The American Revolution
by William Disbro and Ken Short
The American Revolution is a rich source of information for the genealogist. The records from this war shed a lot of light on the future migrations of our families and finding a patriot in itself is a genealogical prize. To find a patriot is not hard but it does take some knowledge about the war itself. To find them one must know the types of soldiers that fought in this war. Since at this time there was no standing Army or Navy the men who fought took many different forms of service.

At the beginning and all through the war militias, or Minute Men, were fighting men that were recruited locally in the areas in which they lived, usually at the town level and sometimes at the state level. Every one of the 13 original colonies recruited men for militia duty for short periods of enlistment often only three months in length. The militia in time, would become what is now known as the National Guard. The National Guard of today owes its roots to these early militias of citizen soldiers.

As the war drew on it became clear it was not a strong enough force and the need for a standing Army became apparent. The Continental Congress approved the formation of the Continental Army so that men would be able to enlist and serve for the duration of the war. This way a trained and ready force would always be on hand to fight where needed. They often fought along side of the militias but formed the core of our fighting men.

In the Continental Navy there was also heavy reliance on the privateers to fight on our coastal waters attacking merchants and, in some cases, ships of the line.

The records for these militia units can mostly be found at the state level. Both the Daughters of the Revolution and their counterpart, the Sons of the Revolution, can be of a great help. Always check the DAR's Patriots Index which may be greatly helpful as it may steer you to research on your Revolutionary soldier that has already been done. Their Patriots Index will steer you to their lineage books which have information about the lineages of patriots that served in the Revolution.

Always check with the State Archives in the state in which your possible revolutionary lived and do not forget to check with any historical or genealogical society in the county in which he lived. All can be of a great help.

There are several good urls that might help you in your search. Here are two of our favorites.

In books on the Militia Movement the best one that we have seen so far is "The Minute Men" by John R. Gavin. The way that we approach books is that they are just an introduction to the Bibliography where a good author lists his source material. Gavin's book has a great bibliography that will lead you into some great primary source material.
[William Disbro and Ken Short are co-hosts of the IIGS™ IRC channel #USMil]
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