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Regular Army

The Regular Army was the permanent, professional United States Army, as distinct from the Volunteers and militia raised for a particular war.

Regular soldiers enlisted directly in federal service for set terms and served in peace as well as war; in 1861 most of its companies were spread among isolated posts in the West. Their records differ from those of Volunteers, because no compiled service records were made for them.

Start with the enlistment papers, 1798 to 1894, and the Register of Enlistments, 1798 to 1914, then muster rolls, post returns and carded medical records. Army enlisted men separated after October 31, 1912, have personnel files at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.

As seen in a recordRegister of Enlistments in the U.S. Army
Pvt., Co. G, 7th U.S. Cavalry, enlisted Mar. 4, 1872, at Chicago, for 5 yrs.
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How to cite this page

Daily Ancestor. "Regular Army." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/military/regular-army. Last checked 2026-10-03.

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