History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861: Campaigns and Generals,
Vol.1: Campaigns and Generals
Vol 2 - 3: Counties and Commanders
Vol 4:The Companies
Publisher: Boyd Publishing Company, Incorporated

Explanation of Pensions, Bounty Land available on microfilm

How do I obtain Records? National archives. Also, LDS films also has a CD index of the War of 1812,by state, with participants names listed alphabetically.

Index to Certified Copy of List of American Prisoners of War 1812-1815 as Recorded in General Entry Book Ottawa, Canada, Compiled by Mrs. Henry James Carr

Link to "The Star Spangled Banner Story". It's worth the wait to load!

Daughters of 1812

War of 1812

1)The 1st series ("Old Wars") consists of pensions to veterans of the army, navy, and Marine Corps based on service resulting in death or disability from the end of the Revolutionary War period up to the Civil War. Old War Index to Pension Files (T316, 7 rolls).

2)The 2nd series Pension application files -- those based on the acts of 1871 and 1878. These acts, based on length of service alone, relate mostly to militia veterans called to federal service.

The 1871 act provided pensions to veterans who had served at least sixty days or to their widows if they had married before 1815. The 1878 act provided pensions to those veterans, or their widows, who only served fourteen days. By the time these acts were passed, most applicants were widows or minors rather than veterans themselves.  While the pension files are not on microfilm, an informative index showing much data has been microfilmed as Index to War of 1812 Pension Application Files (M313, 102 rolls).

The best source on Georgia units in the War of 1812 is a recently published book "History of the Georgia Militia, 1783 - 186l," by Gordon Burns Smith of Savannah.

The book consists of four volumes and at present the Georgia Archives does not have a copy. The book lists which units were drawn from which counties and the actions they were engaged in during the War of 1812. I am the current Vice-President of the Society of the War of 1812 in the State of Georgia. The General Society can be accessed at the following internet address: http://www.vca1790.org"History of the Georgia Militia, 1783 - 186l,"

The web site contains contact information for the Georgia Society, links to War of 1812 related sites and membership information. Ancestry.com and other web sites do have searchable databases of soldiers and sailors who served in the War of 1812 but our own site does not. There are two other lineage societies related to the War of 1812: The United Society Daughters of the War of 1812 (USD 1812) and the Military Society of the War of 1812. The Daughters do not presently have a national web site although many state societies do (Georgia does not). The Military Society of the War of 1812 .

The best tip I can offer to locate an 1812 ancestor is to follow basic principals of research. The Georgia Archives has a number of titles related to the War of 1812 including records of the General Society of the War of 1812, USD of 1812, burial information, war dead, pension and indexes of service records. The USD 1812 has been actively engaged in marking graves of veterans of the War of 1812 for many years and their records would be the best obvious starting point. A check of the Registers for both societies would be recommended as well. The customs of the 19th Century customs were not to mark graves as to wartime service unless the individual was a well-known hero of the war. Obituaries, if they can be located, sometimes make mention as to wartime service. Pensions are generally rare for War of 1812 service but do contain a wealth of information. Compiled service records can be obtained from the Washington DC NARA location and can help identify some limited information on the soldier or sailor in question.

Early county histories sometimes also include information on units that served during the War of 1812; often including names of individuals. There is a common misconception that few individuals served during the War of 1812, but this is inaccurate. The level of mobilization varied greatly from state to state depending on the threat from England or the Creek Indians. The threat from England was highest in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states; virtually non-existent from North Carolina south. In the south the primary threat was the Creek Indians who were being supplied arms by the Spanish and were allied with England. If your ancestors were in the Carolinas they likely didn't serve during the War of 1812. If they were from GA, AL, MS or TN then they would have fought in the Creek Campaign. Any further north would have fought against England.

Generally speaking men who served during the War of 1812 were younger men, generally 18 to 30, single or married without children. War of 1812 veterans would be about seven generations back for most people, which would give you 64 g-g-g-g-grandparents of which 32 would be males. Your odds of finding a War of 1812 ancestor are pretty good and I myself have found three myself without even trying hard. Persistence is how you meet with success and good luck to all with their researching!

In the decades after the War of 1812, volunteer units often served during Indian hostilities. The men who served (or their heirs) received bounty land and sometimes pensions.

To obtain their records, it is not necessary to know the specific Indian war. National Archives Application asks for "Indian War Pensions for 1816-1850". See claims abstracted in "Some Georgia Bounty Land Grantees 1854-1856", National Genealogical Society Quarterly 73 (1985): 297-303.

Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During Indian Wars and Disturbances, 1815-58. National Archives.

OCONEE INDIAN WAR of 1780s and 1790s
SEMINOLE WARS (Florida Wars)
Seminole War of 1818
Seminole War of 1827
Seminole War of 1837
Last Seminole War

The Seminole War of 1818 was short-lived, but was laced with many notable people. General Andy Jackson, the Tennessee, for whom Jacksonville, FL. was named, and later became President of the United States, was the leader of the expedition to punish the Seminoles.

An 1832 treaty, negotiated with a few chiefs, was not accepted by the majority of tribe. This group led by Chieftain Osceola baffled the US Army for years in the Everglades.

Information about the Indian Wars as well as Forts of Early Georgia

School curriculum on Creek Indian Wars

Selected Creek Letters 1825-1829

Damages Filed with Federal Govt against the Creek Indians. Contributed by Desmond Harp

I was able to learn a great deal about my GA Ancestor through the military-bounty-pension files for this war!

Burial of a few Creek War Soldiers-June, 1836

Cherokee Removal of 1838

(They or their widows qualified for bounty lands prior to 1855 and for pensions starting in the 1870s.

James Turner HARMON served as a Private in Capt. Dearing's Co., Lauderdale Battalion, Tennessee Mounted Infantry, during the Cherokee War. He enrolled on 1 Nov. 1837 and mustered out on 10 May 1838.

• Mexican-American War
• Descendants of Mexican War Veterans (DMWV)
• Aztec Club of 1847 - Military Society of the Mexican War
• The Mexican War, from Texas Trails
• The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo from the Library of Congress

• Sons of Spanish American War Veterans

Note to all from the web master: the Confederate info was supplied by Virginia Crilley, former County Coordinator and my mentor.

INDEX to Confederate Material Basics about the GA Military System, BEFORE you begin. (Defining GA military groups)

US Civil War Naval

Civil War Forum Post your query and get help!

GEORGIA Units

CAMP LIFE IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR. Search its National Graves Registration Database

Confederate Sentinels, the 10th Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, Company

Georgia Muster Rolls

Benning's Brigade, Civil War, 15th Georgia Infantry, CSA

Patients in Confederate General Hospital #4 - Wilmington, NC = 1861 - 1865.

ROSTERS OF CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS OF GEORGIA by Lillian Henderson.
(Contains Volunteer and Regular Regiments only - not Artillery, Calvary, or State Guard, Reserve, Militia, State Line Regiments)
Six volumes with index in separate volume by Juanita Brightwell.

ROSTER OF THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS OF GEORGIA
6 vols. Lillian Henderson. On CD. Kristopher L Swinson

The Roster of Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865.
Janet B. Hewett, ed. (Wilmington, NC; Broadfoot Publishing Co, 1996) This is a multi-volume set derived from the microfilmed indexes to CSA Compiled Military Service Records. As such, it is an alphabetical roster of all CSA soldiers listed in those indexes at the National Archives! I suggest readers check out a nearby college/university library and photocopy the pages (from Hewett) listing the family names they are researching. Make sure to copy every listing that renders your family name phonetically, or renders it in a way attributable to unclear penmanship (the letter n may turn into u; m may be n, or vice versa, etc.) Thus, "Mangham" may be rendered as "Maughan," "Maugham," "Mangum," "Mangrum," "Magham," etc. Don't underestimate the creativity of Confederate First Sergeants and company clerks! (Or of Union PoW camp registrars, hospital attendants, etc.)

The listings in the Hewett rosters will read as follows, for example: Mangham, John W. GA 2nd Bn. S.S. Co. B Cpl. (This shows that John W. Mangham was a corporal in a Georgia unit known as the 2nd Battalion Sharpshooters.)

(My great-great-grandpa is also listed as Manghham,__ GA 5th Inf. Co. L; this reflects a muster roll entry from Company L, 5th Georgia Volunteer Infantry, which gives his last name only--and that was misspelled.)

If your local library doesn't have the Hewett rosters yet, you can doubtless have them call another library which will photocopy a couple of pages for you without any hassle (if they won't, you should try calling!) At one stroke, you will get a very good idea about which of your ancestors and cousins may have served in the CSA, and in which units; then it's fairly simple to order their service records from the Natl. Archives as described below. Contributed by: Major Dana Mangham

Confederate Research Sources: a guide to archive collections, by James C. Neagles. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Pub. 1986

Military Bibliography of the Civil War by Charles Dornbusch. New York: Public Library, 1961-87.

Smith, Gordon Burns. History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861, Volume 1, Campaigns and Generals. Milledgeville, GA: Boyd, 2000. ISBN: 1-890307-32-7.

Smith, Gordon Burns. History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861, Volume 2, Counties and Commanders, Part One. Milledgeville, GA: Boyd, 2000. ISBN: 1-890307-33-5.

Smith, Gordon Burns. History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861, Volume 3, Counties and Commanders, Part Two. Milledgeville, GA: Boyd, 2000. ISBN: 1-890307-34-3.

Smith, Gordon Burns. History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861, Volume 4, The Companies. Milledgeville, GA: Boyd, 2000. ISBN: 1-890307-35-1.

Many local newspapers published "memoirs" or "letters to the editor" from Confederate Soldiers during the period (1870-1900). They also listed "Reunion Notices"---which often listed all the men in a company, indicating if they were living at the time.

Union Soldiers from GA - Quoting from TRACING YOUR CIVIL WAR ANCESTORS, "Any number of Union men remained in the Federal army after the war. There were even Confederate prisoners who joined the Union Army during the war. They joined, not as deserters or turncoats but as Indian fighters, and were labeled "Galvanized Yankees," the idea being that just as a sheet of galvanized iron is covered with a thin layer of zinc, so the ex-Confederate was galvanized with a thin layer of "official Yankee,"......

Contact the nearest VA Regional Office, national cemetery, local veterans' organization or library for forms.

(Also available on line:  http://www.cem.va.gov/hmorder.htm )

VA Form 40-1330

Office of Memorial Programs (403A)
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20420

Eligible: Any deceased veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Must provide an official document pertaining to military service, ie. muster rolls, extracts from State files,
pension or land warrant.There is no cost for marker, but installation must be paid from private funds.

Union Soldiers from Georgia - Any Chattahoochee County man who joined a Union Regiment would have been a disgrace to his family. One mention is made in the will of Gideon Newson, "except Christopher Hinton who deserted his country and is gone to our enemy". There were possibly others as it is unlikely he would have gone alone.

Resource:(http://www.imagin.net/~tracers/genbooksga.htm)

Secret Yankees : The Union Circle in Confederate Atlanta (War, Society,
Culture) by Thomas G. Dyer 
Price: $20.97 

Gordon Burns Smith - Author (published 2000) This book is published by Boyd Publishing Co., Milledgeville, GA.

History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861 v1. Campaigns and Generals. Indexed. An
introduction to the components of the General Militia and Volunteers, tracing the militia system from its organization by Oglethorpe in 1733, through the Revolutionary
War, and then detailing each of the major conflicts in which the Georgia Militia served afterwards. Eyewitness reports punctuate these heavily documented
accounts. Lists of units (identified by county of origin where possible) in active service during these campaigns are appended. For historians, the important
Militia Acts of the Legislature are outlined, followed by a selection of General and Special Orders from the chain of command. For genealogist, a list of battalion and
regimental designations by county is included, along with a table of organization for the 27 brigades and 13 divisions of the Georgia Militia. The volume closes
with the biographies of the 205 Georgia Militia generals. 424 pg $45

History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861 v2. Counties and Commanders, Part One. Indexed. The militia histories of fifteen counties, CHATHAM, BURKE, JEFFERSON, TATTNALL, BALDWIN, MORGAN, JASPER, MONROE, BIBB, WARE, PIERCE, CAMPBELL, SUMTER,
COBB, and FLOYD, placing them in the pertinent political and economic contexts in which they existed. Each chapter is richly documented with biographical and genealogical
information on men and women residing in the county. Company roster and payrolls are
attached in numerous cases. These pages contain a veritable genealogical treasure
throve, since some counties have lost most if not all of their early public
records. 385 pg $45

History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861 v3. Counties and Commanders, Part Two. Indexed.The militia histories of twelve counties: BLYNN, CAMDEN, EFFINGHAM, WASHINGTON, COLUMBIA, LINCOLN, CLARKE, HABERSHAM, MUSCOGEE, THOMAS, COLQUITT, and
LOUNDES, placing them in the same contexts as those in Volume 2. Of these counties, several have lost most if not all of their early public records. Company rosters and payrolls
are also attached in numerous cases. 400 pg $45.00. <

History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861 v4. Companies. Indexed. The histories of
twenty-five representative volunteer companies, with rosters where pertinent. Among them are the GEORGIA HUSSARS, REPUBLICAN BLUES, MCINTOSH LIGHT
DRAGOONS, MACON VOLUNTEERS, CRAWFORD VOLUNTEERS, FORT GAINES GUARDS,
ALBANY GUARDS, and GATE CITY GUARD, and for genealogist include units in counties that have lost
their early records, such as Crawford, Dougherty, and McIntosh Counties.
Military and political historians will appreciate the account of the filibuster in
Georgia: Lopez, Gonzales, the Order of the Lone Star, "the Grey-Eyed Man of
Destiny", Henningsen, and the Knights of the Golden Circle. In addition, there is
included a chapter on the military history of the Beaufort District, South Carolina. 375 pg $45.

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