Federal Revolutionary War Invalid Pension Claims, 1792-1795
Penn collection
Discipline
Subject
pension
military
disability
American Studies
Disability Studies
History
Military History
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Grant number
Date issued
Distributor
Related resources
https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=0&article=1046&context=mead&type=additional
Author
Contributor
Abstract
This dataset contains the names and accompanying information of 573 Revolutionary War veterans who applied for federal “invalid” pensions between 1792 and 1795. As early as 1776, the Continental Congress authorized the provision of pensions to veterans who were “disabled in the service of the United States of America” and thereby rendered “incapable afterwards of getting a livelihood.” Veterans typically applied to district courts where district judges evaluated their deservingness of support and their particular “degrees” of disability (one quarter, one half, and so on) which corresponded with their pension amounts. District courts then transmitted veterans’ information and district judges’ decisions to the War Department for approval. This dataset is comprised of lists compiled by the Secretary of War and communicated to the United States Congress. These lists were later included in the American State Papers (Claims, Volume 1).
This dataset is a part of the Magazine of American Datasets (MEAD). To view more of the collection, visit https://repository.upenn.edu/exhibits/orgunit/mead.