Seeking military records for Robards family

Dear Mr. Stephens,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

Military service records for soldiers and sailors who fought in those wars are split between several different record series.

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records (Record Group 93). Since the original documents in this series are not served to researchers, they have been microfilmed as Microfilm Publication M881 “Compiled Service Records of Soldiers who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War.” Portions of this series are available online through the Catalog. We searched the records available through the Catalog for persons named Robards and located 21 records.

The entire series is available on Fold3 as Revolutionary War Service Records. You may search for free, however viewing the documents turned up by search results requires a paid subscription to the website.  Some libraries provide free access to Fold3 to their patrons. We searched these records on Fold3 for persons named Robards and located 30 results.

We also located Compiled Service Records of American Naval Personnel Who Served in the Revolutionary War in Record Group 93 that contains records of sailors and some civilian employees of the Continental Navy. These service records are available in their entirety via Fold3 as Revolutionary War Service Records - Navy. We searched both the Catalog and Fold3 and for persons named Robards, but were unable to locate any results.

In addition, we located Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Units During the Post-Revolutionary War Period in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office (Record Group 94) that documents those who served in volunteer units after the Revolutionary War and prior to the War of 1812. This series was microfilmed as Microfilm Publication M905 “Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers who Served from 1784 to 1811.” Portions of this series are available online through the Catalog, to include 1 record for a person with the last name of Robards. Approximately 99% of the service records in this series are available on Fold3 as Service Records of Volunteers, 1784-1811.  We searched the records on Fold3 and located 1 result for the last name Robards, which is the same record available for free on the Catalog.

Next, we located Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the War of 1812 in Record Group 93.  Portions of this series have been reproduced as microfilm publications that are listed in the Catalog description and have been digitized. In addition to the digitized microfilm, some original paper records have been digitized and uploaded to the Catalog. We searched the records available using the Catalog but were unable to locate any with the last name Robards.

This series is indexed by Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the War of 1812 in Record Group 94. This series has been reproduced as microfilm publications which are listed in the Catalog description. We searched the records available using the Catalog but were unable to locate any with the last name Robards.

The entire War of 1812 index as well as the portion of the Carded Records that have been microfilmed are available on Fold3 as War Of 1812 Service Records. We searched these records as located 17 results for the name Robards. These index cards indicate that there should be service records for these soldiers that have not been digitized yet.

Although you omitted the Mexican American War in your request, we thought you may be interested in the results we located relating to this war. We searched the National Archives Catalog and located Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the Mexican War in Record Group 94. Portions of this series have been reproduced as microfilm publications which are listed in the Catalog description and have been digitized by Fold3. In addition to the digitized microfilm, some original paper records have been digitized and uploaded to the Catalog. We searched the records available using the Catalog for Robards and located 2 results.

This series is indexed by Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Mexican War in Record Group 94. This series has been reproduced as microfilm publication M616 “Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the Mexican War.” Portions of this series are available using National Archives Catalog, including 6 records for the soldiers with the last name of Robards. These index cards that do not have matching service records indicate that there should be service records for these soldiers, but have not been digitized yet.

The entire Mexican American War index as well as the portion of the Carded Records which have been microfilmed are available on Fold3 as Mexican War Service Records. We searched these records as located 8 results for the name Robards. These are the same results available in the National Archives Catalog.

In addition to the above listed records for volunteers, we located the series Enlistment Papers, 1798 - October 31, 1912  and Registers of Enlistments in the United States Army, 1798 - 1914

in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1917 (Record Group 94) that include military service files enlisted soldiers of the Regular Army. The Enlistment papers are not microfilmed and have not been digitized.  The Enlistment registers have been microfilmed as Microfilm Publication M233 “Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914” These records are not yet available using the National Archives Catalog, however they are available on Fold3 as Army Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914. We searched for the last name Robards and located 5 results on Fold3.

There are no consolidated service records for Regular Army officers before 1863.  One can examine the various letters received and letters sent series of the Adjutant General's Office in Record Group 94 for pertinent documentation relating to these officers. Regular Army Officers are listed in the Official Army Register that is available through Fold3 as Army Registers, 1798-1969. Some editions are available for free on HathiTrust.

Service in the Marine Corps is documented by Alphabetical List of Enlisted Men, 1798-1941;

Service Records of Enlisted Men, 1798-1900; Alphabetical Card List of Marine Corps Officers and Marine Corps Reserve Officers, 1798-1941; and Records of Military Service of Marine Corps Officers, 1849-1904 in the Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127). These records have not been microfilmed or digitized and are not available online. Officers and enlisted personnel may be listed in the Muster Rolls, 1/1798 - 12/1940 in Record Group 127 that have been digitized by Ancestry and are available as part of the data collection  U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958. We searched this series and located 408 listings for persons named Robards. We did not check the dates for these listings. These records are not available yet in the National Archives Catalog.

Service in the US Navy after the Revolution and prior to the Civil War is documented in Records Relating to Enlisted Men Who Served in the Navy Between 1842 and 1885; Abstracts of Service Records of Naval Officers, 5/1798 - 7/1924; Register of Officers of the Navy, 3/5/1799 - ca. 9/25/1823; and Ship Books Containing Complements and Rosters of Officers on Vessels, 11/1834 - 9/1865 in the Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (Record Group 24). These records have not been microfilmed or digitized and are not available online.

Finally, we located Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Confederate Organizations , 1903 - 1927 in the War Department Collection of Confederate Records (Record Group 109).  This series has been microfilmed microfilm publications which are listed in the Catalog description and have been digitized by Fold3. Portions of this series are available on the Catalog.  We searched these records and located 56 records for the name Robards.

The Confederate records are indexed by the General Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1903 - 1927 in Record Group 109, which has been reproduced as multiple microfilm publications. We searched the portions of this series available on the Catalog but were unable to locate a card for Robards.

Confederate service records and the general index cards for Alabama and Virginia are on Fold3 as Civil War Service Records - Confederate Records. We searched Fold3 and located 92 results for Robards.

In addition to the service records, there are a number of record series relating to pensions and land grants for veterans.  Please note that Confederate pension records are in the custody of the various state archives, not at the National Archives.

To order records from the National Archives that have not already been digitized, please fill out a NATF Form 86 for the service records and a NATF Form 85 for the pension records and mail the completed forms to the address listed on the form. You also may place your order online using eservices.archives.gov. For more information see Requesting Copies of Older (pre-WWI) Military Service Records.

Many of the records linked above on Fold3 are also available on Ancestry and FamilySearch.

For more information about genealogical records available regarding specific American wars from the Revolution through the Civil War, please see the following topic pages.

• https://www.archives.gov/research/military/american-revolution
• https://www.archives.gov/research/military/war-of-1812
• https://www.archives.gov/research/military/mexican-war
• https://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war

Questions about the records above may be directed to the National Archives at Washington, DC - Textual Reference (RDT1) via email at Archives1reference@nara.gov.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT1. Also, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has suspended non-emergency reproduction and digitization services until further notice due to COVID-19. Orders will not be serviced until operations can resume safely. Once operations resume, document reproduction requests will be filled in the order in which they were received. We apologize for any inconvenience.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!