NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE GENERAL …

NATIONAL ARCHIVES MICROFILM PUBLICATIONS

NATIONAL A R C H I V E S AND RECORDS SERVICE

G E N E R A L S E R V I C E S ADMINISTRATION

W A S H I N G T O N : 1973

RICHARD NIXONPresident of the United States

ARTHUR F.SAMPSONActing Administrator of General Services

JAMES B. RHOADSArchivist of the United States

The records reproduced in the microfilm publication

are from

Records of the Veterans Administration

Record Group 15

in the National Archives Building

VIRGINIA HALF PAY ANDOTHER RELATED REVOLUTIONARY WAR

PENSION APPLICATION FILES

On the 18 rolls of this microfilm publication are reproduced279 pension application files based on military and naval servicein the Revolutionary War. The files originated in the Office ofthe Third Auditor of the Treasury Department, and a large numberof them pertain to half-pay pensions of Virginia soldiers andsailors. There is generally an envelope for each soldier orsailor that contains applications for pensions based on his ser-vice. A few records, or copies of records, are dated as early as1778, but most of the documents in the files are dated between1830 and 1875. They are part of Records of the Veterans Admin-istration, Record Group 15.

For more than a century before the beginning of the Revolu-tionary War, British Colonies in North America provided pensionsfor disabled soldiers and sailors. During and after the Revolu-tionary War, three principal types of pensions were provided bythe U.S. Government for servicemen and their dependents. "Dis-ability" or "invalid pensions" were awarded to servicementforphysical disabilities incurred in the line of duty; "servicepensions," to veterans who served for specified periods of time;and "widows' pensions," to women whose husbands had been killedin the war or were veterans who had served for specified periodsof time.

During the time the U.S. Congress was enacting laws grantingincreasingly generous pensions to Revolutionary War soldiers, theStates were also passing legislation to encourage or reward mili-tary service. In May 1779 the General Assembly of Virginia au-thorized the payment of half pay for life to the State's militaryand naval officers, including chaplains, physicians, surgeons,and surgeons' mates, who served until the end of the war in Stateunits within the State's borders or in the Continental Army.

Following the cessation of hostilities, many Virginia officerspresented half-pay claims, which were disallowed by the VirginiaState Auditor. Certain of the officers brought suit in theVirginia courts, and after several years of litigation the Statecourts declared the claims to be valid. Virginia then sought tohave the U.S. Government assume the obligation, stating that theState was not financially able to satisfy the claims of the offi-cers due to the cession to the United States of large tracts ofland northwest of the Ohio River. Many of the officers presentingclaims had served in this northwest territory during the Revolu-tionary War. Virginia pointed out that the deed of cession ofthe territory on March 1, 1784, provided "that the necessary andreasonable expenses incurred by the State of Virginia in subduingany British posts, or in maintaining forts or garrisons within,and for the defence, or in acquiring any part of the territory soceded or relinquished, shall be fully reimbursed by the United

States." In addition, Virginia claimed that certain other Statetroops had actually served in the Continental Army and that theirclaims should rightfully be paid by the National Government.

An act of July 5, 1832, directed the Secretary of the Treas-ury to reimburse the State of Virginia for half-pay pension pay-ments made to the officers of the Virginia State Navy and certaindesignated units of the Virginia Line: Col. George Gibson'sRegiment; the Second State Regiment, commanded by Cols. WilliamBrent and Charles Dabney; the regiments commanded by Cols. GeorgeRogers Clark and Joseph Crockett; Capt. John Roger's troop ofcavalry; the regiment of State artillery commanded by Col. ThomasMarshall; the State garrison regiment commanded by Col. GeorgeMuter; and the State cavalry commanded by Maj. John Nelson. TheSecretary of the Treasury was further directed in the same act toassume any additional pension payments to officers of these units.The designated units served during the Revolutionary War in theContinental Army or on Virginia's northwest frontier.

In 1835 the responsibility for administering claims underthe act of July 5, 1832, was transferred to the War Department,which administered most of the other Federal pension legislationbenefiting Revolutionary War veterans. In 1849 general respon-sibility for pension legislation in the Federal Government wasplaced in the newly organized"Department of the Interior, and in1930 the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department and otheroffices concerned with veterans were consolidated to form theVeterans Administration. Approximately eighty thousand pensionand bounty land warrant application files based on military, naval,and marine service in the Revolutionary War were subsequentlyaccessioned by the National Archives as part of the records of theVeterans Administration.

The pension files reproduced in this publication differ fromthe main series of Revolutionary War pension files in that theyoriginated in the Office of the Third Auditor of the TreasuryDepartment. The files were originally a collection of documentsfrom many sources concerning applications by the heirs of deceasedpensioners for arrearages of pensions. Such claims were generallysettled, in the mid-19th century, in the Third Auditor's Office.Most of the claims relate to Virginia half-pay pensions, but someof them relate to claims under other Revolutionary War pensionacts. A few of the files pertain to veterans of the Mexican,Indian, and Civil Wars. Many of the records were borrowed by theThird Auditor from the Bureau of Pensions, and there is a greatdeal of correspondence in the files between the Commissioner ofPensions and the Third Auditor concerning the claims and thetransfer of records.

The files were transferred from the Treasury Department tothe Navy Department in the second decade of the 20th century.The Navy Department retained those files that related to officersof the Virginia State Navy and forwarded the remaining files to

the Adjutant General's Office of the War Department. The recordswere transferred to the National Archives in 1941 from the Navyand War Departments in two transactions, sometimes referred to asAccessions 837 and 874. The National Archives allocated the pen-sion files to Records of the Veterans Administration, RecordGroup 15.

Most of the veterans with pension files in this publicationalso have pension files in the main series of Revolutionary Warpension and bounty land warrant applications. The files are oftenclosely related. Documents appointing an administrator for theestate of a deceased veteran, for example, may appear in theveteran's file in the main series, and correspondence relating tothe same appointment may appear in the veteran's file reproducedin this publication. The main series of Revolutionary War pensionand bounty land warrant applications also contains Virginia half-pay claims for which there are no related files in this publica-tion.

The pension files generally consist of an envelope for eachsoldier or sailor and contain originals and copies of militaryorders, payrolls, and muster rolls; applications for pensions andarrearages of pensions; sworn statements of individuals attestingto the veracity of the service of the pensioner and the heirshipof the applicants; powers of attorney; letters of administration;wills; vouchers showing payment of claims; pension certificates;correspondence; and other records. Most of the soldiers' filesalso contain a 3 x 8 card on which is a typed summary of the majorgenealogical information in the records. A typical file may con-tain approximately 50 documents.

The pension files are arranged in two series, one relatingto soldiers and one relating to sailors, and thereunder alpha-betically by surname of soldier or sailor. Both of the seriescontain files relating to Virginia half-pay claims, and the seriesof soldiers' files also contains pension applications under otherRevolutionary War and later acts. The pension files of soldiers,which are filmed first, were assigned numbers by the AdjutantGeneral's Office ranging from 050000 to 050201. The numbers area continuation of the numbers assigned to miscellaneous Revolu-tionary War records (The Manuscript File) in the War DepartmentCollection of Revolutionary War Records. The envelopes of sol-diers' pension files are labeled with the number assigned by theAdjutant General's Office; the accession number assigned by theNational Archives; the name of the veteran-, sometimes with variantspellings of his name; references to any related pension files;the State for which the veteran served; and the designation "HalfPay" or "Not Half Pay." The files designated "Half Pay" pertainto claims under the act of July 5, 1832. Those designated "NotHalf Pay" pertain to claims under other acts.

The envelopes of sailors' pension files are generally labeledwith the sailor's name, rank, ship, references to related pensionfiles, and the designation "Virginia State Navy, YS File." "YS"is a file designation for the Virginia State Navy pensions fromthe Subject File of the Naval Records Collection of the Office ofNaval Records and Library, Record Group 45. A few pension filesrelating to marines are also included in this series.

Within the envelopes, the documents are unarranged except incases where the file consists of more than 10 pages. In theseinstances the documents containing the more significant genealo-gical information have been placed first, preceded by a sheetentitled "Selected Records." All remaining documents in suchfiles are unarranged and are preceded by a sheet entitled "Non-selected Records."

The appendix that follows this introduction lists the namesof the veterans with pension files in this publication and thecitations of related pension files in the main series of Revolu-tionary War pension and bounty land warrant application files.The appendix also indicates which of the veterans served in Vir-ginia military and naval forces.

Indexes

The names of most of the soldiers and sailors for whom thereare pension application files reproduced in this microfilm publi-cation are listed in Max E. Hoyt's Index to Revolutionary War Pen-sion Applications (Washington, D.C.: National Genealogical Society,1966). Much of the information in the files and additional infor-mation from other sources concerning the Virginia military andnaval forces has been published in Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh's Revo-lutionary War Records, Volume 1, Virginia (Washington, 1936).

Related Records

The main series of pension and bounty land warrant applicationfiles based on the service of Revolutionary War military, naval,and marine personnel has been reproduced as National ArchivesMicrofilm Publication M804, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files, and M805, Selected Records FromRevolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant ApplicationFiles.

Additional information concerning the military service ofRevolutionary War soldiers and sailors.is available in the WarDepartment Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group93. Most of the returns, muster rolls, and payrolls in the Collec-tion have been published as M246, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783. Abstracts made from these records and transcribed onto cardsfor each soldier or sailor are available as M881, Compiled ServiceRecords of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the

Revolutionary War, and M880, Compiled Service Records of AmericanNaval Personnel and Members of the Departments of the Quarter-master General and the Commissary General of Military Stores WhoServed During the Revolutionary War. A name index to both seriesof compiled service records is available as M860, General Indexto the Compiled Military Service Records of Revolutionary WarSoldiers.

The following unbound records and record books from the WarDepartment Collection of Revolutionary War Records have also beenfilmed: M859, Miscellaneous Numbered Records (The Manuscript File)in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records*1775-1790's, and M853, Numbered Record Books Concerning MilitaryOperations and Servicef Pay and Settlement of Accountst andSupplies in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary WarRecords. A name index to these two series is available as M847,Special Index to Numbered Records in the War Department Collectionof Revolutionary War Records, 2775-1783.

Naval records relating to the Revolutionary War period canalso be found in the Naval Records Collection of the Office ofNaval Records and Library, Record Group 45. An important seriesfrom this record group is available on microfilm as M625, AreaFile of the Naval Records Collection, 1775-1910.

Additional records relating to the Virginia half-pay claimsand the Third Auditor's activities can be found in Records of theVeterans Administration, Record Group 15, and Records of theUnited States General Accounting Office, Record Group 217.

These introductory remarks were written by Marie B. Allen.

APPENDIX

Pension File (M910)

Adams, JohnAllen, John *Allerton, JohnAndrason, EzekielAndrews, Robert *Applewhaite, John **Archer, John **Armistead, Thomas *Armistead, William *Bailey, John *Banks, James **Barnes, JamesBarron, James **Barron, Richard **Barron, Samuel **Bartlett, Philip **Bayly, Laban **Baytop, John *Becker, BarentBeckwith, WilliamBennett, ThomasBennett, William **Berry, WilliamBishop, BenjaminBlair, JohnBlakley, ObedBoas, HenryBonewell, Thomas **Booth, William **Boush, Charles **Boush, Robert *Boyd, JamesBrashears, Richard *Bray, Elisha C.Brenton, JohnBressie, Thomas *Britain, John **Brophy, MichaelBrooke, Walter **Brown, JohnBrown, Robert *Browning, Isaac *Calvitt, Joseph *Cannon, Jesse **

Related Pension File (M804)

John Adams W23415John Allen (n.n.)John Allerton R151Ezekiel Andrason W23456Robert Andrews R12123John Applewhaite R12129John Archer W5348Thomas Armistead R12157William Armistead R12155

James Banks W5762James Barnes S39968James Barron W12264Richard Barron R5Samuel Barron R6Philip Bartlett R7Laban Bayly RlJohn Baytop R19357Barent Becker SI2193William Beckwith S2071Thomas Bennett S12154William Bennett R8William Berry S2371Benjamin Bishop S32119

Obed Blakley S44629Henry Boas S16053Thomas Bonnewell RIOWilliam Booth RllCharles S. Boush R12Robert Boush R19366James Boyd S32127Richard Brashears R12756

John Brenton SI6059Thomas Bressie R12763John Brittain R13

Walter Brooke R14John Brown R1277Robert Brown R12652Isaac Browning R12796Joseph Calvert R12980Jesse Cannon R19

* Virginia soldiers** Virginia sailors

Pension File (M910) Related Pension File (M804)

Cannon, Luke **Gary, Samuel *Catlett, George **Chamberlain, George **Chandler, Thomas **Chapline, Abraham *Cherry, William *Glower, DanielCole, Huldah (widow of Jacob)Cordill, JamesCordill, StephenCornett, WilliamCourtney, JamesCowen, WilliamCox, John **Crawley, Samuel *Creed, ColbyCrew, John **Crockett, Anthony *Crockett, Joseph *Crump, Abner *Dabney, Charles *Dalton, Valentine Thomas *Daring, Henry *Deaver, WilliamDe Kay, Charles **Diall, DanielDick, Alexander *Dickason, SamuelDigges, Dudley, Sr. *Diggs, Edward *Ditto, FrancisDobson, Robert **Doty, NathanielDougherty, James **Edinburgh, Sewell *Edmundson, Benjamin *Elder, Ephraim *Elliott, Bradford W.Elliott, George **Ellis, Abner S.Evans, AndrewEvans, Jesse *Evans, Joseph *Ewell, Charles *Ewell, Thomas *Field, Benjamin *Field, Theophilus **Fierer, Charles *Fleet, John *

Luke Cannon S46373Samuel Gary R13013George Catlett W2524George Chamberlaine R23Thomas Chandler R24Abraham Chapline R13134William Cherry R13143Daniel Glower S37865Jacob Cole W18930James Cordill S30344Stephen Cordill R2315William Cornett W6723James Courtney S9265William Cowen S2137John Cox S8223Samuel Crawley R13467Colby Creed S32194

Anthony Crockett SI0492Joseph Crockett S46377Abner Crump R13459Charles Dabney R13624Valentine Thomas Dalton W3610Henry Daring R2898William Deaver S12754Charles De Kay R34Daniel Diall S41506Alexander Dick R13751Samuel Dickason W285Dudley Digges, Sr. S8328Edward Diggs R13760Franz Dido W7017Robert Dobson R36Nathaniel Doty R3032James Dougherty R13659Sewell Edinburg R13947Benjamin Edmondson R13953Ephraim Elder W7471

George Elliott R38

Andrew Evans S3341Jesse Evans S15826

Charles Ewell W9432Thomas Ewell R14052Benjamin Field W3009Theophilus Field R60Charles Fierer R22811John Fleet R14208


Foushee, William *Fox, JosephGait, John Minson *Garberick, JohnGeorge, Jesse **George, Robert *Gibbs, Churchill *Gibbs, HarodGibson, John **Glenn, Bernard *Godwin, Joseph **Goffaghan, Laban **Goosely, George **Graves, William *Graves, William **Gray, James **Green, Samuel BallGrier, Charles *Griffin, Corbin **Gunsaulis, James *Hall, Robert **Hamestreet, IsaacHamilton, Thomas *Hardyman, John *Hard/man, John **Harris, John **Harrison, Richard *Hay, Joseph *Hayes, Thomas *Healy, Samuel **Henry, JosephHerbert, Pascow **Hinton, Lewis **Howland, AbrahamHumphlett, Thomas **Humphrey, MerritIngraham, JonathanJackson, SamuelJames, Michael **Jennings, John **Jennings,' William *Johnston, Gideon *Johnston, William **Jones, Charles **Jones, DavidJones, EliasKautzman, John V. **Keller, Abraham *Kelly, Thady *Kemp, James *Kennedy, James *

William Foushee R14223Joseph Fox W7292John Minson Gait R14353

Jesse George R51Robert George R14396Churchill Gibbs S46002Harod Gibbs W17947John Gibson R52Bernard Glenn R14477Joseph Godwin R53Laban Goffigan R54George Goosely R55William Graves R14570William Graves (n.n.)

Samuel B. Green S14649Charles Grier R14616Corbin Griffin R56James Gunsaulis S16397Robert Hall R40Isaac Hamestreet W17058Thomas Hamilton R14776John Hardyman R14719John Hardyman R14719John Harris R41Richard Harrison R14762Joseph Hay R14714Thomas Hayes W20375Samuel Healey R42Joseph Henry W10096Pasco Herbert R43Lewis Hinton S10831Abraham Howland S28767Thomas Humphlett R45Merrit Humphrey W5303Jonathan Ingraham S30505Samuel Jackson W945Michael James R47John Jennings R48William Jennings R15422Gideon Johnston S38089William E. Johnson R49Charles Jones R50David Jones S17517Elias Jones W1040John Valentine Kautzman R59Abraham Keller R15580Thady Kelly R15579James Kemp R15581James Kennedy R15594


KnightLand, LewisLandrum, Thomas **Laugh1in, JamesLipscomb, Yancy *Litchfield, CalebLivingston, Justice **Ludington, DanielLyon, John **Madden, WilliamMalcom, James **Mailory, JohnMarkham, James **Marshall, Humphrey *Marshall, James M. *Marshall, Jenifer **Marshall, Joseph **Marshall, Thomas *Marston, John *Martin, WilliamMassenburg, Alexander **Maxwell, James **Mays, Benj aminMazarett, John *McClurg, James *McClurg, Walter **McGavock, Hugh *McNickle, John **Minor, Thomas *Montgomery, James *Moore, AsaMoore, John **Moore, Peter *Muzzy, RobertNash, WilliamNeighbors, NathanNelson, John *Newton, JohnNicholson, Henry W. *Nicolson, Robert *Orton, DariusPalmer, JohnParker, Richard **Parker, William H. **Partridge, AsaPasteur, John **Peyton, John *Piper, John *Polk, JoabPope, Matthew *

Lewis Land W26200Thomas Landrum R61

Caleb Litchfield S13751Justice Livingston R64Daniel Ludington W27444John Lyon R66William Madden W9902James Malcom R68John Mailory W3436James Markham R72Humphrey Marshall S31234James M. Marshall S7173Jenepher Marshall R70Joseph Marshall R69Thomas Marshall R16057John Marston R16031William Martin S9396Alexander Massenburg R16060James Maxwell R73Benjamin Mays R7054John Mazarett R16059

Walter Maclurg R66117Hugh McGavock S16948John McNickle R74Thomas Minor W5374James Montgomery R16521Asa Moore W3030John Moore R78Peter Moore W25716Robert Muzzy S43057William Nash S4597Nathan Nabors S35534John Nelson W5414John Newton W9589Henry W. Nicholson R16768Robert Nicholson W5422Darius Orton S14055John Palmer S8928Richard Parker R81William H. Parker R82Asa Partridge W16053John Pasteur R83John Peyton, BLWt 1641-300John Piper R17110Joab Polk S36236Matthew Pope R17152


Quarles, Henry *(Diaries, James *Quarles, Wharton *Quirk, Thomas *Ravenscroft, Thomas *Rey, Andrea *Reynolds, John **Reynolds, William *Ridgeway, IsaacRiely or Riley, John *Roberts, John *Roberts, William *Robertson, ZachariahRobinson, CharlesRobinson, JohnRoe, William **Rogers, John **Rogers, John *Ross, LemuelRucker, Angus *Runnals, JesseRusk, JamesRussell, Charles *Russey, JamesSacrey, JamesSales, CharlesSounders, Joseph **Saunders, William **Schoolcraft, LawrenceSelden, Wilson Gary *Severance, SamuelShaffer, JohnShea, PatrickSimpson, Hancock **Skinner, William **Slaughter, James *Slaughter, William *Smith, Granville *Southworth, WilliamSpeake, Joseph **Spencer, William *Steele, William **Stone, RowlandStory, DanielStraley, AndrewSwope, John **Tabb, Augustin *Taylor, Richard **Thomas, Mark *Thompson, Sherod

Henry Quarles R17253James Quarles R17254Wharton Quarles R17252Thomas Quirk W5958Thomas Ravenscraft SI248Andrea Rey R17309John Reynolds R85William Reynolds R17380Isaac Ridgway S23874John Riely S31331John Roberts R17483William Roberts R17484Zachariah Robertson S35632Charles Robinson W9267John Robison W24798William Roe R87John Rogers R88John Rogers (n.n.)Lemuel Ross S33577Angus Rucker SI9068Jesse Runnals W4580James Rusk S40369Charles Russell R17603James Russey W1697James Sacrey S35643

Joseph Saunders S17073William Saunders R89Lawrence Schoolcraft S42260Wilson Gary Selden S4815Samuel Severance W3118John Shaffer S3899

William Skinner R92James Slaughter S31370William Slaughter R17891Granville Smith R17957William Southworth S40479Joseph Speake R95William Spencer R18076William Steele R96Rowland Stone S1257Daniel Story R10233Andrew Straley S38406John Swope R98Augustin Tabb R18331Richard Taylor S25873Mark Thomas R18446Sherod Thompson S32012

10


Tinsley, Samuel *Travis, Edward **Triplett, George *Tupman, John **Turbyfill, JohnTurnbull, Stephen *Upshaw, Thomas *Valentine, Edward *Valentine, Josiah *Vawter, William *Vowles, Charles *Vowles, Henry *Walls, George *Ward, ElnathanWatlington, John *Welch, Nathaniel *Westcott, Wright **Wheaton, ReubenWhite, Thomas *White, William S. **Wilkerson, WilliamWilkinson, IchabodWilkinson, ReubenWilliams, John *Williams, John *Williams, LewWilson, Thomas *Wilson, Willis **Withers, James *Woneycott, Edward **Woodson, Frederick *Worthington, Edward i

Wray, HenryYeates, John *

Samuel Tinsley S6243Edward Travis R103George Triplett W607John Tupman R104John Turbyfill S7770Stephen Turbull R18602Thomas Upshaw R18623Edward Valentine R18626Josiah Valentine R18628William Vawter R10921Charles Vowles R18701Henry Vowles R18700George Walls R18785

John Watlington W4097Nathaniel Welch R18894Wright Westcott R106Reuben Wheaton S24010

William S. White R107William Wilkerson S32602

Reuben Wilkinson S44214John Williams W6511John Williams R19105Lew Williams W1344Thomas Wilson W9007Willis Wilson R109James Withers W4399Edward Woneycutt R110Frederick Woodson R19214Edward Worthington R19205Henry Wray W6380John Yeates S7988

11

CONTENTS

Roll Pensions Relating to Soldiers

1 Adams - Berry2 Bishop - Browning3 Calvitt - Crump4 Dabney - Doty5 Edinburgh - Fox6 Gait - Gunsaulis7 Hamestreet - Jones8 Keller - Ludington9 Madden - Muzzy10 Nash - Quirk11 Ravenscroft - Russey12 Sacrey - Straley13 Tabb - Vowles14 Walls - Yeates

Pensions Relating to Sailors

15 Applewhaite - Crew16 De Kay - Humphlett17 James - Pasteur18 Reynolds - Woneycott

GSA DC 73- 138 10 12