Military Monday - Determining Civil War pensions

Last week I wrote about receiving the Civil War pension document for my GGG Grandfather, Joseph Creed. Nancy, of My Ancestors and Me, brought up a good discussion point: Could the date of filing for the pension, 1915, really be right? That led me to wonder what the process was for determining pension benefits for Civil War Soldiers.

According to a history of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, following the Civil War pensions were only authorized to Soldiers that were discharged due to an illness or injury. Then in 1890, The Dependent Pension Act of 1890 broadened the requirements for pension to include a veteran that had served more than 3 months and was unable to conduct manual labor due to their service-related injuries or illnesses. It stated the following:

"That all persons who served ninety days or more in the military or naval service of the United States during the late war of the rebellion and who have been honorably discharged therefrom, and who are now or who may hereafter be suffering from a mental or physical disability of a permanent character, not the result of their own vicious habits, which incapacitates them from the performance of manual labor in such a degree as to render them unable to earn a support, shall, upon making due proof of the fact according to such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may provide, be placed upon the list of invalid pensioners of the United States, and be entitled to receive a pension not exceeding twelve dollars per month, and not less than six dollars per month, proportioned to the degree of inability to earn a support; and such pension shall commence from the date of the filing of the application in the Pension Office after the passage of this act, upon proof that the disability then existed, and shall continue during the existence of the same."

Spouses, dependent children and dependent parents were also allowed to file for the pension. In three years the number of Civil War pensioners rose by 500,000 and the total pay-out amount doubled. The Sherwood Act of 1912 broadened the scope for pensions once again, allowing all Union Soldiers a pension at age 62 regardless of any notable disability. Note that Confederate Soldiers were not authorized a federal pension, but would have instead filed for a pension within the state they lived in. These pensions were often only for indigent or disabled Soldiers.

Sources:
Glasson, William Henry. History of military pension legislation in the United States, Columbia University, 1900, pg. 114
Confederate Pension Records, The National Archives, December 12, 2007

Civil War Pension File...Is it worth it? - Military Monday

Last week I received the full military pension file (NATF 85D) for Joseph M. Creed that I first mentioned here. The file came in less then a month. I received two CDs with PDF files and amazingly, there were still additional documents so I had to send another $16 to the NARA for the last of the copies. All told the file cost me $91. Was it worth it?

The long and the short is no, with a caveat. I must first point out that I have completed quite a bit of research on this particular ancestor over the years. I have been to the county where he lived the last half of his life, I have visited his grave. I have spoken to the local historian there, I have ordered land documents, I have every file available on Fold3 for Joseph Creed. I have even located photos through a distant cousin. So what was I hoping to learn from a pension file? I suppose I was hoping to learn a little more about his service. I know the units he was assigned to, but I was hoping that I would glean just a little more about his actual experience.

Alas, that was not to be. In fact, I must admit that I learned very little that I didn't already know. I now know that he had the measles during the war which he claimed caused the health problems he faced at the end of his life. I now know his brother-in-law's wife's maiden name. Obscure, but nice to know anyway.

So, is a full pension file the right option for you? It depends. Don't get me wrong, I'm always glad to add another piece of evidence to my pile so I'm happy I ordered the pension file. But I don't know that I would do it again, at least not for an ancestor I had few brick walls on. In my case, the pension file served to round out my information on this individual and add another source to my list. However, if you have a civil war ancestor that you know very little about the pension file is worth your money. The NARA does offer a Pension Documents Packet for $25 which provides the most genealogical rich documents of a Pension Application file. This is a more cost-efficient option, but would leave out quite a bit of the "meat" that may be found interesting. Here are just some of the genealogical items contained in the file (Note: File contents will vary).

• Soldier's birth date and location
• Soldier's physical description
• Wife's maiden name
• Affidavits indicating marriage date, place and names of individuals present
• Affidavits of service-related injuries (in my case this included statements from the neighbors that noticed his frostbite!)
• A full list of children with names and birth dates
• Physical description
• Military unit and time served
• Places lived since military service

A list of Joseph M. Creed's children and their birth dates.

Overall the full pension file is full of fascinating information and is a must have for someone very interested in their ancestor's military history. If you are just looking for names and dates I recommend the Pensions Document Packet (NATF 85B).