Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Albemarle County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1818-1845. Local government records collection, Albemarle County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Albemarle County.

Processing Information

Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1818-1845 were removed from the Albemarle County Court papers and processed by E. Woodward. Declarations filed by former soldiers rather than their widows and heirs, ranging from 1818 to 1833, were reprocessed and indexed as a distinct unit by M. Long.

Encoded by G. Crawford: February 2012; updated by M. Long: December 2023.

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: In 1818, Congress passed the first of three major Revolutionary War pension acts. The act granted lifetime pensions to all men who had served as regular army soldiers in the Continental Line and who could demonstrate financial need. Prior to the passage of this act, pensions had been restricted to former soldiers who were no longer able to support themselves due to injuries sustained while in service. The second act, passed by Congress in 1820, required applicants to provide more concrete evidence of this financial need in the form of a certified inventory of his property and income. They also had to include an account of all members of the applicant's family, including their health and ability to contribute to household income. In 1832, the third act extended pension benefits to include soldiers who had served in the state troops or militia. Congress also passed a related act in 1836 granting pensions to the widows and orphans of Revolutionary War veterans.

Locality History: Albemarle County was named for William Anne Keppel, second earl of Albemarle, and governor of Virginia from 1737 to 1754. It was created by a statute of 1744 and formed from Goochland County; part of Louisa County was added in 1761 and islands in the Fluvanna (now the James) River in 1770. The court met for the first time on 8 February 1745. The county seat is the city of Charlottesville.

Lost Locality Note: Albemarle is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. All order books except the first and many loose papers between 1748 and 1781 were destroyed by British general Banastre Tarleton’s raid on Charlottesville in 1781 during the Revolutionary War.

Scope and Content

Albemarle County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1818-1845, primarily record the declarations of individuals seeking to obtain Revolutionary War pensions provided by various acts of Congress. The applicants present detailed testimony of their time of service during the Revolutionary War. Information found in the declarations include date and location applicants entered into service, names of military companies they served in, names of military commanders they served under, names of fellow soldiers they served with, length of service, their age, and their place of birth. The predominant portion of the declarations are narratives of their tours of duty during the Revolutionary War with emphasis on battles they fought. The declarations also include affidavits from witnesses who could verify information provided by applicants.

Applicants in this series reported to have served in various Virginia military units, including the 1st Virginia Regiment of Militia; Albemarle County militia; Albemarle County militia, Picket service; Albemarle Minute Company; Albemarle Barracks Guards; Albemarle Barracks Public Service; Augusta County militia; Charlottesville guards; Fluvanna County militia; Hanover County militia; Jamestown Magazine Guards; Pittsylvania County militia; Shenandoah County militia; Spotsylvania County Minute Company; Winchester militia; 1st Virginia Regiment; 1st Virginia Regiment, Artillery; 2nd Virginia Regiment; 3rd Virginia Regiment; 3rd Virginia Regiment, Brigade; 5th Virginia Regiment; 6th Virginia Regiment, Company of Riflemen; 7th Virginia Regiment; 9th Virginia Regiment; 9th Virginia Regiment, Company of Riflemen; 10th Virginia Regiment; 14th Virginia Regiment; 17th Virginia Regiment; Virginia Light Infantry; and the Virginia militia and Virginia Continental Line generally.

Applicants also reported serving in many units outside of Virginia, including the 1st Maryland Regiment; 2nd Maryland Regiment; Congress's Regiment; Massachusetts Core of Artificers; Pennsylvania Artillery; the Delaware Blues Regiment; Maryland militia; Pennsylvania militia; Virginia Continental Line; Georgia Continental Line; Maryland Continental Line; North Carolina Continental Line; Pennsylvania Continental Line; and the general Continental Establishment.

Applicants also gave accounts of being present during several military engagements, including the Battle of Brandywine; Battle of Brusnwick; Battle of Burgoyne; Battle of Camden; Battle of Crabtree; Battle of Cowpens; Battle of Eutaw Springs; Battle of Germantown; Battle of Guilford Courthouse; Battle of Hampton; Battle of Hobwater; Battle of James Island; Battle of Jamestown; Battle of King's Mountain; Battle of Lemotte; Battle of Longbridge; Battle of Monck's Corner; Battle of Monmouth; Battle of Sandy Point; Battle of Savannah; Battle of Staten Island; Battle of Stony Point; Battle of Tuskarora; Battle of Williamsburg; Siege of Ninety-Six; Siege of Yorktown; tour against the Seneca Nation; taking of the Hessians at Trenton; and LaFayette's Wild Goose Chase.

Significant materials in this collection include the pension declarations of two free Black soldiers, Richard Spinner and Sherard Goin (also spelled Sherod or Sherwood Gowing). Other notable trends include records related to a military movement referred to as "Lafayette's Wild Goose Chase," soldiers who became ill during the war and suffered from lifelong symptoms as a result, the hiring of substitutes to cover mandatory militia service, and a substantial number of men who were engaged in service at the prisoner-of-war camp known as the Albemarle Barracks.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

Related Material

See also the Albemarle County (Va.) Military and Pension Records, 1785-1919 at the Library of Virginia.

Additional Albemarle County Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Albemarle is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Albemarle Records may be found in the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection available on the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection available at Virginia Memory.

Adjunct Descriptive Data