I'm interested in military records up to and including the Civil War. I'm not from Mass. and I don't have access to all the records. I joined the SAR on an ancestor on the service of an individual who is definitely my ancestor. I am familiar with the 17-vol set of Rev. War Records and the 9-vol set of Civil War records. Boths sets are very helpful, but how do we determine that our ancestor or family member is indeed the individual who served when there are others with the same name in the same area? Not every vet had a pension record which is invaluable. Family tradition can be wrong--is there anything else that may confirm military service? thanks