United States, Pennsylvania, Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card File

Each record includes a transcript and original image. The amount of information varies in each record, you may be able to find a combination of the following:

• First name(s)

• Last name

• Year

• Book

• Item number

• Original record link

Image

• Rank

• County

• Battalion

• Company

• Class

• Remarks

• Authority

• Date

• Muster fines

• Active or inactive duty

The United States, Pennsylvania, Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card File contains transcripts of information extracted from original records held by the State Archives from the Revolutionary War service in the Pennsylvania Militia, Pennsylvania Line, and the Navy.

The records are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the soldier, the information generally captured in the records was the name and rank of soldier, whether they saw active or inactive duty, county of residence, battalion in which they served, and record from which information was extracted. Also noted are whether the soldier was delinquent and fined or whether militia fines were abated.

Active Duty indicates that the soldier saw active duty in either the Pennsylvania Militia or the Pennsylvania Line while Inactive Duty indicates that the soldier did not necessarily see active duty. If duty was after November 1783, it is not considered Revolutionary War service.

Associators were volunteers who comprised the Military Association, a civilian reserve designed to repel any invasion of Pennsylvania until the collapse of the Association in the winter of 1776-1777. The Pennsylvania Militia was organized under an Act of the Assembly of March 17, 1777, that required compulsory enrolment by constables of all able-bodied white males between the ages of 18 and 53 to repel invaders. The Flying Camps were special battalions of Pennsylvania Line troops recruited from the Pennsylvania Associators. Rangers were soldiers who served long periods of enlistment to protect the frontier against Indian incursions.

Entries for Depreciation Pay Certificates apply to soldiers who served 1777-1780 when the currency was depreciating and was paid in Continental Bills of Credit that quickly lost value. To compensate for such depreciation, each soldier of the Pennsylvania Line who remained in service in 1781 was awarded a substantial sum in Depreciation Pay Certificates which were both interest-bearing and negotiable.

Also, at the end of the war arrears and allowances due were met by issuing to each soldier still in service several interest-bearing final settlements called Pierce's Certificates, these were named after the paymaster who dispensed them.

• Begin your search broadly with just a name.

• Occasionally, only a partial name was transcribed. Try different combinations when searching for your ancestor.

• If needed, you can narrow your results by including additional search criteria such as a year or item number.