A Guide to the Pittsylvania County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1820-1845,

Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Pittsylvania County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1820-1845. Local government records collection, Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County.

Processing Information

Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1820-1845, were removed from the Pittsylvania County Court papers and processed by G. Crawford. Declarations filed by former soldiers rather than their widows and heirs, ranging from 1820 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: Pittsylvania County was named in honor of William Pitt, earl of Chatham, a great English statesman. It was formed from Halifax County in 1766.

Scope and Content

Pittsylvania County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1820-1845, 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.

Notable records in this collection include pension papers for James Hopkins, a soldier who attempted to desert following the Battle of Camden due to poor living conditions and faced a Court of Inquiry; William Dove, a naval soldier who spent the war sailing back and forth to various European allies, most notably France, Spain, and Holland; and Avery Mustain, a soldier involved in a campaign against the Cherokee nation in what is now the state of Tennessee, wherein he describes efforts by the military to prevent the Cherokee people from returning to their territory through large scale destruction of their homes and agriculture.