Library closed

All Library locations are closed Friday, March 29, 2024. Online collections and services (except chat/help), remain accessible.

Locations will resume regular schedules Saturday, March 30.

Scheduled maintenance

We will be performing maintenance on our network on March 29. Signing in to some online resources may be affected during this time. 

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 the first years we 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 (external link: https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973) at the Military Personnel Records Center (external link: https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/military-personnel) in St. Louis that burned a majority of the records created over this time span.

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