military records
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The uses and importance of Oklahoma military records in family history and genealogical research for ancestors who have been veterans are obvious but Oklahoma military records can also be crucial to researchers whose immediate ancestors were not soldiers in any war. Mainly because of the quantity of genealogical facts contained in some Oklahoma military pension data files they ought to not be ignored all through the research process.The military records for pre-statehood Oklahoma are available, with many of the military service records being housed at the Fort Worth Southwest Region branch or at the National Archives. U.S. Senate Document 512 lists the information on military servicemen who were required to accompany displaced Native Americans when tribes were forced off of their land.

The National Archives is home to many military service records, including those for Union and Confederate servicemen. The State Archives Division of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries contains some of the pension records and applications for Confederate veterans who served outside of the state, but were Oklahoma residents. Records for the spouses of those veterans are also included. All of those records have separate indexes and are filed in numerical order. More information can be found at the Oklahoma Board of Pension Commissioners, Confederate Pension Applications for Soldiers and Sailors. The Oklahoma Department of Welfare also houses some Confederate pension data.

Pension files can be found on microfilm by accessing the proper reel. That information is included in the Index to Applications for Pensions from the State of Oklahoma Submitted by Confederate Soldiers, Sailors and Their Widows, Special Publication No. 2.

Military unit records pertaining to Native Americans are not listed for Indian Territory. Instead, since those units were part of Texas, they are filed with the unit information for the Texas units. The Oklahoma Historical Society, Archives and Manuscripts Division and the State Adjutant General’s Office house some of the Confederate service records. More information can also be found in Grant Foreman, History of the Service and List of Individuals of the Five Civilized Tribes in the Confederate Army, 2 vols.

All veterans buried in the state of Oklahoma are listed in a card file at the Oklahoma Historical Society. Information in those files includes: Full Name,
Date Of Birth,
Date Of Death,
Place Of Burial,
Military Unit Data.

Some incomplete records for the Ardmore, Oklahoma Confederate Home are also housed at the Oklahoma Historical Society, as are records for Native Americans. The Native American records include Indian Home Guard muster rolls on microfilm. They are arranged by tribe and can be found in the Indian Archives section.

Oklahoma in the Civil War

Civil War Website Links

Oklahoma Modern Wars

War Website Links