Department of Defense (Military and Veterans Affairs)

Command of the state's military was initially vested in the Offices of the Adjutant General and Quartermaster General–posts which date back to New Jersey's early statehood. By the late-nineteenth century, these functions were designated as separate departments. In 1948, they were merged into a newly formed Department of Defense. In 1987, management of the state's veterans' hospitals was transferred to the department and its name was changed to the Department of Veterans Affairs and Defense. The following year it became the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Most of the state's military records for the colonial period through the Spanish American War are held by the State Archives. Limited records have been received for twentieth-century conflicts and National Guard service. Additional, modern service records are available from the New Jersey Department of Military & Veterans Affairs and the National Archives. See the pages below for further details and links.