Seeking records of Fort Lapwai

Susan,

Here is some information on the Fort. Not sure if you have seen this. Might also want to try records called. Also its a paid site called Ancestry.com they have these records digitized for the time period your seeking its called "Military Post Returns" which list men and women possible that return from various military duties between the post. If your looking specifically for an individual a name might be helpful. Otherwise you could spend hours looking for one particular person or persons.

(Record Group 393)
1817-1940 (bulk 1817-1920)

Overview of Records Locations

393.7 RECORDS OF POSTS
1820-1940

Fort Lapwai, ID, 1866-84

https://www.nps.gov/nepe/learn/historyculture/fort-lapwai-history.htm

http://www.npshistory.com/publications/nepe/greene/chap1b.htm

https://cityoflapwai.com/241/

https://www.jstor.org/stable/20615503?seq=1

https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/alvord_benjamin/#.X9vYSmVKiUk

Hope this helps.

Elliot Schneider

Dear Ms. Nolen,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located 15 record series relating to Fort Lapwai in the Records of U.S. Army Continental Commands (Record Group 393). We also located 72 record series in various record groups relating to the Department of the Columbia, which had jurisdiction over Fort Lapwai. Portions of the 1st Cavalry Regiment were stationed at Fort Lapwai during this time period. We located 9 record series created by the 1st Cavalry during the 1870s in the Records of U.S. Regular Army Mobile Units (Record Group 391).

Plus, we located Returns of Military Posts, ca. 1800 - 12/1916 in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1917 (Record Group 94). This entire series is available as Microfilm Publication M617.  According to the descriptive pamphlet for the publication, the returns of Fort Lapwai for January1874 through August 1884 are on Roll 594. Copies of M617 are available at the National Archives at Riverside, the National Archives at San Francisco, the National Archives at Denver, the National Archives in Washington, DC, the National Archives at Chicago, the National Archives at Kansas City, and the National Archives at Seattle. Unfortunately, all NARA research rooms currently are closed to the public. 

Next, we located Returns of Military Organizations, ca. 1800 - 12/1916 in Record Group 94. Returns for cavalry units have been reproduced on microfilm as Microfilm Publication M744. Returns for the 1st Cavalry Regiment for 1867-76 are on Roll 6 and for 1877-86 are on Roll 7. Copes of M744 are available at the National Archives at San Francisco, the National Archives at Denver, the National Archives in Washington, DC, and the National Archives at Seattle. Unfortunately, all NARA research rooms currently are closed to the public. 

In regards to service records, we located the record series Letters Received, 1863 - 1917 in Record Group 94 that includes service records for Regular Army commissioned officers.  Additionally, we located the Enlistment Papers, 1798 - 10/31/1912 and Registers of Enlistments in the United States Army, 1798 - 1914 in Record Group 94 that have information about enlisted soldiers. Other records series that may have information about individual soldiers include Carded Medical Records of the Regular Army, 1821 - 1884; Registers of Deaths in the Regular Army, 1860 - 1889; and Final Statements, 1862 - 1899 in Record Group 94, as well as various pension records in the Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Record Group 15)

For more information about these records, please email the National Archives at Washington, DC - Textual Reference (RDT1) 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, at present, all NARA research rooms are closed to the public and all reproduction services have been suspended. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Some records listed above are available through our digitization partners.

• Fold3 - Army Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914
• Ancestry - U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914
• FamilySearch - United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914
• Ancestry - U.S., Returns from Military Posts, 1806-1916
• Ancestry - U.S., Registers of Deaths in the Regular Army, 1860-1889
• Fold3 - Final Statements, 1862-1899

There may be a fee for accessing the records through Ancestry or Fold3. FamilySearch may be used with a free account. Some libraries provide free access to one or more of these websites to their patrons.

Additionally, we searched WorldCat and located 79 results.

Finally we suggest that you contact the Nez Perce National Historical Park. They may have holdings that would be relevant to your research or may otherwise be able to recommend additional sources.

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