United States, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications, 1800-1900

What is in This Collection?

The collection consists of images of Case Files of revolutionary war pension and bounty land applications for the years 1800 to 1900. It is part of Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773 - 2007 and is National Archive Microfilm Publication M804.

The pension and land warrant applications consist of about 80,000 files. Each file may be a single card or may contain from 1 to 200 pages or more. A typical file is about 30 pages and includes an introductory card, an application, sworn affidavits, and other supporting documents that verify a veteran’s identity and service. The file also includes papers that show decisions made concerning the claim. In 1912 the Survivor, Widow, Rejected, and Bounty Land Warrant files were consolidated into a single alphabetical series.

Pension acts were passed and amended many times between 1776 and 1878. In 1776 the first pension law granted half-pay for life to soldiers disabled in the service and unable to earn a living. A pension law passed in 1818 permitted compensation for service, regardless of disability, but was later amended, making eligible only those soldiers who were unable to earn a living. The pension act of 1832 allowed pensions again based on service and enabled a veteran’s widow to receive pension benefits.

A veteran or his widow seeking a pension had to appear in court in the state of his or her residence to describe under oath the service for which the pension was being claimed. A widow was required to provide information concerning the date and place of her marriage to the veteran. The application statement, or “declaration” as it was usually called, was certified by the court and then forwarded, along with all supporting documents (this may have included property schedules, marriage records, and affidavits of witnesses) to a federal official, usually the Secretary of War or the Commissioner of Pensions. The applicant was then notified that the application had been approved, rejected, or set aside pending the submission of additional proof of eligibility. If an applicant was eligible, his name was placed on the pension list. Payments were usually made semiannually. A rejected applicant often reapplied when the law was later amended.

The Federal Government granted bounty land warrants, or rights to free land, to Revolutionary War veterans and their heirs. The promise of bounty land during the war was an incentive to enter and remain in the service. After the war, bounty land grants became a form of reward.

Veterans or their heirs who claimed bounty land warrants sent applications to the Secretary of War (later the Commissioner of Pensions and then the Secretary of the Interior). Also forwarded were affidavits of witnesses who testified of service performed, marriage records, and other forms of evidence. If an application was approved, the claimant was issued a warrant for a specified number of acres. He could then “locate” his warrant, that is, select a portion of the public domain to have in exchange for his warrant. The Treasury Department, and after 1849 the Interior Department, accepted the warrants and then issued patents to the land. Many recipients of Revolutionary War bounty land warrants did not relocate to their new land. They sold the warrants instead.

Pensions and bounty land warrants were originally administered by the Secretary of War. In 1815 two bureaus were created, one for pensions and the other for land warrants. In 1841 the Secretary of War placed bounty land functions under the direction of the Commissioner of Pensions. In 1849 the Pension Office was transferred to the newly established Department of the Interior. In 1930 the Bureau of Pensions was placed under the jurisdiction of the new Veterans Administration.

Most of the records in the files are dated between 1800 and 1900, although there is some correspondence dated as late as 1940. These records cover about 20 percent of American military, naval, and marine officers and enlisted men who served in the Revolutionary War. Pensions and bounty land warrants were issued to compensate Revolutionary War veterans for their service. Later, widows of veterans also received benefits. Information recorded on pension and bounty land warrant applications is generally reliable, but its accuracy depended on the memory of the applicant and the records he or she had access to. Some applications were rejected if the information could not be verified in federal records or if the claim was suspected of being fraudulent. Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

See Also

• Mary Govier Ainsworth. Recently Discovered Records Relating to Revolutionary War Veterans Who Applied for Pensions Under the Act of 1792 National Genealogical Society Quarterly 46 #1 (March 1958): 8-13; 46 #2 (June 1958): 73-78. FS Library 973 B2ng v. 46

State Government Pensions - Bounty Land

• Lloyd de Witt Bockstruck Revolutionary War pensions : awarded by State governments 1775-1874, the General and Federal governments prior to 1814, and by private acts of Congress to 1905 Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Publishing Company, c2011 FS Library 973 973 M2bLd
• Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck. Revolutionary War bounty land grants : awarded by state governments Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Publishing Company, c1996 FS Library 973 R2bo

Related National Archives Collections

• U.S. Senate. Committee on Pensions. (12/10/1816 - 01/02/1947)
• U.S. Senate. Committee on Revolutionary Claims. (12/28/1832 - 04/18/1921)
• U.S. House of Representatives. Committee on Claims. (11/13/1794 - 1946)
• U.S. House of Representatives. Committee on Pensions and Revolutionary War Claims. (12/22/1813 - 12/09/1825)
• U.S. House of Representatives. Committee on Revolutionary Claims. (1825 - 1873)
• U.S. House of Representatives. Committee on Revolutionary Pensions. (01/10/1831 - 1880)

Pensions

• United States, National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Records Sources NARA Finding Aid - Illustrated Family Records - Images
• Family Bibles Filed with Case Files of Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Based on Revolutionary War Service, ca. 1800 - ca. 1912. NAID 18471430
• Claims Filed by Revolutionary War Veterans, 9/16/1828 - 8/3/1835. NAID 605836
• Applications for Revolutionary War Scrip, 1830–1847 (Military Bounty Land Script) NAID 24200695
• Correspondence Relating to Revolutionary War Pensions, 1784–1815 NAID 1588363
• Case Files of Claims for Half Pay and Pensions Based on Revolutionary War Service, 1800–1859 NAID 2601035
• Selected Final Payment Vouchers, 1818–1864 NAID 605894
• Public Law, 9th Congress, 1st Session: An Act to Provide for Persons Who Were Disabled by Known Wounds Received in the Revolutionary War, April 10, 1806 RG 11
• Records of Pennsylvania Accounts for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1799–1817 NAID 1630201
• Records of Virginia Pension Payments, 1791–1834 NAID 1663659

U.S. District Courts

• Revolutionary War Record Book of Proceedings for Pensions, April 25, 1792–February 2, 1797 - Connecticut
• Revolutionary War Pension Applicant Case Files, 1792–1792 - Connecticut
• Register of Papers Submitted by Revolutionary War Pensioners - Maine
• Register of Papers Submitted by Revolutionary War Pensioners, June 1820–December 1836 - Maine
• Estate Schedules and Oaths of Revolutionary War Pensioners, June 1820–May 1832 - Maine
• Affidavits Concerning Deceased Revolutionary War Pensioners, 1833–1855 - Maine
• Schedules of Property of Revolutionary War Pensioners, July 1820–July 1820 - Maryland
• Records Relating to Revolutionary War Pension Applicants, 1806–1832 - Massachusetts
• Revolutionary War Pension Estate Schedules and Affidavits Submitted by Pensioners, June 1820–January 1824 New Hampshire
• Record Book of Proceedings on Petitions for Revolutionary War Pensions - Rhode Island
• Record Book of Proceedings on Petitions for Revolutionary War Pensions, June 1792–November 1792 - Rhode Island
• Revolutionary War Pension Applicant Case Files, 1792–1792 -Rhode Island

Bounty Land

• Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, ca. 1800–ca. 1900 NAID 567388
• Revolutionary War Bounty Land Scrip, 1831–1837 NAID 6861417
• Letters Sent Relating to Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Military Bounty Land Warrants, 1821–1878 NAID 2825004
• Copies of Warrants Issued to Surviving Officers and Soldiers of the Revolutionary War, March 1828–November 21, 1828 NAID 18501151
• List of Pennsylvania Officers and Men Entitled to Donation Lands NAID 607405 See Numbered Record Books
• Records of Officers' Locations of Revolutionary War Military Bounty Land Warrants, 1800–1816 NAID 23944268
• Records of Soldiers' Locations of Revolutionary War Military Bounty Land Warrants, 1800–1819 NAID 23944321
• Applications for Revolutionary War Scrip, 1830–1847 NAID 24200695

Digital Images

• Register of Papers Submitted by Revolutionary War Pensioners NAID 102035733 Maine
• Record Book of Proceedings on Petitions for Revolutionary War Pensions NAID 102251070 Rhode Island

Related Articles

• Jean Nudd.Using Revolutionary War Pension Files to Find Family Information. Prologue (Summer, 2015): 55-60. FS Library 973 B2p
• Claire Prechtel- Kluskens.Revolutionary War Pension Files - an Introduction. NGS Magazine 32 #2 (April-June 2006): 34-37. FS Library 973 D25ngs
• Claire Prechtel- Kluskens. For Love and Money: Pension Laws Affecting Widows of Military Veterans NGS Magazine 42 #1 (January-March 2016): 35-39. FS Library 973 D25ngs
• Craig Roberts Scott. When a Revolutionary Pensioner's Claim Can't Be Found National Genealogical Society Quarterly 77 (June 1989): 128-132.
• Constance B. Schultz Revolutionary War Pension Applications: A Neglected Source for Social and Family History Prologue 15 #2 (Summer 1983): 103-114.

Tip: This collection contains searchable content in the NARA Catalog. They can be accessed by clicking on the National Archives identifier NAID 300022 in the Record Description. Once inside the Catalog, click on the "Search Within This Series".

Tip: Images are also available in the FamilySearch Catalog at Revolutionary war pension and bounty-land-warrant application files.The files are arranged in alphabetical order. click on a reference to find a camera icon to see images.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Images

• 

  Application folder, Abigail Hale, widow of Nathan Hale

Inventory

For a list of all the titles included in this Historical Records publication see United States, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications - Inventory

Finding Aid

A finding aid for this collection is available at United States Revolutionary War, Virginia Pension Application Files.

• United States, National Archives, Military Bounty Land Warrant Records NARA Finding Aid