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.

Digital Documents at Fold3
- Revolutionary War Pensions – $
  This collection of records includes digital images of the entire pension file for soldiers and sailors who served during the Revolutionary War. These records reveal more details about the veteran’s history and service unlike selected service records chosen for genealogical content. They also contain more specific information about a soldier’s family, state of health, and life after the war.
- Revolutionary War Service Records $
  Found here are digital images of the compiled service records for the regular soldiers of the Continental Army, and also for the militia, volunteers and other who served alongside them. The records contained here are arranged under the designation “Continental Troops” by state name, then organization, and then alphabetically by the soldier’s surname. Records consist of card abstracts of entries relating to a soldier from original records. Also found here are regimental lists including muster rolls, pay lists, and caption cards.
- Revolutionary War Rolls $
  These digital image rolls should be browsed by state and then name of the organization (regiment, battalion, guard, company, etc. Here you will find names of soldiers with the help of annotations supplied by other users and you will be able to add your own. 138 rolls of microfilm contain thousands of records and provide the names and details of the men who fought for independence.
Pensions and Pension Applications
- By State
Databases at Ancestry