Fairfax and Loudoun County Pension Applications
for Services Provided
During the American Revolution
By Phillip A. Ray
In an effort to provide a resource for individuals researching their Revolutionary War ancestors that were associated with either Fairfax or Loudoun County Virginia, the Fairfax Resolves Chapter has begun a project to compile the pension application transcriptions of those patriots into a single location. This effort represents a piece of the larger project to fully document all services of the patriots associated with Fairfax and Loudoun County. This ongoing project is a work in progress and will continually be updated as additional information and databases become available.
This first phase of the pension transcription project is made possible through the generosity of the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution. Their work has resulted in the transcriptions of over 5000 pensions from patriots that participated in the southern campaigns of the Revolutionary War, and we have linked copies of the Fairfax and Loudoun patriot pension applications to add to our growing database. All of their transcriptions were done by the individuals noted in the transcriptions and, at the request of Southern Campaigns, shall not be used for commercial purposes without their permission. If you would like to contribute to their transcription database, please contact them directly. If you have patriot service information related to a Fairfax or Loudoun County patriot, please contact the Fairfax Resolves Chapter for inclusion in our growing databases.
The data linked below represents the list of known pensioners associated with Fairfax and Loudoun County Virginia. The names have been categorized based on information provided in the pensions. Some names appear multiple times since various pieces of information were provided. For example, if a pension has information that the patriot was born, lived, and enlisted in Fairfax County, his name will appear in three locations. However, all three will link to the same pension transcription. In several cases, the patriot has no association with Fairfax or Loudoun County, other than the fact that they were present there during their service. Although this is not the intent of the project, these pensions have been included for completeness to show associated activities during the war effort.
Pension numerology followed the following pattern. If the pensioner applied and received a pension, his pension number was prefixed by an "S". If his widow received his pension, the pension number was prefixed with a "W", and if the pension was rejected, the prefix was an "R". Even though some applications were rejected, it is worthwhile reading the rejected pensions because they provide valuable genealogical data.
Note that Adobe Reader® (free) must be installed on your computer in order to read pension transcriptions.
Pension Acts1
Congress passed a number of pension acts providing benefits to soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War and their surviving widows. These acts are summarized, in chronological order, as follows:
• August 26, 1776: Act provided half pay to all officers and enlisted men disabled in the service of the US. This benefit was to continue as long as the disability rendered the recipient from being able to earn a living.
• May 15, 1778: Act provided for half pay for 7 years after the conclusion of the war for all officers in the Continental Line who remained in the service until the conclusion of the war. Enlisted men who remained in the Continental Line until the conclusion of the war were to receive a gratuity of $80 each.
• August 24, 1780: Act provided for half pay for 7 years for the widows and orphans of officers meeting the requirements of the May 15, 1778 Act.
• October 21, 1780: The May 15, 1778 Act was amended to provide for half pay for life to all officers meeting the criteria of the original Act.
• March 22, 1783: The May 15, 1778 Act again was amended to change the half pay for life to full pay for 5 years for officers meeting the criteria of the Act.
• September 29, 1789: Act provided for the Federal government to provide for 1 year pensions previously paid by the States to their disabled veterans. The 1-year limitation was extended by various acts thereafter.
• March 23, 1792: Act permitted Continental Line disabled veterans, not already receiving pensions, to apply directly to the Federal government for a pension.
• April 10, 1806: Act superseded all previous laws relating to pensions by disabled soldiers and expanded the scope of the March 23, 1792 legislation to benefit disabled veterans who served in State troops and militia units as well as disabled Continental Line veterans.
• March 18, 1818: Act provided lifetime pensions to poverty stricken Continental Line and US Navy veterans who had served at least 9 months or until the end of the war. So many applications were filed under this Act that the legislation was amended on May 1, 1820 to require applicants to submit certified schedules of income and assets with their applications and empowering the Secretary of War, in his sole discretion, to remove from the pension rolls such beneficiaries as he may determine were not in need of financial assistance. On March 1, 1823, Congress passed legislation which resulted in the restoration of some of the pensions disallowed by the Secretary.
• May 15, 1828: Act provided for full pay to surviving officers and enlisted men who qualified under the May 15, 1778 legislation without any requirement of being disabled or in financial need.
• June 7, 1832: Act provided for full pay for life for all officers and enlisted men who served at least 2 years in the Continental Line, the state troops or militia, the navy or marines. Men who served less than 2 years but more than 6 months were granted pensions of less than full pay. Benefits were payable without regard to financial need or disability and widows or children of were entitled to collect any unpaid benefits due from the last payment to a veteran until his death.
• July 4, 1836: Act provided that widows of veterans who qualified for benefits under the 1832 Act could claim his benefit if she married the veteran during the term of his active service in the Revolution.
• July 7, 1838: Act granted a 5-year pension to widows whose marriages took place prior to January 1, 1794. The benefits of this legislation were extended by acts passed March 3, 1843, June 17, 1844, and February 2, 1848.
• July 29, 1848: Act provided for lifetime pensions for widows of veterans if the marriage occurred prior to January 2, 1800. The limitations on pensions tied to the date of marriage of the widow were removed by legislation dated February 3, 1853 and February 28. 1855.
• March 9, 1878: Act provided lifetime benefits for any widow whose husband served as little as 14 days or who participated in any engagement during the Revolution.
1 http://www.davidsonsfort.com/pension%20acts%20revolutionary%20war.htm