Video: Ancestors in the Military

Here's a good tip for researching an ancestor who served in the military.

I've also had good success with this approach to ancestors who served in the military: At least for U.S. conflicts through the Civil War, consider whether men who volunteered on the same day in the same location might be family members. Of course it's fairly easy to identify people on a list with the same surname. Sometimes, however, it's brothers-in-law with different surnames who are related. That can be relevant because later pension records for one serviceman--or his widow and/or minor children--may include details about the service of the other person.