Someone said: "...You are indeed correct. A Revolutionary Soldier had to live to a pretty ripe old age to get a pension..." This is purely and simply wrong. 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. Public acts, under which the majority of such pensions were authorized, encompassed large classes of veterans or their dependents who met common eligibility requirements. Private acts concerned specific individuals whose special services or circumstances merited consideration, but who could not be awarded pensions under existing public acts. Best regards, Ed -- For Revolutionary War information on the Internet, your first choice should be AMERICANREVOLUTION.ORG

Ed: Thank you for the information regarding the earlier acts for pensions and payments. I was commenting on the Act of 1832 under which I find most of the pension applications citing. Do you know if these various acts have been published on the Net so that we can read the complete text and amendments to the acts. And if so, can you provide a URL for them. Only one of my ancestors lived to be able to apply under that act. The others either died earlier or did not have Continental service so did not fall under the pension act. Some states were generous in providing land grants as payments or incentives to do service. Hence the heavy migration from the eastern states to the midwest. Unfortunately, I have read where so many of those men fought and then lost their homes because they could not pay taxes on their land because they were fighting a war and not harvesting crops, etc. It really was a shame that these men were subjected to such harsh actions after giving so much. I hope everyone who is working on their Revolutionary War ancestors keeps in mind the hardships they suffered along with their families and honor their memories by having a Plaque placed on their graves which the government provides for military veterans. As someone said: We should be doing this research for Them not Us. Tree Mother ----- Original Message ----- From: Ed St.Germain <Patriot1@americanrevolution.org> To: <AMERICAN-REVOLUTION-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 5:49 PM Subject: [A-REV] Re: rejected pensions > Someone said: "...You are indeed correct. A Revolutionary Soldier had to > live to a pretty ripe old age to get a pension..." > > This is purely and simply wrong. > > 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. > Public acts, under which the majority of such pensions were authorized, > encompassed large classes of veterans or their dependents who met common > eligibility requirements. Private acts concerned specific individuals > whose special services or circumstances merited consideration, but who > could not be awarded pensions under existing public acts. > > Best regards, > Ed > -- > For Revolutionary War information on the Internet, your first choice > should be AMERICANREVOLUTION.ORG > > > > ==== AMERICAN-REVOLUTION Mailing List ==== > > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >