Revolutionary War 1778-1783: Pensions
March 1, 2010
Revolutionary War 1778-1783: Pensions
by: Jeannette Austin
The American Revolutionary War began in Massachusettson April 19, 1775. The
date of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia was July 4, 177
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.
This article may be freely reprinted or distributed if you include a byline of my website
http://www.georgiapioneers.com
About The Author
Jeannette Austin
I have traced personal genealogies for over 40 years, mostly on those ancestors from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. As a result, huge databases emerged. Additionally, in order to share the information, I have written over 75 books
pertaining to family genealogies and research. These books may be found in regional libraries and State Archives in the United States. My current websites also house tons of genealogical data. www.georgiapioneers.com, a subscriber website, houses
millions of pages of genealogies, notes, county records, bible records, births, deaths, marriages….simply a growing collection from my continuing files. My ultimate purpose is to provide the ultimate website for Georgia research.
During 2006, I offer FREE genealogical research on Georgia families to “subscribers” of www.georgiapioneers.com
The data from this effort will be sent to the subscriber as well as be placed on the website
