War pensions can be a gold mine for genealogical information. Many pension applications will include the soldier’s information and their spouse. Many heirs also submitted applications and letters attesting to their relationship with the soldier. The following genealogy reference books include the names and application numbers for Revolutionary War and Civil War pension applications. With these names and/or numbers you can search Ancestry Library Edition for both wars. HeritageQuest has war pension records for the Revolutionary War. While reference books cannot be checked out, you can view them at the Headquarters Library.
Index of Revolutionary War Pension Applications by Sadye Giller
"Revision of the index which was previously published in serial installments in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 1943-64."
Revolutionary War Pension Applications from Franklin County, Tennessee by Charles A. Sherrill
"This index list persons in Franklin County, Tennessee who applied submitted applications for Revolutionary War pensions."
A Gillette Genealogy by Donna Gillette Gellerman
"This book contains two pension files, one for Rufus Gillett who served in the Revolutionary War and one for Thomas Gillett who served in the War of 1812. The copies of the file are from the National Archives in Washington DC."
Index of Revolutionary War Pension Applications in the National Archives by National Genealogical Society
"Revised at the National Archives and Records Service. Introduction and index to the National Archives and Records Service's microfilm edition of records of the Veterans Administration published under title: Revolutionary War pension and bounty-land warrant application files, 1800-1900."
Index to Old Wars Pension Files, 1815-1926 by Virgil D. White
"The Old Wars' files are primarily for claims based on death or disability incurred in the military service between the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783 and the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. Including those who did service during the War of 1812, the Indian Wars, and the Mexican War."
Letter from the Secretary of War Transmitting a Report of the Names, Rank, and Line of Every Person Placed on the Pension List, in Pursuance of the Act of the 18th March, 1818, &c.: January 20, 1820, Read, and Ordered to Lie on the Table by United States. War Department
"On March 18, 1818, Congress enacted legislation which 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. This list transmitted by the War Department contained the name, rank, and line, of every person inscribed on the pension roll."
War of 1812: Virginia Bounty Land & Pension Applicants: A Quick Reference Guide to Ancestors Having War of 1812 Service Who Served, Lived, Died, or Married in Virginia or West Virginia by Patrick G. Wardell
"The extracted biographical data on the War of 1812 bounty land warrant and pension applications found here is taken from the file jackets located at the National Archives. All applicants were in some way connected with Virginia or West Virginia."
Register of Florida CSA Pension Applications by Virgil D. White
"This register contains approximately 13,000 applications for Confederate pensions and has both an index for veterans and widows."
Index to U.S. Invalid Pension Records, 1801-1815 by Murtie June Clark
"This unique source of Revolutionary War pensioners contains information which does not appear in the Pension List of 1813 or the Pension List of 1818. According to the Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives, "many of these pensioners were Revolutionary War veterans whose papers were presumably destroyed in the War Department fires of 1800 and 1814."
Descriptions provided by the publisher.