United States, General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934

What is in This Collection?

The collection consists of the name index to pension files held at the National Archives. The files relate to service between 1861 and 1934. Most of the files are for Union Civil War service (In 1892 Union Army Nurses with six months service became eligible.) but also include the War with Spain, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer Rebellion and Regular U.S. military forces. The index is in alphabetical order.

State and federal governments filed pension records so as to keep track of the fund leaving the treasuries to support the veterans and widows of wars. The applications are usually reliable, depending on the memory of the applicant and the records to which he had access.

Related National Archives Collections

• Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Soldiers Who Served in Both the Mexican War and the Civil War, ca. 1847–ca. 1888
• Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Veterans Who Served in the Army and Navy Mainly in the Civil War and The War With Spain ("Civil War and Later Survivors' Certificates"): Nos. SC 9,487 - 999,999, 1861–1934
• Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of the Army and Navy Who Served Mainly in the Civil War and the War With Spain, 1861–1934
• Numerical Index to Pensions RG 15 NAID 55287630 covers ca. 1812-ca.1934
• Index to Civil War and Spanish-American War Claims Files, ca. 1970–ca. 2011
• List of Female Nurses, Cooks, and Laundresses Employed in Army Hospitals During the Civil War, ca. 1861–ca. 1865
• Records of Disallowed Claims of Laundresses, ca. 1853–1920 RG 217
• Regimental and Company Books of Civil War Volunteer Union Organizations, 1861–1867
• Dept. of the Interior. Office of Indian Affairs. Land Division. Register of Admitted Pension Claims, 1866–1869

Related Articles

• Claire Prechtel-Kluskens. Anatomy of a Union Pension File. NGS Magazine 34 # 3 (July-September 2008): 43-48. FS Library 973 D25ngs
• Marie Varrelman Melchiori and Claire Prechtel-Kluskens. Did your Union Army Civil War ancestor apply for a pension ? NGS Magazine 40 #3 (July-September, 2014): 39-43. FS Library 973 D25ngs
• Claire Prechtel-Kluskens, “A Reasonable Degree of Promptitude” Civil War Pension Application Processing, 1861–1885 Prologue 42 1# (Spring, 2010) FS Library 973 D25ngs
• Claire Prechtel-Kluskens. Family data circulars of 1898 and 1915. NGS Magazine 38 #4 (October-December 2012): 28-31. FS Library 973 D25ngs
• Claire Prechtel-Kluskens. Did your Union Civil War ancestor have an artificial limb? NGS Magazine 40 #1 (January-March 2014):41-45. 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
• Claire Prechtel -Kluskens, Did Your Civil War Ancestor Respond to Call No 13? NGS Magazine 42 # 2 (April-June ): 35-39. FS Library 973 D25ngs
• John P. Deeben Finding Pension Information in Congressional Records NGS NewsMagazine (October/November/December, 2008):33-37 (Veterans and Private Claims) FS Library 973 D25ngs
• Julie Miller, How to Organize and Analyze a Military Pension File NGS Magazine 50 #2 (April-June 2024): 17-23. FS Library 973 D25ngs

Copies of pension files are available from the National Archives. To request copies follow the instructions in the following link. Requesting Pre-WWI Service Records

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Image

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  1890 General Index to Pensions