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Naval Officers Service Records

June 22, 2017 by Trevor | 8 Comments

Do you have ancestors who served as officers in the U.S. Navy between 1829 and 1924? Come explore Fold3’s collection of Naval Officers Service Records!

This collection is composed of abstracts of individual officers’ naval service, covering the dates February 1829 to July 1924. Officers’ records are included in this collection if their service in the Navy (from earliest commission to end of service) roughly falls between these dates

There are 38 volumes, arranged by time period. Within each volume, organization is chronological by date of appointment. There is also an index, which lists the officers in alphabetical order by last name and provides the volume and page number on which that individual’s information can be found.

Many officers’ service record abstracts span several pages, though the number of pages often depends on the length of their service. Their abstract information is recorded on a form entitled “Record of Officers, U.S. Navy.” This form contains columns for date of service, name of officer, time devoted to sea service or unemployed, and remarks, though not all forms have these columns filled out. However, the forms do reliably list a date and a description for milestones and events in an officer’s career, including appointments, orders, promotions, leave, retirement, and more. It also includes the individual’s birth and death dates, if known.

These service record abstracts can provide a wealth of information about the officers listed. An example of a typical form is that of Martin Augustus Anderson, who served from his appointment to cadet engineer in 1877 until he was relieved from active duty in 1919 at the age of 62. His service record abstract is 5 pages long and lists the dates and details for the ships he served on, his other assignments, his promotions, the leave he took, and more. We also learn from the abstract that he died in 1926 in Washington DC from a cerebral hemorrhage. In the remarks section of the form, his next of kin and address are listed.

Do you have any ancestors who appear in the Naval Officers Service Records? Tell us about them! Or get started searching or browsing the collection on Fold3.

Beyond D-Day

June 8, 2017 by Trevor | 39 Comments

When people hear the date June 1944, they often think first of D-Day, which occurred June 6, 1944. But D-Day and the ensuing Battle of Normandy weren’t the only things occurring in World War II during June 1944. Below are a few major events of the war that also occurred that month:

June 4: U.S. Army Enters Rome
As the U.S. Army neared Rome after more than 4 months of fighting their way from the landing beaches at Anzio, the Germans positioned in Rome abandoned the city, allowing the Americans to take it without a fight. Rome was the first of the Axis capitals to fall to the Allies.

LEARN MORE: Read a letter from Lt. General Clark about the conduct of the 5th Army while in Rome

June 15: U.S. Landings on Saipan
On June 15, U.S. troops began landing at Saipan in the Mariana Islands, which the Americans hoped to use as a base for bomber attacks on the Japanese home islands. However, the 30,000 Japanese troops on the island fought fiercely, and progress was slow and casualties high for the Americans. Finally, in early July, the Japanese put up their final resistance in the largest banzai charge (suicide attack) of the war. By time the Americans had finally captured Saipan, nearly all Japanese troops on the island had been killed or committed suicide. After the American victory, hundreds of Japanese civilians on the island likewise committed suicide.

LEARN MORE: View a photo of infantry reinforcements wading ashore during landing operations on Saipan, 20 June 1944

June 19–20: Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea, fought June 19–20, was the largest carrier battle of the war and a major victory for the U.S. With the American invasion of Saipan creating a direct threat to the Japanese home islands, Japan decided to force the American fleet into a decisive naval battle to prevent American control of the Marianas. However, over the two day battle, the Japanese lost more than 400 carrier aircraft, in addition to three carriers, essentially ending Japan’s ability to carry out any more major carrier actions for the remainder of the war.

LEARN MORE: Read the CINCPAC (Pacific Fleet) report on the Battle of the Philippine Sea

To learn more about World War II, explore the 125 million+ records in Fold3’s World War II collection.
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Battle of Midway: June 4–7, 1942

June 1, 2017 by Trevor | 106 Comments

On June 4–7, 1942, American naval and air forces met the Japanese near Midway Atoll in one of the most decisive naval battles of the war. The Battle of Midway would become a turning point in the naval war in the Pacific, as the Japanese losses sustained there proved irreparable.

Following the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April 1942, the Japanese felt the need to force a decisive battle with the U.S Pacific Fleet that would leave America powerless in the Pacific and perhaps even lead America to accept peace on Japan’s terms. The Japanese developed a complex plan, to be carried out under the general direction of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, that involved attacking and occupying both the Aleutian Islands in Alaska and Midway Atoll, not far from Hawaii, in an attempt to lure the American fleet into a trap. However, American cryptanalysts were able to break enough of the Japanese code to be fairly certain of the basics of the Japanese plan.

American admiral Chester Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Fleet, sent two task forces to meet the Japanese at Midway: Task Force 16, with the carriers Hornet and Enterprise, under Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance; and Task Force 17, with the carrier Yorktown, under Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. The Japanese Midway force brought four carriers: the Soryu, Hiryu, Kaga, and Akagi.

The Japanese began carrier-based air attacks on the Midway Islands at dawn on June 4 in preparation for a land invasion. As the Japanese carriers were preparing to recover the planes from their Midway strike and launch others, various waves of Midway- and carrier-based American planes found the Japanese ships. Although the American planes in these initial attacks sustained great losses themselves, they did not do serious damage to the Japanese. However, they did prepare the way for subsequent American dive-bombers from the Enterprise and Yorktown to cause devastating damage to three of the Japanese carriers. Planes from the Enterprise destroyed the fourth Japanese carrier later that day as well, and all four carriers would eventually sink from the attack.

However, the Americans also sustained a carrier loss when—on the afternoon of the 4th—Japanese planes found the Yorktown and damaged her badly enough that the captain had the ship abandoned. A Japanese submarine finished off the Yorktown two days later and sunk it.

As a result of the various engagements between the Japanese and Americans from June 4th to 7th, the Japanese sustained heavy losses: 3,000 men and 4 carriers, while the Americans lost 300 men and 1 carrier. The Battle of Midway would prove a turning point in the naval fight in the Pacific, as it hobbled the Japanese carrier fleet and put Japan on the defensive at sea for the remainder of the war.

Did you have family who fought at Midway? Tell us about them! Or learn more about the battle on Fold3.

New States Added to WWII Draft Registration Cards!

May 16, 2017 by Trevor | 43 Comments

Fold3 has added new U.S. states to its collection of WWII Draft Registration Cards! The collection (via the National Archives) now also includes Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, West Virginia, Utah, Alaska, Wyoming, and Virginia. The cards in this collection are registration cards for the draft and do not necessarily indicate that the individual served in the military.

There were seven draft registration periods in the United States for World War II service. The first draft registration was held on October 16, 1940—before the United States had entered the war. Men ages 21–36 were required to register at their local draft board. The second draft registration was also held prior to the American entrance into the war, on July 1, 1941. This registration was for men who had turned 21 since the previous registration date nine months earlier.

The third (February 16, 1942) and fifth (June 30, 1942) registration periods expanded the ages required to register; the age ranges for the third were extended to 20–21 and 35–44, while the fifth extended them to ages 18–20. The sixth registration (December 10–31, 1942) was for men who had turned 18 since the fifth registration six months prior. There was also a seventh registration, known as the “Extra Registration,” from November 16 to December 31, 1943, which was for American men ages 18–44 who were living abroad.

The cards from the fourth registration (April 27, 1942; for men ages 45–64) are not included in the WWII Draft Registration Cards but in Fold3’s WWII “Old Man’s Draft” Registration Cards collection.

Information on the WWII Draft Registration Cards may include the man’s name, address, telephone number, age, place of birth, country of citizenship, name and address of the person who will always know the registrant’s address, employer’s name, place of employment, and a description of the registrant.

Get started searching or browsing the WWII Draft Registration Cards on Fold3!

Battle of Chancellorsville Ends: May 6, 1863

May 1, 2017 by Trevor | 252 Comments

May 6, 1863, was the final day of the Battle of Chancellorsville, which ended in a Confederate victory that is often considered General Robert E. Lee‘s “perfect battle,” as he successfully defeated an army more than twice the size of his own.

In April, Union general Joseph Hooker—the new commander of the Army of the Potomac—decided to move against Lee, whose Army of Northern Virginia was situated at Fredericksburg, Virginia. Hooker wanted to avoid attacking Fredericksburg head on, as that had proved a disaster in the past, so he planned to send a third of his army to Fredericksburg to hold Lee there, while his cavalry would cut Lee’s communication lines and the majority of his army would sweep around to outflank Lee from the rear and left.

Hooker’s movement to Chancellorsville, a crossroads not far from Lee’s left flank, was well-executed, but Lee—although outnumbered more than two to one (roughly 130,000 to 60,000)—left only a small part of his troops at Fredericksburg and moved the rest under Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson to face Hooker rather than retreat. When Jackson began to push back against Hooker’s vanguard, Hooker lost his nerve and had his troops take up defensive positions in a brushy, difficult area known as the Wilderness.

Defying conventional military wisdom, Lee and Jackson decided to split the army once again, leaving a portion of troops under Lee to distract Hooker’s front, while Jackson would take the bulk of the troops on a 12-mile march to hit the Union’s exposed right flank. The gamble paid off, and on the evening of May 2, Jackson’s troops caught the Union right by surprise and it crumbled.

The fighting continued for a few more days, with the most intense occurring on May 3. Besides fighting around Chancellorsville, there was also fighting at Fredericksburg and Salem Church. Eventually, Hooker retreated across the Rappahannock River, giving the Confederates the victory, despite heavy casualties on both sides.

However, although the battle was a Confederate triumph, the Lee sustained a major loss in the death of Jackson, one of the best Confederate generals. On the night of the 2nd, Jackson and some others had been returning from scouting Union positions when they were fired on by their own pickets. Jackson was wounded, and his left arm had to be amputated. Complications arose following the surgery, and on May 10, Jackson died of pneumonia.

Lee’s victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville would give him the necessary momentum for his campaign into the North, where he would face the Union on its home soil at the Battle of Gettysburg that July.

Do you have ancestors who fought at Chancellorsville? Tell us about them! Or learn more about the battle on Fold3.

New Zealand, WWII Appointments, Promotions, Transfers and Resignations

April 18, 2017 by Trevor | 5 Comments

Do you have family members from New Zealand who served in World War II? Come explore Fold3’s collection New Zealand, WWII Appointments, Promotions, Transfers and Resignations.

As part of the British Commonwealth, New Zealand entered World War II alongside the United Kingdom, and about 140,000 New Zealand men and women would serve over the course of the war. This Fold3 collection contains information about appointments, promotions, transfers, and resignations of personnel in the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces (including army, air force, and navy) during WWII. The information was extracted from the New Zealand government newspaper, the New Zealand Gazette.

Information you can find in this collection about an individual may include the following:

Name
Rank
Date of appointment, promotion, transfer, or resignation
Regiment

If you don’t have New Zealand family members who served during World War II, you can instead learn more about the careers of notable WWII New Zealand servicemen and women, such as:

James Stellin, a pilot who avoided crashing into a French village at the expense of his own life.
Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu, the first Maori to be awarded (posthumously) the Victoria Cross.
Porokoru Patapu Pohe, a Maori and one of the Allied prisoners who took part in what became known as “The Great Escape” in March 1944; he was later caught and executed.
Bernard Freyberg, commander of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force and the 2nd New Zealand Division; he later served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand.
Frances Ida “Kitty” Kain, one of New Zealand’s most senior female military leaders during the war.
Howard Kippenberger, popular commander of the 2nd New Zealand Division (following Bernard Freyberg); he lost the lower portion of both legs at the Battle of Monte Cassino in March 1944.

Get started searching or browsing the New Zealand, WWII Appointments, Promotions, Transfers and Resignations on Fold3!

Free Access to the Civil War Collection

April 1, 2017 by Trevor | 11 Comments

In remembrance of the commencement of the Civil War in April 1861, and to commemorate Confederate History Month, Fold3 is offering free access to our Civil War Collection from April 1^st–15^th.

Popular titles in our Civil War Collection include:

Not sure if you have Civil War ancestors? Use these questions to help identify ancestors who may have served:

Were any of my male ancestors born between 1820 and 1845? (Men who served during the Civil War may have been born outside these dates, but many fell within these years.)
Do I have any family memorabilia or artifacts (such as letters, weapons, medals, or photos) that hint at possible Civil War service? What about their tombstone? Does it have any insignia or other military symbols on it?
Do any of the records or documents (such as obituaries) I’ve already found for an individual mention Civil War service?
Have I checked the 1910 Census entry for my ancestor? (Column 30 of the census identified if an individual was “a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy.”)

Can’t find your Civil War ancestor on Fold3? You can still use Fold3 to learn about what your ancestor’s military service may have been like. Here are a few ideas, though the possible uses of the Civil War Collection are endless!

Use the Brady and Civil War photo collections, as well as the Civil War Horse Soldier Artifacts Collection, to learn what life was like for soldiers during the war, including what uniforms and firearms were common, what military camps and headquarters were like, what battlefields and forts looked like, etc.
Look through the Service Records and “Widows’ Pensions” of men who were in the same company, regiment, etc., as your ancestor to learn more about what battles he may have been involved in and the movements of his unit.
If you have Confederate ancestors, explore the Confederate Casualty Reports for your ancestor’s unit to learn about casualty rates and even read narrative reports of actions your ancestor may have been involved in.

Start searching or browsing the Civil War Collection on Fold3. Or learn more about how to find your Civil War ancestors by watching a helpful course or tutorial on Ancestry Academy!