The War of 1812 left behind records documenting hundreds of thousands who served their new nation. This practical course teaches you how to find and interpret these documents, helping you uncover your ancestors’ roles, whether they served in the military or militia or supported the war effort in other ways.
In The War of 1812 Records course you will:
- Learn the about the military organizational structure and how it influences research.
- Gain an understanding of the information that can be gleaned from Congressional records.
- Use compiled military service, pension, bounty land, naval and Marine Corps, and prisoner of war records to uncover your ancestors’ military service.
- Access additional details through diplomatic records, state militia files, and lineage society collections.
This course equips you to navigate War of 1812 records in your family history research. You’ll learn about the causes of the War of 1812, the structure of its military, and, the various records created during this period, building the context needed to trace your ancestor’s military connections and tell their story.
This course examines pension records, compiled military service records, bounty land records, naval and marine corps records, muster rolls, ship’s logs, diplomatic records, state militia records, and Acts of Congress. Each section provides specific search strategies and shows you how to interpret the genealogical information in these War of 1812 records.
Fourteen modules guide you through War of 1812 military records, historical context, and research strategies:
- Module 1: Overview and Research Fundamentals
- Module 2: Introduction to Basic US Military Organizational Structure
- Module 3: Compiled Military Service Records (CMSRs)
- Module 4: US Naval & Marine Corps Records
- Module 5: Pension Records
- Module 6: Bounty Land
- Module 7: State Militia Records
- Module 8: Prisoner of War Records
- Module 9: African American and Native American Participation
- Module 10: Acts of Congress and the Congressional Record
- Module 11: Diplomatic Records
- Module 12: Lineage Society Records
- Module 13: Online Resources
- Module 14: Review of Objectives and Lessons
Each module includes targeted readings, web resources, and self-correcting quizzes along with practical assignments to build your research skills. Record groups are explored in depth with strategies for locating and analyzing documents. A detailed syllabus and reference list are provided upon registration.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) developed this course with David Rencher, CG, Rebecca Koford, CG, Ken Nelson, and Michael Hall as contributing authors. FGS has been collaborating with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on a project to digitize the War of 1812 Pension Files and ran a national fundraising initiative to support the project. These records are being made available for free on Fold3.
Access your course anytime, anywhere using a computer or tablet with an internet connection. All course content—including lessons, examples, exercises, and quizzes—is cloud-based, requiring no software downloads or installations.
The course runs on Canvas, which requires an up-to-date web browser. Check your browser compatibility at https://guides.instructure.com/m/67952/l/720329-which-browsers-does-canvas-support.
Your registration provides a personal, nonexclusive, nontransferable license to access the course materials for your individual educational use only. All coursework must be completed independently.
The Continuing Genealogical Studies series offers flexible, self-paced online courses designed to fit your schedule. Whether you’re balancing work, volunteer commitments, or personal obligations, you can complete the coursework when it’s most convenient for you. You control your learning journey and set the pace that works best for your needs.
This extensive course may take between twenty and thirty hours to complete, depending on your reading pace and the time you spend on the quizzes and exercises. Your course access begins on the date of enrollment and continues for six months. Need more time? Paid extension options are available by contacting the NGS Course Administrator.
You’ll receive an automatic email with course details confirming your registration. Within three business days, the NGS Course Administrator will send your login credentials for the Canvas online learning platform.
All purchases of courses are final. No refunds or credits are available.