United States, War of 1812 Index to Pension Application Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in This Collection?
Index to pension applications for service in the War of 1812. Most of the pension were granted based on two acts passed by Congress in 1871 and 1878. The files cover the years from 1812 to 1910 and is arranged alphabetically by veteran's name. The images are the face side of the file jackets. Most of the files are for veterans and their widows who were on the pension rolls in the 1870s and 1880s. The last pensioned veteran died in 1905. Widows continued to receive pensions after that date. The index is from National Archives microfilm publication M313 and is part of Record Group 15 Records of the Department of Veteran Affairs.

The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and the British Empire, including Great Britain, Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. The Treaty of Ghent, which became effective on February 18, 1815, ended the war. With the signing of the treaty the U.S. and Britain recognized the pre-war boundaries between the United States and Canada, and gave the United States fishing rights to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Related National Archives Collections

 * War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, ca. 1871–ca. 1900
 * Case Files of Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Based on Service Between 1812-1855. Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, ca. 1800–ca. 1900
 * Register of Patent Locations of Land in Illinois to Soldiers of War of 1812 Patents, October 6, 1817–January 28, 1819
 * Alphabetical Index to Veterans of War of 1812 to Whom Patents Were Issued for Land in Military Bounty Land District in Illinois, ca. 1815–ca. 1870
 * Warrants Issued Under Act of September 28, 1850., ca. 1850–ca. 1900
 * Index of Patentees for Military Bounty Land Warrants Issued under the Act of 1812 Located in Missouri, 1815 ?–1858 ?
 * Military Bounty Land Warrants under the Act of 1812, 1815 ?–1858 ?
 * Index to Patentees for Military Bounty Land Warrants Issued under the Act of 1842, 1842 ?–1858 ?
 * Index of Patentees for Military Bounty Land Warrants Issued under the Act of 1812 Located in Arkansas, 1815 ?–1858 ?
 * Letters Received Concerning Military Bounty Land Warrants Destroyed in the Fire of 1814, May 12, 1833–January 12, 1882
 * Registers of Bounty Land and Pension Cases Certified to the Commissioner of Pensions, August 7, 1875–August 10, 1879

Related Articles

 * Stuart L. Butler.  Genealogical Records of the War of 1812. Prologue 23 (Winter 1991): 420-425. FS Library 973 B2p.
 * Ruth Dixon.  Genealogical Fallout from the War of 1812. Prologue 24 (Spring 1992): 973 B2p.
 * Marie Varrelman Melchiori. War of 1812 records at the National Archives. NGS Magazine 35 (April-June 2009): 24-29. FS Library 973 D25ngs
 * Claire Prechtel-Kluskens. Researching Volunteer Soldiers of the War of 1812. NGS Magazine 37 # 1 (January-March 2011): 36-41. 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

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records: • 2 The section of the Index of 1812 pension application cards that reads "Service" may often include the rank of the solider followed by the name of the unit that he was assigned to. That may be confusing because the units are named after commanding officers. You will need to view the image to see all of the information on the pension index card.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The full name of the soldier
 * The birth date and birth place of the soldier
 * The name of the soldier's widow

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the age to calculate an approximate birth date
 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth of the deceased to locate census, church, and land records
 * Death dates may lead to death certificates, mortuary, or burial records
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the deceased; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been seeking the pension
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the United States.
 * United States Guided Research
 * United States Record Finder
 * United States Research Tips and Strategies
 * US Military Basic Search Strategies
 * Beginning Research in United States Military Records
 * Beginning War of 1812 Research

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Index to War of 1812 pension application files
 * Lawrence Delbert Cress, Citizens in arms : the Army and militia in American society to the War of 1812 Chapel Hill, North Carolina : University of North Carolina Press, c1982 FS Library 973 M2cre
 * Craig R. Scott, The lost pensions, settled accounts of the Act of 6 April 1836 Lovettsville, Virginia : Willow Bend Books, c1996 FS Library 973 M2sL
 * Christine Rose Military bounty land 1776-1855.San Jose, California : CR Publications, c2011 FS Library 973 M27r
 * War of 1812, military bounty land warrants, 1815-1858 NARA pub. M848
 * Ledgers of payments, 1818-1872, to U.S. pensioners, under Acts of 1818 through 1858, from records of the office of the Third Auditor of the Treasury NARA pub. T718
 * Federal land records : transcripts of the locations of military warrants on which patents have issued under the acts of Congress passed on and since the sixth of May, 1812 for Illinois; 1817-1819
 * James W. Oberly.Sixty million acres : American veterans and the public lands before the Civil War Kent, Ohio : Kent State University Press, c1990 FS Library 973 N2ob

State Sources
 * Louisiana, War of 1812 pension applications, ca. 1868-1878
 * Louisiana, War of 1812 pension lists, 1873-1876
 * Pennsylvania Auditor General's Office War of 1812 pension records, 1866-1896
 * War of 1812 land grants, 1854, 1858, 1860, 1865, 1866, 1876 Contains six land grants issued to veterans of the Pennsylvania Militia in the War of 1812.
 * Rhode Island Historical Society in Providence. Index to register of seamen's protection, 1796-1868
 * Patrick G. Wardell.War of 1812 : Virginia bounty land & pension applicants : a quick reference guide to ancestors having War of 1812 service who served, lived, died, or married in Virginia or West Virginia Bowie, Maryland : Heritage Books, Inc., 1987, c1987 FS Library 975 M2wp

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Annie Walker Burns Bell Major index to pension list of the War of 1812 6 vols. Washington, D.C. : A.W. Burns, 1950-1966
 * List of pensioners on the roll January 1, 1883.
 * Citizen soldiers at North Point and Fort McHenry, September 12 & 13, 1814 : resolves of the citizens in town meeting, particulars relating to the Battle, official correspondence and honorable discharge of the troop, also, celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary. Baltimore : Charles Saffell, 1889?
 * Ernest Green. Some graves in Lundy's Lane. Niagara, Ont., 1912
 * Benson J. Lossing, The pictorial field-book of the War of 1812 : or, Illustrations, by pen and pencil, of the history, biography, scenery, relics, and traditions of the last war for American independence New York, New York : Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1869
 * List of pensioners on the roll January 1, 1883 : giving the name of each pensioner, the cause for which pensioned, the post-office address, the rate of pension per month, and the date of original allowance, as called for by Senate resolution of December 8, 1882 5 volumes. Washington: G.P.O., 1883.
 * with an introduction, by James D. Walker; indexed by Lowell M. Volkel. War of 1812 bounty lands in Illinois Originally published as House Document 262, 26th Congress, 1st Session, 1840. Thomson, Illinois : Heritage House, 1977

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information.

Estados Unidos, Guerra de 1812, Índice de Arquivos Para Pedido de Pensão (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)