When the Federal Government passed their first Revolutionary War Claims in 1818, few soldiers qualified. By the 1830s, many of the soldiers had died and most of those that remained were getting on into old age. They were a proud people and to have to admit poverty in order to claim a meager pension was devastating to their pride. In 1832, the Pension Act was changed by Congress and the soldier no longer had to claim poverty as a reason for their pension. In reading these pension applications, we have to remember that memories have faded somewhat and dates and names may be in error. Usually, the Battles are remembered, but commanders, etc. are frequently in error. In these applications, generally, the place of birth, marriage, names of children, and most of the facts are fairly correct. The discharge papers are frequently lost or 'burned'. It is not unusual for the actual marriage license to be included and sometime even the pages out of the family Bible are sent as proof. Since the majority of Revolutionary War records for Bedford County are unavailable, this volume affords a brief glimpse into a time of hardship and deprivation and of a generation of men laying the foundation that today makes the United States great. Each entry contains the entire text of the pension application as written by the soldier or widow. The information in each entry differs but each contains a synopsis of the soldier's military service.
Ann Chilton
8.5" x 11", paper, indexed, 59 pp.
ISBN: 9780788492884
101E-VA0230
