Q. How do I research family military records?

In library

The McClung Collection has many Civil war records on microfilm including:

• Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers who served with the United States Colored Troops
• Service Records for Tennessee Confederate Troops
• Service Records for Tennessee Union Troops
• Service Records for North Carolina Confederate Troops (Thomas's Legion only)
• Pension applications from the state of Tennessee for Confederate Veterans and Widows

Online

Fold3 – 
A collection of historical military records dating back to the Revolutionary War.

Knox County military discharges, 1865-1940
The Knox County military discharges index has been abstracted from the Knox County Register of Deeds books including Warranty, Trust and the Armed Forces Discharge Register. These Military Discharge records span the years following the Civil War to the beginning of World War II. The years after the Civil War are when we first find military discharges being recorded in the local deed books at the recommendation of the various Armed Forces branches. Beginning in 1927, the Register's Office formalized the process by creating the Armed Forces Discharge Register books. Public access to the DD-214's recorded in Tennessee are restricted by State law for a period of 75 years following receipt by the government agency (TCA § 10-7-513). For veterans who served from 1912–1960, the DD-214's recorded with their local government agency are often the only surviving record of his/her service due to a fire in 1973 at the Military Personnel Records Center in St. Louis that burned a majority of the records created over this time span.

Free on FamilySearch:

• United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783
  Images of muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other personnel, pay, and supply records of the American Army during the Revolutionary War as found at Family Search. The collection is arranged by type of service, military unit, and jacket or folder number. To more easily find your ancestor in this collection, you’ll need to know the state and military unit. To identify state and military unit of interest click on the “Learn more” link and see coverage table. The military unit may also be identified by searching the collection “United States, Revolutionary War Compiled Service Records, 1775-1783” Index courtesy of Fold3. This collection is from Record Group 93, War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, and is National Archives Microfilm publication M246.
• Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications
  A browsing collection of Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications. You can get the correct application number from the Tennessee State Library and Archives Confederate Pension Applications Index.

Civil War Soldiers and Sailors (from the U.S. National Park Service)

Find a Cemetery (from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) –
Information about Knoxville National Cemetery with a link to the national grave locator and a map of the cemetery; Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery on Lyons View Pike and East Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery on John Sevier Highway may also be searched on this website.