Content Note

This series consists of muster-in rolls for the four New Jersey National Guard regiments formed between May and July of 1898 at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. The rolls are arranged by regiment and thereunder by company. Each regiment begins with the field and staff (including quarter-masters, surgeons, and musician) listed by rank and then alphabetically. This is followed by the rolls of officers and men for each company within the regiment (also arranged by rank and then alphabetically).

The rolls were made using pre-printed forms which include preparation instructions. They record the following for each man: name, rank, age, physical description, place of birth, occupation, enrollment information (when, where, and by whom), period of enlistment, residence, miles traveled to rendezvous with regiment, signature (swearing to an oath of allegiance), marital status, name and address of parent or guardian (if soldier is single), and medical remarks by the examining surgeon. There is also a section on the form to list the value of horses and equipment issued to each man, but this column was used to note the muster-in date in the field and staff rolls and not at all in the company rolls. Finally, the end of each company's record includes the total number of men by rank, signatures of the commanding and mustering officers certifying the roll's accuracy, and the signature of the examining surgeon certifying the fitness of all who mustered-in.

After the rolls were completed, a copy was retained by the company, one was sent to the Adjutant General of the United States, and another sent to the Adjutant General of New Jersey. At some point, the New Jersey Adjutant General's copies were bound into a single volume. Prior to receipt of these records by the State Archives, however, they were disbound and microfilmed. For better protection, the loose pages have since been placed in folders.

There is no index to the muster-in rolls; however, by searching the Spanish-American War muster-out rolls, researchers can identify a soldier's regiment and company (see the guide to Archives' series Department of Defense/ Spanish-American War/ Muster-Out Rolls for instructions on using these records). Once the regiment and company is known, researchers can then use the microfilm copy of the muster-in rolls to search for the soldier in question. The original rolls will be pulled only in cases where the microfilm is illegible.

225 West State Street
P.O. Box 307
Trenton, NJ 08625-0307
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