Find your ancestors in Muster Rolls of the Marine Corps

What can these records tell me?

This collection is of muster rolls from the United States Marine Corps, spanning the late 1700s to the end of the nineteenth century. Both an image and transcript are included with each result in this collection.

Transcripts will often include the following details:

  • First name(s)
  • Last name
  • Year
  • Event date
  • Residence
  • Place
  • State
  • Film number
  • Record source (Muster Rolls of the United States Marine Corps, 1798-1892)
  • Archive reference (T1118)

The images will often provide additional information such as rank or remarks. The image will also reveal the names of other marines stationed at the same location as your ancestor, which can provide additional avenues of research.

Discover more about these records

As seen in the column headings on the images of the original records, muster rolls generally include the space to record the following details: name, station, rank, enlistment date, re-enlistment date, desertion or apprehension date, and offence and court-martial sentence.

These muster rolls were chronologically arranged by month and then ordered by detachment or unit. The exception to this is the records pertaining to World War I when they were sorted in two subseries: by posts and stations and by mobile units.

The original muster rolls are held by the National Archives and Records Administration, archive reference T1118.

Within these records, you can find notable individuals from Marine Corps’ history, such as Major General John A Lejeune, the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, and John F Mackie, the first US Marine to receive the Medal of Honor.