensoc.org).

A Bibliography of Military Name Lists from Pre-1675 to 1900: A Guide to Genealogical Sources. By Lois Horowitz. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1990.
Location: Morris Library (Z5315 .U5 H67)

See pp. 4, 38-40, 134-139, 459, 504, and 698-699 for references to published lists of Delaware servicemen's names.

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet.
Location: Internet (http://www.cyndislist.com/)

The George Henry Preble Collection at the Navy Department Library. Compiled By Vice Admiral George W. Emery.
Location: Internet (http://www.history.navy.mil/library/special/preble_g_coll.htm)

Index of Civil War Information Available on the Internet.
Location: Internet (http://www.civilwarhome.com/indexcivilwarinfo.htm)

Resource Guides/Finding Aids. (Army Heritage & Education Center:AHEC).
Location: Internet (http://www.ahco.army.mil/site/finding_aids_brief.jsp)

The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Rev. ed. Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing Co., 1997.
Location: Morris Library - Reference (Ref CS49 .S65 1997)

See Chapter 9.

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