Patriot In Lay Terms

Guide 4 of 10 · Sources last checked 2026-10-31 · Written with AI; every fact is tied to a quoted official source (how this works)

Revolutionary War Records by State: Where Each Kind of Service Was Recorded

The most common dead end in Revolutionary War research is searching the right name in the wrong repository. Where a record sits depends mostly on who the ancestor served for. This guide gives you a decision procedure first and a list of starting points second.

The one rule that decides most searches

The National Archives holds records of Continental troops and of state troops that served as Continental troops.[1] It does not hold state militia records.[1] For militia service, NARA's advice is to check with the archives of the state in which the soldier served.[1]

Decision procedure

  1. Identify the type of service. Continental Army, state troops, militia, navy, or civil and patriotic service.
  2. Continental, or state troops serving as Continentals: start with the federal compiled service records and rolls (below).
  3. Militia: go to the state archives or state library of the state he served for, and check the pension files too, since the 1832 act opened pensions to militia service.[2]
  4. Civil or patriotic service, such as town office, committees, oaths or supplies: DAR lists oaths of allegiance, town meeting minutes and county court orders among service sources, so start with town and county records, then the state archives.[3]
  5. Unsure: search the federal pension files first. A veteran's application normally gives his former rank, unit and period of service, which tells you where to search next.[4]

When you record the result, DAR's service-state field means the state the ancestor served for.[5] For military service it is the state in control of his unit, not every state he marched through.[5]

Federal records: what exists and what it covers

SeriesWhat it isNotes
M881Compiled military service records, 1,096 rolls[1]In the National Archives Catalog as NAID 570910[6]
M860Name index to those compiled records, 58 rolls[1]Start here for a name search
M246Revolutionary War rolls, 138 rolls[1]In the Catalog as NAID 602384[6]
M920, M1051, M257Indexes for Connecticut[1], Georgia[1] and North Carolina[1] organizationsState-specific indexes
M804Pension and bounty-land application files[6]Includes militia veterans who applied under later acts
M910Virginia half-pay pension files[1]Virginia-specific
M829Bounty-land warrants used in the Ohio military district, acts of 1788, 1803 and 1806[1]Land, not service, but often names the soldier

Compiled service records were assembled in the 1890s from muster rolls, descriptive rolls and pay rolls.[1] They were made as substitutes for records destroyed by fires in 1800 and 1814.[1] So a Continental soldier may have served and still have no compiled service record.[1] To order copies, NARA uses NATF Form 86 for service records[7] and NATF Form 85 for pension and pre-1856 bounty-land files.[7]

State and society repositories

The New York Public Library's guide lists examples of state repositories with Revolutionary War finding aids, including:

NYPL says its list is representative, not exhaustive.[8] For other states it suggests searching for the State Archives or the State Historical Society.[8]

DAR's Patriot Records Project index covers the 13 original states and some newer states, including Maine, Vermont and Ohio.[9] It has indexed over 500,000 documents[9] and includes some French and Spanish records.[9] DAR's Revolutionary War Pension Index also names other people mentioned in pension papers, such as witnesses, which can surface service that appears only in someone else's file.[9]

One state example: Virginia

Virginia shows how state records add to the federal ones. After a 1779 act, Virginia offered its own bounty land for Revolutionary War service.[10] State bounty land went to soldiers or sailors with at least three years of continuous Continental or state service.[10] No state bounty land was given for militia service.[10] The Library of Virginia has put images of those state bounty-land application files and certificate files online.[10] The federal Virginia half-pay files are a separate NARA series.[1]

Related guides: Bounty Land Warrants, How to Read a Pension File, Patriotic Service Without a Musket.

Try it: Service Window Checker

How this works. This checker does not search any records or databases. You type the dates you already know about your ancestor. It compares them with the published date rules and tells you whether they fit. Nothing you type leaves your device; it is saved only in this browser.

Fills in a made-up soldier so you can see a result right away.

1 Check service dates

Not sure? Pick the first choice. The others have their own start dates.

Numbers only, e.g. 1776 or 1776-07 (a full date like 1776-07-04 also works).

Widow-pension checks, a "What to do next" plan and a printable report are on the full checker page.

Saved only in this browser (keys starting "pi.toolA"). Nothing is sent anywhere.

What to do next

  1. Check your patriot's service dates with the free Service Window Checker. It tells you what to do next for each result, and gives you a plan you can print.
  2. List the records you have for each generation in the free Lineage Evidence Matrix. It gives you a to-do list of what is missing and where to look.
  3. Find a local chapter. DAR's Chapter Locator finds DAR chapters in your area.[11] For SAR, your sponsor is often the local chapter registrar; pick your state on SAR's contact page.[12]
  4. Start the application with that person's help: a DAR member, or your SAR sponsor, helps guide you through it.[13][12]

Next guide: Bounty Land Warrants: What They Prove, and What They Don't · All 10 guides

Sources

  1. NARA reference report — Revolutionary War Service, 1775–1783. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/american-revolution/service-records.pdf
  2. National Park Service — Revolutionary War Pension Files: Tips and a Guide for the Curious. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/what-might-you-find-in-the-revolutionary-war-pension-files.htm
  3. DAR Electronic Application — FAQs. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://membership.dar.org/NSDAR/AppFormz/FAQs.aspx
  4. NARA M804 descriptive pamphlet — Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/army/dc/m804.pdf
  5. DAR Electronic Application — Step by Step instructions. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://membership.dar.org/NSDAR/AppFormz/App_Help_Step_By_Step_1.aspx
  6. NARA — The American Revolution (research page). Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.archives.gov/research/military/american-revolution
  7. NARA — Genealogy Research in Military Records. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.archives.gov/research/military/genealogy
  8. New York Public Library — Military Genealogy: Revolutionary War. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://libguides.nypl.org/military-genealogy/revolutionary-war
  9. DAR Genealogical Research Databases — Revolutionary War Records. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_revwar/?Tab_ID=14&Tab_ID_Sub=0&action=list
  10. Library of Virginia — Revolutionary War Bounty Land Claims. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://lva-virginia.libguides.com/bounty-claims/home
  11. DAR — Chapter Locator. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.dar.org/discover/become-member/chapter-locator
  12. SAR — Apply in 4 Easy Steps. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.sar.org/how-to-apply/
  13. DAR — How to Join. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.dar.org/discover/become-member/how-join