Honor Roll: Revolutionary War Pensions

On August 26, 1776, The Continental Congress passed the National Pension Act to cover those who were wounded or disabled during the Revolutionary War. The pension act was modified several times to include pensions to widows and orphans of Revolutionary War soldiers on August 24, 1780. The pension act of March 18, 1818, was not based on death, disability, or general service, but to those in “reduced circumstances.”

Christine Rose, CG, CGL, FASG
Military Pension Laws, 1776-1858,
Journals of the Continental Congress and the United States Statues-at-Large

Provided is a sample of pension records for Forgotten Patriots to be included in an upcoming series of books on the Forgotten Patriots.





Carney, Thomas	Private Thomas Carney enlisted & served as a private soldier in the Fifth Maryland Regiment of the Maryland line, where a William Richardson was Colonel, in the company of which John Hawkins was Captain, & served about three years under Col. Richardson & Captain Hawkins & continued to serve in that Regiment to the end of the revolutionary war, which at different times was commanded by Colonel John E. Howard [John Eager Howard], Col. Thomas Woolford & Colonel John Stewart, & in the said company also, which was commanded by different persons, after the resignation of Captain Hawkins; he was in the battle of Brandywine; Germantown; White Plains, Monmouth, Gates Defeat at Camden, at Camden under General Greene [2nd battle of Camden also known as the Battle of Hobkirk Hill, April 25, 1781], Guilford court house, Ninety Six & Eutaw Springs; he entered the service when the said Regiment was raised about the year 1776 enlisted first for three years, & then during the war, he left the service at the end of the war at the City of Annapolis in Maryland where he was discharged. Pension application of Thomas Carney S35203



Lomack, William	Private William Lomack enlisted by Captain James Curry as a private Soldier of the 2nd North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army of North Carolina of the revolutionary war of the United States in the year 1777 as well as this deponent recollects for the time of 5 years and was afterwards attached to Captain William Black's Company in said Regiment and at the Battle of Charleston SC this deponent was taken prisoner [May 12, 1780] by the British Troops, and made his escape from them and rejoined the said Regiment at Deep River NC under General Gates of the United States Army and was attached to Captain Anthony Sharp's Company of said NC Regiment and this deponent was honorably discharged at Black River SC about the first of July 1782 having served 5 years as aforesaid and was in the heat of the Battles of Trenton New Jersey [December 26, 1776], Charleston SC, Stono SC [June 12, 1779], Eutaw Springs [September 8, 1791], SC in which battle this deponent received two wounds one in his ~~right~~ Thigh and one wound in his side under his arm. This deponent further saith that after being discharged he was in the Battle of Guilford N. C. [March 15, 1781] as a volunteer. Pension application of William Lomack S41783.





Perkins, Isaac	Private Isaac Perkins enlisted as private soldier in the tenth North Carolina Regiment in the Continental linein the year One thousand seven hundred and seventy seven, in the Company commanded by Captain Silas Sears Stevenson, was marched to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, where the tenth Regiment was distributed & deponent passed into the Second Regiment and into the Company commanded by Captain Clement Hall. he served in that regiment in its Northern Campaigns, marched with it to South Carolina and was taken prisoner at Charleston--he escaped from the enemy and returned to North Carolina & served until peace in the Militia of the State. His whole service in the Continental line of the State of North Carolina against the Common Enemy exceeded three years. Pension application of Isaac Perkins S41953.