Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File
Page 1

NATIONAL ARCHIVES MICROFILM PUBLICATIONS
REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENSION
AND BOUNTY-LAND-WARRANT
APPLICATION FILES
Roll 306
Bownd, Obadiah --
Boyce, William
Microcopy No. 804
1934
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE
WASHINGTON: 1969
Page 2

INTRODUCTION
On the rolls of this microfilm publication are reproduced an estimated
80,000 pension and bounty-land-warrant application files based on the participation
of American military, naval and marine officers and enlisted men in the
Revolutionary War. Most of the records in the files are dated between 1800 and
1900. The files are part of Record Group 15. Records of the Veterans
Administration.
of time.
Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Legislation
and Administration Relating to
Participation in the Revolutionary War
Pension Legislation
For more than a century before the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
British colonies in North America provided pensions for disabled soldiers and
sailors. During and after the Revolutionary War, three principal types of pensions
were provided by the U.S. Government for servicemen and their dependents
"Disability" or "invalid pensions" were awarded to servicemen for physical
disabilities incurred in the line of duty, ""service pensions"" to veterans who served
for specified periods of time and "widows pensions"" to women whose husbands
had been killed in the war or were veterans who had served for specified periods
On August 26, 1776, the first pension legislation for the American colonies
as a group was enacted. A resolution of the Continental Congress provided half
pay for officers and enlisted men, including those on warships and armed vessels.
who were disabled in the service of the United States and who were incapable of
earning a living. The half pay was to continue for the duration of the disability
On May 15, 1778, another resolution provided half pay for 7 years after
the conclusion of the war to all military officers who remained in the Continental
service to the end of the war. Enlisted men who continued to serve for the
duration of the conflict were each to receive a gratuity of $80 after the war under the
terms of the same enactment. The first national pension legislation for
widows was a Continental Congress resolution of August 24, 1780, which offered
the prospect of half pay for 7 years to widows and orphans of officers who met
the requirements included in the terms of the resolution of May 15, 1778. On
October 21, 1780, the Continental Congress resolution of May 15, 1778, was
amended to provide half pay for life to officers after the war: but on March 22.
1783, the half-pay-for-life provision was changed to 5 years' full pay
Pension legislation during the Revolutionary War was designed to
encourage enlistment and acceptance of commissions and to prevent desertion
and resignation. After the war, pensions became a form of reward for services
rendered. Both during and after the Revolution, the States as well as the U.S.
Government awarded pensions based on participation in the conflict. The records
reproduced in this microfilm publication pertain only to pensions granted or paid
pursuant to public and private acts of the U.S. Government. Public acts, under