Military Records- War of 1812

Northwest Ohio played a major part in the War of 1812. Two major events took place in our area at Ft. Meigs in Perrysburg, OH and the Battle of Lake Erie located out by West Sister Island. One of the interesting outcomes of this war was not only did it result in securing this area for the United States, but it also resulted in many of the soldiers and sailors staying in this area after the war.

In the case of the foot solider they got to see a lot of the land by virtue of the major form of transportation in the army at the time called walking. They moved all along the Maumme River and up into the southern portions of Michigan. This would give them valuable understanding of the area and would result in many of them locating in this area after the war.

Just like the Revolutionary War there are three primary sources of records. They include service records, pension records and bounty land records. The service records run from 1812 to 1815. They are organized by state or territory and then by individual regiments. Genealogical information in these records is slim like in the Revolutionary War records.

The really sad part concerning the pension records and bounty land records is Congress did not get around to passing legislation until 1871 and 1878. The vast majority of soldiers that had participated and their wives had passed away by this time. As a result the claims for this war are low. The files are listed alphabetically by last name. The information included in these files both pension and bounty is name, age and residency of the veteran. The maiden name of the wife. The place and date of their marriage. The rank achieved while participating during the war. The unit that he served. The date and locations of joining and discharge. The widows claim includes the widows name, age and place of residence. Date and place of their marriage and the name of the official that performed the ceremony. The date and place of the veterans death.

The records are all included at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Provide as much information as you can about your ancestor. The fewer facts you have on the forms the higher likely hood of rejection.