Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Prince Edward County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1818-1850. Local government records collection, Prince Edward County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Prince Edward County.

Processing Information

Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1818-1850, were removed from the Prince Edward County Court papers and processed by G. Crawford. 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: August 2017; updated by M. Long: July 2024.

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: Prince Edward County was named in honor of Edward Augustus, a son of Prince Frederick Louis, a grandson of King George II, and a younger brother of King George III. The county was formed from Amelia County in 1753. The county court first met on 8 January 1754.

Scope and Content

Prince Edward County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1818-1850, 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.

Notable records in this collection include pension papers for David Anderson, a soldier who claimed to have experienced a rupture during the crossing of the Delaware but was denied aid because the injury did not occur during active battle; William Scott, a soldier who details pranks his unit pulled on their commanding officer; and James Woolridge, a soldier who was present at the 1777 Treaty of Long Island of Holston between North Carolina officials and a group of “subscribing chiefs” of the Cherokee Nation in the Overhill region, most notably Attakullakulla (called "Little Carpenter" by the British and Americans).

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

Related Material

See also the Prince Edward County (Va.) Military and Pension Records, 1902-1916 at the Library of Virginia.

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

Adjunct Descriptive Data