While civilians and military personnel serve side by side, their
records are usually kept in separate archives, and the records for
civilian employees can be less likely to contain as much personal
data as the ones kept for military personnel at the same location.
If you have a family tradition that an ancestor served in the
military, but you can't locate a service record, pension file, bounty
land warrant, or other military record, try looking for records of
civilians supporting the military in that area during that time
period. It may be that your ancestor served his country, but in a
civilian capacity rather than a military one.
Resources:
National Personnel Records Center: Military Records
http://www.nara.gov/regional/mpr.html
National Personnel Records Center: Civilian Records
http://www.nara.gov/regional/cpr.html
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