Without being aware of the finer points of the 1871 U. S. law concerning pensions for the War of 1812, I ordered the one for my ggg-grandfather Jacob Strator. I was surprised to discover that he had to take an oath as follows: ".....that he, at no time during the late rebellion against the authority of the United States, adhered to the cause of the enemies of the Government, giving them aid or comfort, or exercised the functions of any office whatever under any authority, or pretended authority, in hostility to the United States....." So, if your ancestor remained in Sumner County during "the late rebellion" -- The Civil War -- chances of his qualifying for a pension are quite small. Since the application had to be filed with the local postmaster and the local postmaster was James Peacock, a notorious carpetbagger who had been active in local politics throughout the period of Union occupation and Reconstruction, the law was strictly enforced. The Strator family seemed destined to choose sides against their neighbors. Jacob's father had been a Tory sympathizer during the Revolution and had his lands confiscated by the NC government as a result. These are my black sheep. Joyce