Many Civil War veterans and their widows or other dependents received pensions from the U. S. government for their support. For those researchers whose ancestors received pensions for service, these files are arguably the single richest record group in terms of information contained within them.
Immediately after the war, these pensions were granted under the “General Law,” which provided pensions for soldiers who were disabled from injuries incurred during the war, and for the widows and dependents of deceased soldiers. On 27 June 1890, Congress passed another Act which allowed pensions for any veteran who could prove at least 90 days of service in the Civil War, an honorable discharge, and any disability not caused by “vicious habits” but not necessarily caused by service in the War. This Act also provided pensions to widows and dependents of veterans who were not killed during the War. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt issued an executive order granting pensions based on age, to any veteran over the age of sixty-two years. In 1907 and 1912 Congress passed Acts granting pensions based on age and the time of service.
Applying for a pension, and proving the conditions necessary to qualify for the pension, created quite a few documents that provide amazing detail into your ancestor’s life. The most common document is obviously proof of service during the War. For most soldiers, this is relatively straightforward, and may include either a document from the War Department detailing service, or affidavits from other soldiers with whom your ancestor served. However, this may also include some gems for former slaves who served in the U. S. Colored Troops. Some former slaves were enlisted in the service under their former owner’s surname, but later went by another name. The pension file might contain affidavits to this fact, detailing their choice of surname.
The next most common document(s) contained in the pension file would be proof of disability. This would include a doctor’s report of examination, as well as affidavits from the soldier explaining the source of the injury, whether during the War or otherwise. If contracted during the War, these affidavits will often detail battles in which the soldier fought, and was injured, any hospital stays during the War, etc.
Another common set of documents is found only in widows’ or dependents’ applications. Because a widow must have been married to the veteran, proof of marriage was necessary. This may be only a marriage certificate, but may also contain affidavits from the minister who performed the ceremony or others who witnessed the marriage, usually family members of either the bride or groom.
Questionnaires appear in some pension files, in which the soldier provided the names of all of his wives, and dates of marriage, as well as the names and dates of birth of all of the soldier’s children. In cases where a child died in infancy, this document may provide the only record of his life!
For pensions based on age, whether the soldier’s or a widow’s, proof of birth was necessary. In these cases, you will often find identification of your ancestor’s parents, and sometimes even a copy of a family Bible.
These examples are only the most common documents to be found in pension files. In dozens of pension files, this columnist has seen a wide variety of other records, including deeds to property as proof of income, investigations of denied claims, and even one case in which two people by the same name received pensions under the service of a single soldier. In this last case, the second applicant was likely a “contraband” soldier who applied for a pension nearly ten years after the original pensioner died. An investigation ensured, which provided details on the lives of both men.
For more information on the laws surrounding the granting of Civil War pensions, read this report published the Center for Population Economics.
Civil War pension files are held at the National Archives building in Washington, D. C. These can be ordered online or through the mail, directly from the Archives, for a fee of $75. Visit the Archives’ web site for more information.
This article has been posted on November 5, in response to the NaBloPoMo challenge of posting one article every day throughout the month of November.
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