Revolutionary War Pension Records and Bounty Land Warrants

The first pension law in 1776 granted half-pay for life to soldiers disabled in the service and unable to earn a living. The first pension law based on service was passed in 1818, but it was later amended to make eligible only those soldiers unable to earn a living. The pension act of 1832 allowed pensions again based on service and made widows of veterans also eligible to receive pension benefits. Fires in 1800 destroyed the earliest Revolutionary War pension application records. As a result, pension application papers on file at the National Archives begin after 1800. Certain pension records predating 1800 survive in the form of. Reports available are arranged by state; they give name, rank, regiment, description of wounds, and disability; they also give information regarding pension, place of residence, and physical fitness. (FS Library film 0944495.)

Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications
Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files" (NARA M804) cover about 80,000 pension and bounty land warrant application files. Most are dated between 1800 and 1900. See the official NARA pamphlet explaining these records in detail at M804.pdf.

Online


 * 1800 - 1900 (FamilySearch) - index only
 * 1800 - 1900 Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900 (Ancestry) ($)
 * 1818 - 1872 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Revolutionary War Pensions (Fold3) ($)
 * Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements. Over 20,000 Pension Applications transcribed by volunteers from various sources, including the Library of Virginia and the South Carolina Department of Archives & History. (RevWarApp.org) - index & transcripts

Libraries


 * Locate these records at a library using Worldcat. *FamilySearch Library (On 2,670 FS Library films beginning with )

U.S. Military District Bounty Land Warrants
The "U.S. Revolutionary War Bounty Land Warrants Used in the U.S. Military District of Ohio and Relating Papers (Acts of 1788, 1803, and 1806)" (NARA M829) collection contains warrants issued to veterans of the U.S. Revolutionary War between 1789 and 1833.

Online


 * U.S. Revolutionary War Bounty Land Warrants Used in the U.S. Military District of Ohio and Relating Papers (Acts of 1788, 1803, and 1806) (Ancestry) ($) (note: also includes War of 1812 Military Bounty Land Warrants from NARA M848)

Libraries


 * Locate these records at a library using Worldcat. *FamilySearch Library

Ordering from the National Archives
The National Archives has pension applications and records of pension payments for veterans, their widows, and other heirs. The pension records are based on service in the armed forces of the United States between 1775 and 1916. Copies of Bounty Land Warrant Applications for Federal military service before 1856 can now be ordered online, as well as through NATF Form 85.

1813 Pension Roll
The 1813 Pension Roll (covers 18 states, one territory and 1 district) is available online. The Secretary of War submitted the list of pensioners to the Senate in 1813.

Where to Find the Records

Online: 1813 Pension Roll

1818 Pension Roll
The 1818 Pension Roll (covers 24 states and one district) is available online. The Secretary of War submitted the list of pensioners to the Senate in 1818.

Where to Find the Records

Online: 1818 Pension Roll

1820 Pension Roll
The 1820 Pension Roll (covers 19 states and 3 districts) is available online. The Secretary of War submitted the list of pensioners to the Senate in 1820.

Where to Find the Records

Online: 1820 Pension Roll

1835 Pension Roll
The 1835 Pension Roll (covers 27 states and one district) is available online. On June 5, 1834, the U.S. Senate required the Secretary of War to submit a statement showing the names of Revolutionary War pensioners who were on the pension rolls or had previously been on the pension rolls. The Secretary of War submitted the list of pensioners to the Senate in 1835. The 1835 Pension Roll was published in three volumes. A 1992 reprint in four volumes is also available.

Content of the Records

Where to Find the Records Original printing:


 * Volume I (Google Books) - Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont.


 * Volume II (Google Books) - New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia.


 * Volume III (Google Books) - North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Alabama, Territory of Michigan, Territory of Arkansas, Territory of Florida, District of Columbia.

1992 reprint in four volumes:


 * Volume I (Ancestry) ($) - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont.


 * Volume II ($) - New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia.


 * Volume III (Ancestry) ($)- District of Columbia, Maryland, Alabama, Territory of Arkansas, Territory of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, N. Carolina, S. Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia.


 * Volume IV ($) - Illinois, Indiana, Territory of Michigan, Missouri, Ohio.

Indexes


 * "Index to Revolutionary War Pension Applications in the National Archives". Special Publication Number 40. Revised. and enl. Arlington, Virginia: National Genealogical Society, 1976. This index contains the name of the veteran and or the widow with the state and pension or bounty land warrant number.

1840 Census of Pensioners
The 1840 Census of Pensioners (covers 25 states, one district and 3 territories) is available online. The Secretary of War submitted the census of pensioners to the Senate in 1840.

Where to Find the Records

Online: 1840 Census of Pensioners

Pensioners of Revolutionary War Struck Off The Roll
A list of the names of pensioners, under the act of 18th of March, 1818, whose names were struck of the list by act of 1st May, 1820, and sequently restored.

Where to Find the Records

Online: Pensioners of Revolutionary War Struck Off The Roll

Related Manuscript Collections

 * Ledgers of Payments, 1818–1872, to U.S. Pensioners Under Acts of 1818 through 1858, from Records of the Third Auditor of the Treasury. National Archives Microfilm Publication T718. (FS Library films 1319381–403.) These pension payment volumes record payments to Revolutionary War veterans and others. The records are arranged by pension act, then by pension agency, and then alphabetically by the first letter of the veterans’ surnames. Entries list name, pension agency, record of payments made, death date, and the date of the final payment made to heirs. *Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt.
 * Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants Awarded by State Governments. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1996. (FS Library 973 R2bo.) Index includes name, state of service, rank, date of record, and acreage. *Smith, Clifford Neal.
 * Federal Land Series. Volume 2, 1799–1835. Federal Bounty Land Warrants of the American Revolution. Chicago, Illinois: American Library Association, 1973. (FS Library 973 R23s, vol. 2; fiche 6087454.) Entries include name and rank of veteran, land warrant numbers, range and township, quarter township and lot numbers, date of register entry and source of information, and number of acres.

Published Resources

 * Clark, Murtie June, compiler. The Pension Lists of 1792–1795. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1991. (FS Library book 973 M2cmj.) Contains transcriptions of congressional reports for 1792 to 1795. Some entries list name, rank, regiment or company, and residence, and include remarks. Other pre-1800 pension-related records are also included. *United States War Department.
 * Letter from the Secretary of War Transmitting a Report of . . . Every Person Placed on the Pension List of 1820. Reprinted with index as The Pension List of 1820. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1991. (FS Library book 973 M2ulp; film 0874189 item 1; fiche 6046612.) Arranged by state, then alphabetically by name. Lists rank and service of the soldier. *White, Virgil D.
 * Genealogical Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files. Four Volumes. Waynesboro, Tennessee: National Historical Publishing, 1990–92. (FS Library book 973 M28g.) Some entries in this work have cross-references to the Virginia half-pay claims, state pensions, and state bounty lands. Volume four indexes the abstracts. This includes an every-name index for 350,000 names.

Related Content

 * Military Records: Pre-WWI Pension Applications (16 minute online video) *FamilySearch Research Classes Online,.