War of 1812 Discharge Records Name and Unit Index

This collection is at the National Archives, and although the records themselves are not digitized, an index of both soldiers and units is available online. Finding a solder's name here is motivation to deal further with the National Archives for the records.

The database contains only the names of regular army soldiers, so no militiamen or volunteers are included. Over 2,200 discharges cover the period from 1812 to 1815, with some earlier records included.

The landing page describes the database and gives background on the records and the conflict. At the top of the page, four appendices are listed, and they take you to unit and soldier lists. The first two are unit oriented, which at first blush may not seem to exciting if you are name hunting. But remember that in this era, a unit was identified by its commander's name. The last two appendices are soldier lists by name and by unit affiliation.

This is an exciting site to get lost in. Check it out at:  War of 1812 Discharge Certificates:

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