The office of Adjutant General was created by legislation on January 4, 1839 and is responsible for the administration, organization, equipping, and training of Iowa military forces. While the Governor is commander-in-chief of all Iowa military forces except when they are placed in federal service, the Adjutant General serves as the chief-of-staff to the commander-in-chief and is responsible for the administration, organization, equipping, and training of Iowa military forces.
The State Archives has in its holdings the militia and National Guard records of the Adjutant General from the territorial period through 1950, including the military records of Iowa regiments mustered into U.S. service during the Mexican War, the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. These records not only document Iowa's involvement in these wars, they also contain limited information on the military service of individual soldiers. In 1965, the Iowa Adjutant General became the executive director of the newly created Department of Public Defense which combined military and civil defense functions in the state. Records created after 1965 by the Adjutant General are filed with RG 70 Public Defense.
Some or all of these records are available to search in the Iowa History Collections Catalog.
General Series | Date Span |
|---|---|
Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia | 1875-1876 |
Correspondence | 1858-1910 |
Correspondence, Spirit Lake Massacre | 1857-1865 |
County Auditors Return of Ex-Servicemen | 1885 |
Flags, Military | 1861-1907 |
Disaster Relief in Northwest Iowa | 1872-1876 |
Iowa Soldiers Buried in National Cemeteries | ca. 1865; 1908 |
Letter Books | 1861-1872 |
Military Commissions Issued | 1862-1866 |
Person Subject to Military Duty | 1862-1915 |
Militia Series | Date Span |
|---|---|
Bonds | 1855-1876 |
Correspondence | 1839-1895 |
Letter Books (Copies) | 1863-1865 |
Letter Books, Militia and Quarter Master General, Copies | 1864-1865 |
Oaths of Office | 1861-1865 |
Militia Reports | 1855-1876 |
Record of Arms and Accoutrements | 1861 |
Record of Militia Officers, Arms and Equipment | 1869-1876 |
Register of Militia Captains | Ca. 1865 |
Register of Militia Commissions | 1863-1872 |
Registers of Militia Companies and Officers | 1847-ca. 1866 |
Roster Book of Militia | 1863 |
Roster Books of Militia Officers | 1871-1879 |
Records of Militia Units: Des Moines Cavalry | 1872-1874 |
| Mexican War Series | Date Span |
|---|---|
| General Correspondence, Mexican War | 1883-1916 |
| Muster Rolls, Mexican War | 1847-1848 |
Civil War Series | Date Span |
|---|---|
Brigade Reports, Civil War Battles and Casualties | 1862-1865 |
Certificates for 100 Day Service; for Military Service | 1862-1864 |
Certificates of Disability for Discharge | 1861-1864 |
Certificates of Men Rejected for Military Service | 1864-1865 |
Claims | 1861-1910 |
Clothing Books | 1861-1866 |
Consolidated Morning Reports | 1861-1865 |
Correspondence, Civil War (By unit) | 1861-1917 |
Correspondence, Disloyal Sentiment | 1861-1866 |
General Correspondence, Civil War (By year, name) | 1861-1917 |
General Orders | 1861-1867 |
Hospital Reports | 1861-1865 |
Medical Exemptions from Military Duty | 1862 |
Military Reports | 1861-1867 |
Muster Rolls | 1861-1865 |
Oaths of Office | 1861-1865 |
Personal Effects and Final Inventory Statements | 1861-1865 |
Removals of Charges of Desertion | 1865, 1917 |
Roster Books | 1861-1865 |
Roster Books of Officers | 1861-1862 |
Sanitary Agents Reports | 1861-1865 |
Soldiers Roster Board | 1895-1909 |
Special Orders | 1861-1889 |
Volunteer Enlistments | 1862-1865 |
| Spanish American War Series | Date Span |
|---|---|
| Claims, Spanish-American War | 1898-1899 |
| Correspondence, Spanish-American War | 1897-1900 |
| General Correspondence, Spanish-American War | 1898-1917 |
| General Orders, Spanish-American War | 1898-1899 |
| Hospital Reports, Spanish-American War | 1899 |
| Military Reports, Spanish-American War | 1898-1901 |
| Muster Rolls, Spanish-American War | 1898-1899 |
| Roster Books, Spanish-American War | 1898-1899 |
| Special Orders, Spanish-American War | 1898-1899 |
Iowa National Guard Series | Date Span |
|---|---|
Abstracts and Accounts | 1887-1910 |
Bonds and Claims | 1880-1916 |
Correspondence | 1876-1918 |
Contracts | 1865-1909 |
Inventories, Quartermaster Corps Invoices and Stores | 1878-1911 |
Military Personnel Files (Enlistment Contracts) | ca. 1876- ca. 1951 |
Military Reports | ca. 1876-1917 |
Oaths of Office | 1878-1911 |
Orders | 1872-1910 |
Record of Arms and Accoutrements | 1872-1877 |
Requisitions | 1874-1917 |
Roster Books | 1882-1905 |
Court-Martial Proceedings | 1878-1907 |
Record of Company Captains Series | Date Span |
|---|---|
Account Books | 1861-1864 |
Certificates of Disability | 1861-1864 |
Clothing Reports | 1862-1864 |
Correspondence | 1864-1865 |
Descriptive Books | 1861-1865 |
Order Books | 1862-1865 |
Quarterly Returns of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores | 1863-1865 |
Records of Colonels of Regiments Series | Date Span |
|---|---|
Descriptive Books | 1864 |
Letter Books | 1861-1864 |
Morning Reports | 1864-1865 |
Muster Rolls | 1862-1865 |
Order Books | 1862-1864 |