The Missouri State Archives holds nearly 1½ million pages that document the service of Missourians in domestic and foreign wars between 1812 and World War I. These military records primarily consist of individual service cards, but the extensive collection also includes muster rolls, special orders, reports, and more.
The Soldiers Database is a comprehensive database abstracted from the individual service cards and listing more than 576,000 Missourians who served in the military from territorial times through World War I. It includes entries for twelve wars and military engagements in which Missouri soldiers took part. These range from well-known wars, such as the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, and World War I, to the battles that were peculiarly Missourian, including the Heatherly War of 1836, the Mormon War of 1838, and the Iowa (Honey) War of 1839. The bulk of the service cards, over 380,000 of them, record the fractured history of Missouri during the bloodiest of all American wars - the Civil War.
The database is searchable by name or unit and searches can also be limited to a particular war. Images of the original service records are linked to most database records. Many of the records are incomplete; see Guidelines for Use for more details. A brief Abstract of Wars is available, with additional links.
The original service cards contain a wealth of information, such as name, race, residence, place and date of enlistment, place of birth/age or date of birth, rank, wounds or other injuries, dates of service, and date of discharge. Some cards also include dates of overseas service, where applicable, and serial number. Service cards were originally created to collect historical and statistical information about the men and women who served in the military. The cards were prepared by abstracting information from original soldiers and sailors service records. The cards were maintained by the Missouri Adjutant General's office until their transfer to the Missouri State Archives. Today, they are a wonderful source of historical and genealogical information.
For more information about the service cards: