What kind of information is available on Revolutionary War veterans at the National Archives?

Compiled Military Service Records (CMSRs):
    These files are a record of a veteran's service.  They typically -- but not always -- contain a veteran's rank, unit, and the dates in which he joined or left the service.  They sometimes contain information on battles in which he fought, medical information, and on rare occasions biographical information such as date of birth, height, hair and eye color.  Please note that the Archives only maintains records on Revolutionary War veterans who were volunteer soldiers!  If your ancestor served in the Regular Army, he will not have a CMSR on file at the Archives.

Pension Applications:
    These files are potentially the most genealogically valuable.  They contain applications for pensions made by a veteran or his spouse or heirs.  These files can be a treasure trove of genealogical information, because they contain whatever the veteran, his spouse or heirs thought might help prove a pension claim.  This can be anything you might imagine, including letters, marriage, birth and death certificates, pages from family bibles, witness depositions and affidavits, discharge papers and other items.

What do you need to get started researching for me?

    More information is always better, particularly for common names.  At a minimum, I need the veteran's full name and the state in which he served or was from.  If you already know what regiment in which he served, this can be very helpful although it is not always strictly necessary.  For pension searches, I will need his spouse's name as well.  The state in which the veteran or his spouse was living when the pension was applied for is also helpful.

What do you charge?

    Please click here for pricing information.

How quickly can I expect to receive my files?

    The National Archives only has extended hours three times each month.  Because of my school and work schedule, I am only able to go to the Archives during those extended hours.  That means it could take up to a month for you to receive your files from me.  Regardless, this is still much faster than the turnaround time you can expect if you go through the Archives itself, which sometimes takes six months to return a file, and is more expensive too.