Most Valuable Resource for Revolutionary War Veterans

Pension files often contain the most detailed information on Revolutionary War Veterans and their families. Veterans and their family members made sworn statements in court to support the claims for pensions. Those statement contain information on marriages children, places of residence, places of burials, lands and property owned, neighbors, and details on military service that can often be found nowhere else.

Veterans and their families received payments for soldiers killed or wounded in the war soon after the conflict, but the majority of pension claims were based on laws passed by Congress in 1818 and 1832. These laws allowed veterans and their family members to initiate claims if the veteran or his family were “in reduced circumstances” i.e. poor. Lists of properties and lands owned are frequently found in pension statements, providing key insights as to how soldiers and their families lived after the war. Neighbors and colleagues in the war often made statements supporting the pension claims, providing evidence of relationships and places of residence.

Family bible records were often entered into evidence to support pension claims. In the file of William Ake, a veteran from Sussex County Delaware, his son in law's statement indicates that a neighbor and fellow veteran Thomas Dazey kept a record of births, marriages, and deaths in their neighborhood on the Assawoman Bay in southern coastal Delaware. The file of David Richards from Sussex County DE contains copies of family bible entries for the births of his children and for his marriage.

Key details of the veterans lives often emerge from pension file statements. In the pension file of Daniel Hunt of Bath NH, his neighbor states that he assisted with the funeral and burial of Daniel Hunt in the West Bath cemetery. There is no grave marker for him there, but this statement enabled a claim made by the author for a headstone to be provided by the Veterans Administration for Daniel Hunt.

The veterans’ statements can also provide details of their military service. Official records for common soldiers usually consist of pay rolls, muster rolls, and ration rolls. Rolls often do not contain locations. These records may contain enlistment and discharge dates but rarely have any details about battles fought. In the case of John Shelton of Dover DE, his official record shows him receiving an invalid pension from 1784 – 7 but provide no details of his injury. His statement for his pension made in 1831 provide the details that he was wounded in the shoulder and chest by cannon fire at the Battle of Long Island in 1776.

If a veteran has a pension file, that is often the richest source of information on his life and service. Pension files can be obtained from Ancestry.com and Fold3.com, although these sites require a subscription. Pension files can also be obtained for a fee from the National Archives if you know the veteran’s regiment.