I have recently returned from my second trip to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and I have completed the reconstruction of David Nemetzky's Army service record from the available records that are housed there. The records I have searched to reconstruct his Army service record are:
- Muster Rolls of Regular Army Organizations: 1784 - October 31, 1912 (NAID 654583)
- Enlistment Papers: 1798 - October 31, 1912 (NAID 300390)
- Records of Physical Examination of Recruits: 1864-1912 (NAID 655603)
- Carded Medical Records of the Regular Army: 1894-1912 (NAID 655639)
- Personal Papers: 1812-1912 (NAID 654713)
- Court Martial Case Files: 1894-1917 (NAID 5916762)
- Document Files: 1890-1917 (NAID 300367)
- Special Orders, including: Department of the East (1907-1909; NAID 620381); Western Department (1914-1918; NAID's 4734549 & 4734554); Department of the Gulf (1904-1906; NAID 4914507); Division of the Philippines (1912-1914; NAID 4713736); Fort Morgan, Alabama (1905; NAID 1122317); Fort Porter, New York (1907-1908; NAID 1079985); & Presidio of San Francisco, California (1915-1918; NAID 1089702). The National Archives did not have any Special Orders available for the Presidio of San Francisco for 1914.
I was unable to locate Special Orders for Fort Barrancas, Florida for the year 1906 and Fort Riley, Kansas for the year 1908. The Special Orders for these specific years no longer exist.
Other Record Series I searched through included:
- Returns of the Hospital Corps: 1887-1911 (NAID 656634) This record series contains monthly returns for Hospital Corps personnel stationed primarily in the Philippines. However, I was able to locate David Nemetzky in the Monthly Returns for Company C, Hospital Corps (June - August 1909), and Camp of Instructions, Camp Fort Bliss Texas (August 1916 - February 1917). I was surprised to find that this series contained Returns through 1918.
- Descriptive Lists: 1901-1914 (NAID 12060449) This record series did not contain any information for David Nemetzky. It is likely that any information from this series may have been moved to his 201 File, which is presumed lost and destroyed in the 1973 National Personnel Records Center Fire.
Another record series, Retained Medical Cards: 1907-1919 (NAID 655652), is currently scheduled to be digitized by the National Archives. There is no estimated time of completion for digitization. Until it is digitized, it is unavailable for in-person research.
I have included the National Archives ID Number with each of the Record Series I searched. This is so you can locate each of these series in the National Archives Online Catalog, as well as find a detailed description of the records contained in each series. (https://catalog.archives.gov/advanced-search)
Muster Rolls of Regular Army Organizations: 1784 - October 31, 1912
This series is the most important series to research when reconstructing Army service records. The National Archives in Washington, D.C., houses the Muster Rolls through October 31, 1912. The Muster Rolls from November 1, 1912 and forward were escheated to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis following the NPRC Fire in 1973. The Muster Rolls from November 1, 1912 through December 31, 1939 are presently digitized and available on Family Search. However, the muster rolls that are available online are taken from microfilm images that were completed in the 1950's, and the image quality of the microfilm images does vary greatly. Also, the original documents for the digitized muster rolls no longer exist.
The Muster Rolls that are housed in Washington, D.C., were recorded bi-monthly (at the end of the month for February, April, June, August, October & December of a given year). They are organized by unit (Cavalry, Coast Artillery, Infantry, etc.), and then by date. The Muster Rolls for the Hospital Corps are organized by State. The Muster Rolls for the Hospital Corps for detachment locations (Panama, Philippines, China, etc.) are organized by detachment number, which appear to have been assigned upon receipt of the Muster Roll by the Adjutant General's Office.
There are also Muster Rolls for various training schools that are maintained separately from the other Army units. However, these muster rolls are organized by date. For David Nemetzky, he attended the School for Bakers and Cooks at Fort Riley Kansas between January and June of 1908. However, I only found two of the three Muster Rolls for him, as the Muster Roll for January & February of 1908 no longer exists.
The Muster Rolls contain the following information on each soldier, including:
- Name (whether present or absent) of the Soldier
- Rank and Enlistment Information
- Remarks about Soldier during the bi-monthly period
- When Soldier was last paid
The National Archives has a complete index of the Muster Rolls, which includes the exact location within the Archives, making a request to locate and research a specific muster roll very easy.
Here is a link to the Muster Rolls I was able to find for David Nemetzky through October 31, 1912.
Enlistment Papers: 1798 - October 31, 1912
The Enlistment Papers are another important series to research when reconstructing Army service records. The National Archives in Washington, D.C., houses the Enlistment Papers through October 31, 1912. The Enlistment Papers contain two documents that were completed by the soldier upon their enlistment or reenlistment. The first document is the Enlistment Contract. The Enlistment Contract gives the name, age, occupation, place of birth, physical description, next-of-kin, and date and place of enlistment of the soldier.
The second document is the Descriptive and Assignment Card of the soldier. This card gives much of the same information that is on the enlistment contract. The Descriptive and Assignment Card also lists the unit where soldier was assigned to. Both the Enlistment Contract and the Descriptive and Assignment Card also indicate whether the soldier was previously discharged.
The Enlistment Papers after October 31, 1912 for David Nemetzky would have been in his 201 File located at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis at the time of the NPRC Fire in 1973.
Here is a link to the Enlistment Papers I found for David Nemetzky through October 31, 1912.
Records of Physical Examination of Recruits: 1864-1912
The Records of Physical Examination of Recruits is yet another important series to research when reconstructing Army service records. The National Archives in Washington, D.C., houses the Records of Physical Examination of Recruits through 1912. The Records of Physical Examination of Recruits were completed at the same time as the Enlistment Papers for the soldier.
As opposed to the Enlistment Papers, the Records of Physical Examination of Recruits lists the exact date of birth of the soldier. For David Nemetzky, his physical examination papers for 1904 list his date of birth as April 15, 1881. On his physical examination from 1907, he lists his date of birth as May 15, 1881. On his physical examinations from 1908 and 1911, he lists his date of birth as August 15, 1881. Each physical examination form also indicates his previous military service.
The Records of Physical Examination of Recruits also goes into greater detail regarding the soldier's parents, including whether both of his parents are living, his father's occupation (his father was a wine dealer), nationality (Russian), and also asks is any of his siblings are deceased. The physical examination from 1904 indicates that he had three brothers that are deceased. The physical examinations for 1907 and 1908 indicate that he had one sister who was deceased (I found the birth and death record for a sister, Rachel Nemetzky, in New York City in 1894).
The Records of Physical Examination of Recruits also goes into detail about the physical condition of the soldier at the time of their enlistment (or reenlistment). The physical examinations for 1904, 1907 & 1908 go into detail regarding various aspects of his physical health. The physical examination from 1911 was completed on a different form, but asks for much of the same information as the previous forms.
The Records of Physical Examination of Recruits after 1912 for David Nemetzky would have been in his 201 File located at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis at the time of the NPRC Fire in 1973.
Here is a link to the Physical Examinations I found for David Nemetzky through October 31, 1912.
Carded Medical Records of the Regular Army: 1894-1912
The next series of records to research is the Carded Medical Records of the Regular Army. The Carded Medical Records of the Regular Army are also housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. This series are carded index records of medical treatment that the soldier received while serving in the Army. This series is organized by unit (Cavalry, Coast Artillery, Infantry, etc.), and then by last name. I located several Carded Medical Records for David Nemetzky. He suffered two fractured ribs by being kicked by a horse in March of 1904 while serving in the Cavalry (he was only 5'3", and had a difficult time learning to ride horses). Immediately after transferring to the Coast Artillery, he fell ill for several months with stomach, liver and intestinal pain, no doubt related to being kicked by a horse. While serving in the Infantry, he had an operation for hemorrhoids in early 1909. Finally, he was hospitalized at the Division Hospital in Manila, Philippines in 1912 for dengue.
As mentioned earlier, there is another record series, Retained Medical Cards: 1907-1919, that is also housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. In my research, I found that he was hospitalized following an automobile accident in El Paso, Texas in 1916, and again at the General Hospital #2 at Fort McHenry, Maryland in October of 1919. It is likely that the medical cards for these admissions are in this series. This series is presently being digitized. When a record series is being digitized, it is unavailable for in-person research. There is currently no timeframe as to when these records will be available to the public.
I also have copies of Carded Medical Records for David Nemetzky from Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco, California from 1921, 1922 & 1930, which are part of his Reconstructed File housed at the National Archives in St. Louis.
Here is a link to the Carded Medical Records of the Regular Army I found for David Nemetzky.
Personal Papers: 1812-1912
Another series to research at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., is the Personal Papers series. This series contains papers related to the soldier's military service, medical treatment, and other areas of the soldier's medical service. This series is organized by unit, and then by last name. For David Nemetzky, I found personal papers for him in the Coast Artillery and the Hospital Corps. I did not find anything in the Personal Papers for him in the Cavalry or the Infantry. For the Coast Artillery, I found his hospital treatment at Washington Barracks, D.C., including his medical chart. For the Hospital Corps, I found a descriptive list for him from 1909, and a hospital transfer card from 1912.
Here is a link to the Personal Papers I found for David Nemetzky through 1912.
Court Martial Case Files: 1894-1917
What military record would be complete without a court martial case? The Court Martial Case Files that are housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., are an important part of a soldier's military service file. They show the challenges of serving in the Army, and the importance of following and understanding orders. The National Archives has a complete index of the Court Martial Cases, which includes the exact location within the Archives, making a request to locate and research a specific Court Martial Case very easy.
It should be pointed out that these Court Martial Case Files are for General Courts Martial. Summary Courts Martial records are included in the Descriptive Lists series.
For David Nemetzky, records of two of the General Courts Martial he faced are housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. He faced a third General Court Martial in 1918. The record of this General Court Martial is housed at the National Archives in St. Louis. I have previously posted on the details of each of his General Courts Martial.
His first General Court Martial was in July of 1904. He deserted the Army in April of 1904 after being repeatedly injured while learning to mount a horse during his time in the Cavalry. He was found guilty of desertion and sentenced to be dishonorably discharged. However, the General Court Martial board recommended clemency and that he be sentenced to two months imprisonment at hard labor.
His second General Court Martial was in March of 1912. He was to travel on board the Army Transport Ship Logan from Manila, Philippine Islands to Tientsin, China in January of 1912. He boarded the Transport Ship, but failed to remain on board, and as a result, missed the boat to China (literally). He was found guilty of AWOL (absent without leave), and sentenced to two months imprisonment at hard labor.
The Court Martial Cases are transcripts of each of the General Courts Martial and include testimony of each of the witnesses called. They also include testimony of David Nemetzky and his explaining the circumstances of his committing each offense.
Here are links to the 1904 and 1912 Court Martial Case Files I found for David Nemetzky.
Document Files: 1890-1917
The Document Files are a series of correspondence files that are either from or regarding a soldier and his service. The index for this series is found on Family Search under the title: 'Index to General Correspondence of the Adjutant General's Office: 1890-1917'. The Index is organized alphabetically, with each index card containing an Index Number assigned by the Adjutant General's Office.
The Document Files series is organized at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., by Index Number. Much of the correspondence is filed under the initial Index Number assigned by the Adjutant General's Office. For David Nemetzky, the initial Index Number for his Document Files is 902071. The initial correspondence is him requesting a transfer from the Cavalry to the Coast Artillery following his General Court Martial in 1904. Other correspondence for him includes reenlistment correspondence, transfer requests, and request for discharge by purchase. Even though each additional piece of correspondence was assigned an Index Number, many of these additional correspondence items are filed with the initial Index Number.
However, not all of the correspondence for him that is referenced in the Index is available. There are at several pieces of correspondence that deal with his reenlistments that no longer exist. The most important piece of correspondence that no longer exists is his promotion to Sergeant in 1916. This most likely would have been placed in his 201 file, which is considered destroyed and lost due to the NPRC Fire in 1973.
Here is a link to the Documents File that I found for David Nemetzky.
Special Orders
Special Orders were issued by different posts, stations, forts, departments and headquarters within the Army, from the War Department, to different geographical departments (Eastern Department, Western Department, Department of the Gulf. etc.), to the posts, forts and stations where a soldier served (Ft. Morgan, Alabama; Ft. Porter, New York; Presidio of San Francisco, etc.).
If a soldier was being transferred to a different fort or post for duty, or if a soldier was being transferred to a different department within the Army (for example: transfer from Cavalry to Coast Artillery; or transfer from Infantry to Hospital Corps), then the Special Order would be issued by the geographical department where they were presently stationed. If a soldier was being assigned to a specific duty within the post where they were stationed, then that post would issue a Special Order.
There are also General Court Martial Orders that were issued. These were issued by the geographic department where the General Court Martial was held. These Orders would provide a summary of the General Court Martial, as well as the results and how a sentence was to be carried out. For David Nemetzky, each General Court Martial also contains Orders on the General Court Martial, as well as orders on the sentence that was passed and how that sentence was to be carried out.
The Special Orders issued by the geographic departments contain an alphabetical index, making it easy to locate a Special Order for a soldier. The Special Orders issued by the different posts, stations and forts are not always indexed alphabetically. However, all Special Orders are kept in chronological order. Special Orders were issued almost daily, and almost always there were several Special Orders issued every day. The remarks section for each soldier listed in the Muster Rolls contains references to the Special Orders that were issued for that particular soldier. I was able to locate several Special Orders for David Nemetzky for the following departments & posts:
- Department of the Gulf (1904 - 1906)
- Department of the East (1908-1909)
- Division of the Philippines (1912, 1914)
- Western Department (1914-1917)
- Fort Morgan, Alabama (1905)
- Fort Porter, New York (1907-1908)
- Presidio of San Francisco, California (1915-1916, 1918)
There are other Special Orders that are referenced for him in the Muster Rolls that I was unable to locate. These are Special Orders that would have been issued by posts where he was assigned (for example: Fort Barrancas, Florida in January, 1906, Fort Riley, Kansas in June, 1908, and Presidio of San Francisco for 1914). The National Archives was unable to locate these specific Special Orders, even though they have Special Orders for other years available from these specific places. There are Special Order for other posts, such as Fort Wadsworth, New York, that have not survived, and no longer exist.
Here is a link to the Special Orders that I found for David Nemetzky.
As an explanation, the last two Special Orders for David Nemetzky in the link are from 1924. The first, from January, 1924, was contained in his Reconstructed Military File housed at the National Archives in St. Louis. The second, from March, 1924, is housed at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland (the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, houses the Special Orders that were issued during the 1920's and 1930's). I was able to obtain a copy of the second Special Order from 1924 because I had found the specific Special Order referenced in the Morning Reports Series that is available on fold3.com.
Returns of the Hospital Corps: 1887-1911
This Series was an interesting one to go through. This Series of records is housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and consists of 59 boxes. The index for this Series is found in the last box. The Series contains monthly returns from various posts, stations and forts where Hospital Corps personnel are stationed. Many of these returns are for posts that were overseas. Unlike the title suggests, this Series actually contains returns through 1918. This Series did contain two specific returns that were helpful in reconstructing the Army service file for David Nemetzky:
- Company C, Hospital Corps (June - August 1909)
- Casual Camp for Enlisted Men, Camp Fort Bliss, Texas (August 1916 - February 1917)
The Returns for Company C, Hospital Corps are a nice complement to the Muster Rolls for Company C. The Returns contain a monthly record of his activities while assigned to Company C, including showing that he was in training at Sharpsburg, Maryland, and showing that he went AWOL in early August of 1909. The Returns also indicate that he was sentenced to three days imprisonment for going AWOL, in addition to paying $5.00. The three days' imprisonment is not indicated in the Muster Rolls.
The Returns for the Casual Camp for Enlisted Men, Camp Fort Bliss, Texas, was quite a surprise to find. These Returns were actually recorded bi-monthly (except for February 1917), and contain the same notes as are found on the Muster Rolls. Finding the Return for February 1917 was an exceptionally nice find, as the Muster Roll for that same timeframe no longer exists.
Here are links to the Returns of the Hospital Corps for Company C, Hospital Corps and Casual Camp for Enlisted Men, Camp Fort Bliss, Texas that I found for David Nemetzky.
Descriptive Lists: 1901-1914
As I mentioned earlier, this record series did not contain any information for David Nemetzky. It is likely that any information from this series may have been placed in his 201 File, which is presumed lost and destroyed in the 1973 National Personnel Records Center Fire.
Conclusion
As indicated above, there are many available records at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., that can help reconstruct a soldier's service record. The staff at the National Archives are wonderful to work with, and are very helpful and professional. There resources to help locate these records, both online and in person, are very helpful in determining which records are available to research. The resources and staff have helped me tremendously in reconstructing the Army service record for David Nemetzky.
