Federal Revolutionary War Invalid Pension Claims, 1792-1795

This dataset contains the names and accompanying information of 573 Revolutionary War veterans who applied for federal “invalid” pensions between 1792 and 1795. As early as 1776, the Continental Congress authorized the provision of pensions to veterans who were “disabled in the service of the United States of America” and thereby rendered “incapable afterwards of getting a livelihood.” Veterans typically applied to district courts where district judges evaluated their deservingness of support and their particular “degrees” of disability (one quarter, one half, and so on) which corresponded with their pension amounts. District courts then transmitted veterans’ information and district judges’ decisions to the War Department for approval. This dataset is comprised of lists compiled by the Secretary of War and communicated to the United States Congress. These lists were later included in the American State Papers (Claims, Volume 1).

本数据集收录了1792年至1795年间申请联邦“伤残”抚恤金的573名美国独立战争退伍军人的姓名及相关附属信息。早在1776年，大陆会议便批准向“在美利坚合众国服役期间致残，进而丧失日后谋生能力”的退伍军人发放抚恤金。退伍军人通常向地区法院提出抚恤申请，由地区法官评估其抚恤资格适配情况，并核定其具体伤残等级（如四分之一、二分之一等），伤残等级与抚恤金发放标准直接对应。地区法院随后会将退伍军人的相关信息及法官的裁定提交至战争部进行审批。本数据集由战争部部长编制并呈交美国国会的名册汇编而成，这些名册后续被收录于《美国国家文献集（诉求类 第一卷）》中。