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The American Revolutionary War began in Massachusetts on April
19, 1775. The date of the Declaration of Independence in
Philadelphia was July 4, 1775. General Cornwallis surrendered at
Yorktown, Virginia on October 19, 1781, with the peace treaty
being signed in 1783. After the war ended, provisions for
benefits to veterans were established, in 1789. Many of the
first applications, however, were destroyed by fire in 1800 and
again in 1814. A partial record of earlier pensioners does exist
for 1792, 1794 and 1795, in Reports to Congress. Here is how the
pensions went:
1. Invalid pensioners who were disabled prior to 8/26/1776 (and
since 4/19/1775). The Act of 1782 extending the provisions found
that there were 1500 (invalid) pensioners on the rolls.
2. Half‑pay for life went to officers, and widows of those
officers. This began in 1780; then in 1788 Congress granted
seven years half‑pay to officers who served at the end of
the war.
3. 2,480 officers received Commutation Certificates, however,
delayed payments existed.
4. The Law of 1818 provided that every indigent person who had
served to the war's close, or for nine months or longer, would
receive a pensions. When the law was rewritten in 1820, many
names were removed from the pension rolls because they were not
indigent.
5. In 1832 most of the benefits were stripped.
By 1867 most of the pensioners on the rolls were dead, even
though two names went on the rolls thereafter. The last old
soldier to die was Daniel F. Bakeman, who died 4/15/1869, at the
age of 109 years. In 1869, there were 887 widows on the rolls.
And, believe it or not, in 1906, there was still one widow on
the pension list. She was Esther S. Damon, who died 11/11/1906.
Estimates are that 20,485 soldiers were granted pensions in
1818, and 1,200 in 1828, and 33,425 in 1832.
In 1789 the Federal Government assumed responsibility of the
State's invalid pensions for soldiers on the Continental Line,
and in 1804 they assumed all S. C. Invalid pensions, Continental
Line.
Sources of Research at Family History Centers:
Family History Centers have on microfilm "Miscellaneous Numbered
Records (the Manuscript File) of the Revolutionary War. This
includes 35,000 documents such as letters, pay accounts, oaths
of allegiance, pensions, and enlisted papers. 125 reels of
microfilm. The index is on 39 reels of microfilm.
American Prisoners of the Revolution by Dandridge, film #0844970
Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who
Served During the Revolutionary War in Organizations from the
State of North Carolina, A‑Q, film #0821595. R‑Z,
film #0821596
Index to the Names of the Braunschweig Corps Who Remained in
America, 1776‑1783, film #1036138
Index to the Papers of the Continental Congress,
1774‑1789, by John P. Buter, Vol. 1‑3, film
#1035704. Vol. 4‑5, film #1035705.
Pension Books at most Archives:
The Pension Index, alphabetical by surname, lists State, pension
no., etc. If the soldier applied and receive a pension his
pension number was prefixed by "S". If his widow received his
pension, prefix was "W", and if the pension was rejected, prefix
was "R". It is worthwhile reading the rejected pensions, because
this provides genealogical data, as well as all the applications.
Pensions are great sources of information ‑ they contain
1. Soldier's name, rank, where enlisted, battles fought in, etc.
2. Wife's name (or widow), date and place of marriage.
3. Bible records of family members, as sometimes indigent
"children" took up the pension.
4. Place of residence of soldier, when enlisting, when applying,
and other family members.
5. Date of death of soldier (widow's pension).
All of the Revolutionary War Pensions have been abstracted and
are at most Archives. These are large books and include a number
of volumes. Also, the Federal Archives have the original
pensions on microfilm....reading these (as opposed to the
abstracts) is quite interesting, because of details of exciting
battles, and personal information.
About the author:
Author of over 75 books pertaining to family history and
genealogy; owner of www.georgiapioneers.com
www.georgiagenealogyblog.com and www.genealogy-books.com
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