Well we finely came to the end of the pension laws, there may not be to many on this page, as there were a lot of Bills on the Appropriation of money to pay the pensioners, and as they said little or thing about the pension laws none were put down on any of these pages. There is more then enough pension Bills on these three pages to tell you how and what your ancestors would get as a pension.
July 10, 1848
CHAP. XCIX. — An aet to extend the Provisions of existing Pension Lasts to enlisted Men of the Ordnance Corps of the United States .Army.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the acts of Congress granting pensions to soldiers disabled by wounds or otherwise, while in the line of their duty in public service, shall be construed to apply to the enlisted men of the ordnance department who have been or may be disabled, in the same manner as to non-commissioned officers, artificers, musicians, and privates of other corps of the army, subject to the limitation that in no such case shall the pension exceed the rate of eight dollars per month.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That those enlisted men of the ordnance department who have served, or may serve, in Mexico during the war with that country, shall be entitled to, and shall receive, the same bounty in land as is or may be allowed by law to other regular troops in the service of the United States, and under like limitations and restrictions.
APPROVED, July 10, 1848.
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July 21, 1848
CHAP. CVIII. — An act amending the .act entitled “An act granting Half- Pay to Widows or Orphans, where their Husbands and Fathers have died of Wounds received in the Military Service of the United States,” in Case of deceased Officers and Soldiers of the militia and Volunteers, passed July fourth, eighteen hundred and thirty-six.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of tile United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provisions of the first section of the act entitled “An Act granting half pay to widows or orphans, where their husbands and fathers have died of wounds received in the military service of the United States, in certain cases, and for other purposes,” approved July fourth, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, shall be applicable to all widows and orphans of officers non-commissioned officers,-musicians, and soldiers of the army of the United States, who were in the army of the United States on the first day of March, eighteen hundred and forty-six, or at any subsequent period during the present war between the United States and Mexico.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all widows and orphans of officers, noncommissioned officers, musicians, and privates, whether of the regular army or of volunteers, who have died since the first day of April, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, or who may die during the war with Mexico, from wounds received or from disease contracted while iii the line of duty, shall be entitled to the same rate of pension as is provided for in the first section of the fore mentioned act, under like limitations and restrictions: Provided, Said death has occurred, or may hereafter occur, while said officers, noncommissioned officers, musicians, or privates, were in the service of the United States, and in the line of duty; or while returning to their usual place of residence in the United States, after having received a discharge upon a surgeon’s certificate for disability incurred from wounds received, or disease contracted, while in the line of duty, or while on their march to join the army in Mexico: And provided further, That this act shall not be applicable to the widows and orphans of such officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, or privates, who have not served in Mexico, or at posts or stations on the borders of Mexico; except where such officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, or privates, have died while on their march to join the army in Mexico.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all pensions under this act shall be granted under such rules, regulations, restrictions, and limit such Lions as the Secretary of War, with the approbation of the President of the United States, may prescribe.
APPROVED, July 21, 1848.
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February 22, 1849
CHAP. LXII. — An act granting five Years Half Pay to certain Widows and Orphans of Officers, non-commissioned Officers, .Musicians, and Privates, both Regulars and Volunteers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provisions of the second section of the act entitled “An Act amending the act entitled ‘An Act granting half pay to widows or orphans, where their and fathers have died of wounds received in the military service of the United States, in eases of deceased officers and soldiers of the militia and volunteers,” approved July twenty-first, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, shall be so construed as to embrace all widows and orphans of officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates, whether of the regular army or of volunteers, who have received an honorable discharge, or who remained to the date of their death in the military service of the United States, and who have died, since their return to their usual place of residence, of wounds received, or from disease contracted while in line of duty, subject to such rules, regulations, and restrictions, as the Secretary of War, by the third section of said act, is authorized to impose.
APPROVED, February 22, 1849.
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February 3, 1853
CHAP. XLI.—An Act to continue Half-Pay to certain Widows and Orphans.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all widows and orphans who were granted and allowed five years half-pay by the provisions of the act approved the twenty-first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, entitled “An act amending the act granting half pay to widows or orphans where their husbands or fathers have died of wounds received in the military service of the United States, in case of deceased officers and soldiers of the militia and volunteers, passed July fourth, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six,” or an act approved the twenty-second day of February, one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, entitled “An act granting five years half-pay to certain widows and orphans of officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates, both regulars and volunteers,” be and they are hereby granted a continuance of said half-pay, under like limitations and restrictions, for a further period of five years, to commence at the expiration of the half Provisos, pay provided for by the aforesaid acts: Provided, however, That in case of the death or marriage of such widow before the expiration of said term of five years, the half-pay for the remainder of the term shall go to the child or children of the deceased officer or soldier, whilst under the age of sixteen years; and in like manner, the child or children of such deceased, when there is no widow, shall be paid no longer than while there is a child or children under the age aforesaid: And provided further, That no greater sum shall be allowed in any case to the widow or the child or children of any officer than the half-pay of a Lieutenant Colonel: And provided further, That the act approved the twenty-second of February, eighteen hundred and forty-nine, “granting five years half-pay to certain widows and orphans of officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates, both regular and volunteer,” be so extended and construed as to embrace the widows and minor heirs of the officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates of the regulars, militia, and volunteers of the war of eighteen hundred and twelve, and of the various Indian wars since seventeen hundred and ninety.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the widows of all officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates of the Revolutionary army, who were married subsequent to January, anno Domini eighteen hundred, shall be entitled to a pension in the same manner as those who were married before that date.
APPROVED, February 3, 1853.
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April 2, 1862
CHAP. LIII. —An Act to prohibit the Allowance or Payment of Pensions to the Children of Officers and Soldiers of the War of the Revolution.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the passage of this act no claim for a pension, or for an increase of pension, shall be allowed in favor of the children or other descendants of any person who served in the war of the Revolution, or of the widow of such person, when such person or his widow died without having established a claim to a pension.
APPROVED, April 2, 1862.
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Note. This is the Pension law for the Civil War.
July 14, 1862
CHAP. CLXVI. — An Act to grant Pensions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That if any officer, noncommissioned officer, musician, or private of the army, including regulars, volunteers, and militia, or any officer, warrant, or petty officer, musician, seaman, ordinary seaman, flotilla-man, marine, clerk, landsman, pilot, or other person in the navy or marine corps, has been, since the fourth day of arch, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or shall hereafter be, disabled by reason of any wound received or disease contracted while in the service of the United States, and in the line of duty, he shall, upon making due proof of the fact according to such forms and regulations as are or may be provided by or in pursuance of law, be placed upon the list of invalid pensions of the United States, and be entitled to receive, for the highest rate of disability, such pension as is hereinafter provided in such cases, and for an inferior disability an amount proportionate to the highest disability, to commence as hereinafter provided, and continue during the existence of such disability. The pension for a total disability for officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates employed in the military service of the United States, whether regulars, volunteers, or militia, and in the marine corps, shall be as follows, viz:
Lieutenant-colonel, and all officers of a higher rank, thirty dollars per month; major, twenty-five dollars per month; captain, twenty dollars per month; first lieutenant, seventeen dollars per month; second lieutenant, fifteen dollars per month; and non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates, eight dollars per month. The pension for total disability for officers, warrant, or petty officers, and others employed in the naval service of the United States, shall be as follows, viz: Captain, commander, surgeon, paymaster, and chief engineer, respectively, ranking with commander by law, lieutenant commanding, and master commanding, thirty dollars per month; lieutenant, surgeon, paymaster, and chief engineer, respectively, ranking with lieutenant by law, and passed assistant surgeon, twenty-five dollars per month; professor of mathematics, master, assistant surgeon, assistant paymaster, and chaplain, twenty dollars per month; first assistant engineers and pilots, fifteen dollars per month; passed midshipman, midshipman, captains’ and paymasters’ clerk, second and third assistant engineer, masters’ mate, and all warrant officers, ten dollars per month; all petty officers, and all other persons before named employed in the naval service, eight dollars per month; and all commissioned officers, of either service, shall receive such and only such pension as is herein provided for the rank in which they hold commissions.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any officer or other person named in the first section of this act has died since the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or shall hereafter die, by reason any wound received or disease contracted while in the service of the United States, and in the line of duty, his widow, or, if there be no widow, his child or children under sixteen years of age, shall be entitled to receive the same pension as the husband or father would have been entitled to had he been totally disabled, to commence from the death of the husband or father, and to continue to the widow during her widowhood, or to the child or children until they severally attain to the age of sixteen years, and no longer.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That where any officer or other person named in the first section of this act shall have died subsequently to the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or shall hereafter die, by reason of any wound received or disease contracted while in the service of the United States, and in the line of duty, and has not left or shall not leave a widow nor legitimate child, but has left shall leave a mother who was dependent upon him for support, in whole or in part, the mother shall be entitled to receive the same pension as such officer or other person would have been entitled to had he been totally disabled; which pension shall commence from the death of the officer other person dying as aforesaid: Provided, however, That if such mother shall herself be in receipt of a pension as a widow, in virtue of the provisions of the second section of this act, in that case no pension or allowance shall be granted to her on account of her son, unless she gives the other pension or allowance: And provided, further, That the pension given to a mother on account of her son shall terminate on her remarriage: And provided, further, That nothing herein shall be so construed as to entitle the mother of an officer or other person dying, aforesaid, to more than one pension at the same time under the provisions of this act.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That where any officer or other person named in the first section of this act shall have died subsequently to the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or shall here after die, by reason of any wound received or disease contracted while in the service of the United States, and in the line of duty, and has not left or shall not leave a widow, nor legitimate child, nor mother, but has left or may leave an orphan sister or sisters, under sixteen years of age, who were dependent upon him for support, in whole or in part, such sister or sisters shall be entitled to receive the same pension as such officer or other person would have been entitled to had he been totally disabled; which pension to said orphan shall commence from the death of the officer or other person dying as aforesaid, and shall continue to the said orphans until they severally arrive at the age of sixteen years, and no longer: Provided, however, That nothing herein shall be so construed as to entitle said orphans to more than one pension at the same time, under the proto visions of this act: And provided, further, That no moneys shall be paid to the widow, or children, or any heirs of any deceased soldier on account of bounty, back pay, or pension, who have in any way been engaged in or who have aided or abetted the existing rebellion in the United States; but the right of such disloyal widow or children, heir or heirs of such soldier, shall be vested in the loyal heir or heirs of the deceased, if any there be.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That pensions which may be granted, in pursuance of the provisions of this act, to persons who may have been, or shall be, employed in the military or naval service of the United States, shall commence on the day of the discharge of such persons in all cases in which the application for such provisions is filed within one year after the date of said discharge; and in cases in which the application is not filed during said year, pensions granted to persons employed as aforesaid shall commence on the day of the filing of the application.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the fees of agents and attorneys for making out and causing to be executed the papers necessary to establish a claim for a pension, bounty, and other allowance, before the Pension Office under this act, shall not exceed the following rates: For making out and causing to be duly executed a declaration by the applicant, with the necessary affidavits, and forwarding the same to the Pension Office, with the requisite correspondence, five dollars. Ia cases wherein additional testimony is required by the Commissioner of Pensions, for each affidavit so required and executed and forwarded (except the affidavits of surgeons, for which such agents and attorneys shall not be entitled to, any fees,) one dollar and fifty cents.
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That any agent or attorney who shall, directly or indirectly, demand or receive any greater compensation for his services under this act than is prescribed in the preceding section of this act, or who shall contract or agree to prosecute any claim for a pension, bounty, or other allowance under this act, on the condition that he shall receive a per centum upon, or any portion of the amount of such claim, or who shall wrongfully withhold from a pensioner or other claimant the whole or any part of the pension or claim allowed and due to such pensioner or claimant, shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall, for every such offence, be fined not exceeding three hundred dollars, or imprisoned at hard labor not exceeding two years, or both, according to the circumstances and aggravations of’ the offence.
Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the Commissioner of Pensions be, and he is hereby, empowered to appoint, at his discretion, civil surgeons to make the biennial examinations of pensioners which are or may be required to be made by law, and to examine applicants for invalid pensions, where he shall deem an examination by a surgeon to be appointed by him necessary; and the fees for each of such xaminations, and the requisite certificate thereof, shall be one dollar and fifty cents, which fees shall be paid to the surgeon by the person examined, for which he shall take a receipt, and forward the same to the Pension Office; and upon the allowance of the claim of the person examined, the Commissioner of Pensions shall furnish to such person an order on the pension agent of his State for the amount of the surgeon’s fees.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the Commissioner of Pensions, on application made to him in person or by letter by any claimants or applicants for pension, bounty, or other allowance required by law to be adjusted and paid by the Pension Office, shall furnish such claimants, free of all expense or charge to them, all such printed instructions and forms as may be necessary in establishing and obtaining said claim; and in case such claim is prosecuted by an agent or attorney of such claimant or applicant, on the issue of a certificate of pension or the granting of a bounty or allowance, the Commissioner of pensions shall forthwith notify the applicant or claimant that such certificate has been issued or allowance made, and the amount thereof.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the pilots, engineers, sailors, crews upon the gunboats and war vessels of the United States, who have not been regularly mustered into the service of the United States shall be entitled to the same bounty allowed to persons of corresponding rank in the naval service, provided they continue in service to the close of the present war; and all persons serving as aforesaid, who have been or may be wounded or incapacitated for service, shall be entitled to receive for such disability the pension allowed by the provisions of this act, to those of like rank, and each and every such person shall receive pay according to corresponding rank in the naval service: Provided, That no person receiving pension or bounty under the provisions of this act shall receive either pension or bounty for any other service in the present war.
Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That the widows and heirs of all persons described in the last preceding section who have been or may be employed as aforesaid, or who have been or may be killed in battle, or of those who have died or shall die of wounds received while so employed, shall be paid the bounty and pension allowed by the provisions of this act, according to rank, as provided in the last preceding section.
Sec. 12. And be further enacted, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint a special agent for the Pension Office, to assist in the detection of frauds against the pension laws, to cause persons committing such frauds to be prosecuted, and to discharge such other duties as said Secretary may require him to perform; which said agent shall receive for his services an annual salary of twelve hundred dollars, and his actual traveling expenses incurred in the discharge of his duties shall be paid by the government.
Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed.
APPROVED, July 14, 1862.
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April 1, 1864
Chap. XLVI. — An Act to inc-cease the Pension of the Revolutionary Pensioners now on the Rolls of the Pension Office.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be paid, out any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated the sum of one hundred dollars per annum to each of the surviving soldiers of the Revolution, now on the pension rolls, during their natural lives, in addition to the pensions to which they are now entitled under former acts 0f Congress; said payment to date from, and commence on, the first day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and to cease at their death.
APPROVED, April 1, 1864.
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July 4, 1864
CHAP. CCXLVII. — An Act supplementary to an Act entitled “An Act to grant Pensions,” approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the biennial examinations pensioners required by an act approved March three, eighteen hundred and fifty—nine, may be made by one surgeon only, provided he is a surgeon of the army or navy, or an examining surgeon duly appointed by the commissioner of pensions; nor shall the biennial certificate of two Un-appointed civil surgeons be accepted in any case, except upon satisfactory evidence that an examination by a commissioned or duly appointed surgeon is impracticable.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That all fees paid to examining surgeons for biennial examinations, or for examinations specially ordered, as provided by the eighth section of the act to grant pensions, approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, shall be refunded by the agent for paying pensions in the district within which the pensioner or claimant resides, out of any money appropriated for the payment of pensions, under such regulations as the commissioner of pensions may prescribe.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That declarations of pension claimants shall be made before a court of record, or before some officer thereof having custody of its seal, said officer being hereby fully authorized and empowered to administer and certify any oath or affirmation relating to any pension or application therefore: Provided, That the commissioner of pensions may designate, in localities more than twenty-five miles distant from any place at which such a court is holden, persons duly qualified to administer oaths, before whom declarations may be made and testimony taken.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That section twelve of the act to grant pensions, approved July fourteen, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, is hereby repealed; and the Commissioner of pensions is authorized and empowered to detail, from time to time, clerks in his office to investigate suspected attempts at fraud on the government through the pension-office, and to aid in prosecuting any persons so offending, with such additional compensation as is customary in cases of special service.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That all persons now by law entitled to a less pension than hereafter specified, who shall have lost both feet in the military service of the United States and in the line of duty, shall be entitled to a pension of twenty dollars per month; and those who under the same conditions have lost both hands or both eyes shall be entitled to a pension of twenty-five dollars per month.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That no pension claim now on file, for any services performed or any benefit rendered to any person or pereons in the line of his duty under this act, he shall, upon conviction, be fined one thousand dollars, or be imprisoned, not to exceed three years, at the discretion of a court of competent jurisdiction, and forever after be ineligible to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit in the United States.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That said commissioner of immigration shall, at the commencement of each annual meeting of congress, submit a detailed report of the foreign immigration during the preceding year, and a detailed account of all expenditures under this act.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, in the judgment of the President, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into effect.
APPROVED, July 4, 1864.
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March 3, 1865
CHAP. LXXXIV. — An Act supplementary to the several Acts relating to Pensions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and Rouse of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That no invalid pensioner now or hereafter in the service of the United States shall be entitled to draw a pension for any period of time during which he is or shall be entitled to the fail pay or salary which an able-bodied person discharging like duties to the government is allowed by law.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That acting assistant or contract surgeon disabled by any wound received or disease contracted while actually performing the duties of assistant surgeons or acting assistant surgeons, with any military forces in the field or in transitu, shall be entitled to the benefits of the pension laws in the same manner as if they had actually been mustered into the service with the rank of “assistant surgeon,” and the widows, minor children, or the dependents of acting assistant surgeons dying while performing the duty aforesaid, shall in like manner be entitled to the same benefits of the pension laws as if the deceased had been actually mustered into the service as assistant surgeons.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That all persons now by law entitled to a less pension than hereafter specified who shall have lost one foot and one hand in the military service of the United States, and in the line of his [their] duty, shall be entitled to twenty dollars per month.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That if any officer or other person named in the first Section of an act entitled “An act to grant pensions,” approved July fourteen, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, has died since the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or shall hereafter die by reason of any wound received or disease contracted while in the service of the United States, and in the line of duty, his widow, or if there be no widow, or in case of her death or marriage, without payment to her of any part of the pension hereinafter mentioned, his child or children, under sixteen years of age, shall be entitled to receive the same pension as the husband or father would have been entitled to under said act, had he been totally disabled, to commence from the death of the husband or father, and to continue to the widow during her widowhood, or to the child or children until they severally attain to the age of sixteen years, and no longer: Provided, That when such pension has been, or shall hereafter be, paid to the widow, such child or children shall only be entitled to receive the pension, to commence from the death or marriage of such widow and [to] continue as aforesaid: Provided, further, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to repeal or modify the tenth section of an act entitled “An act supplementary to ‘An act to grant pensions,’ approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two,” approved July fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and said section is hereby declared to be in full force and effect in all cases arising under this act to which said section is applicable, saving and excepting such cases as are embraced in the preceding proviso.
APPROVED, March 3, 1865.
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February 5, 1867.
CHAP. XXXII. — An Act to provide for the Payment of Pensions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States shall be, and he is hereby, authorized to establish agencies for the payment of pensions granted by the United States, wherever, in his judgment, the public interests and the convenience of the pensioners require, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint all pension agents, who shall hold their offices for the term of four years and until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified, and who shall give bond, with good and sufficient sureties, for such amount and in such form as the Secretary of the Interior may approve : Provided, That the number of pension agencies in any State or Territory shall, in no case, be increased hereafter so as to exceed three, and that no such shall be established in addition to those now existing in any State or Territory in which the whole amount of pensions paid during the fiscal year next preceding shall not have exceeded the sum of five hundred thousand dollars : And provided further, That the term of office of all pension agents appointed since the first day of July, A. D. eighteen hundred and sixty-six, shall expire at the end of thirty days from the passage of this act; and the commissions of all other pension agents now in office shall continue for four years from the passage of this act, unless such agents are sooner removed.
APPROVED, February 5, 1867.
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July 27, 1868
CHAP. CCLXIV. — An Act relating to Pensions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the laws granting pensions to the hereinafter-mentioned dependent relatives of deceased persons leaving heather widow or child entitled to pensions under existing laws, shall be so construed as to give precedence to such relatives in the following order, namely First, mothers ; secondly, fathers; thirdly, orphan brothers and sisters under sixteen years of age, who shall be pensioned jointly if there be more than one: Provided, That if, in any case, the said persons shall have left both father and mother who were dependent upon them, then on the death of the mother the father shall become entitled to a pension commencing from and after the death of the mother; and upon the death of the mother and father the dependent brothers and sisters under sixteen years of age shall jointly become entitled to such pension until they attain the age of sixteen years, respectively, commencing from and after the death of the party who, preceding them, would have been entitled to the same : And provided further, That no pension heretofore awarded shall be affected by anything herein contained.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That no person shall be entitled to pension by reason of wounds received, or disease contracted, in the service the United States, subsequently to the passage of this act, unless the person who was wounded or contracted disease was in the line of duty and, if in the military Service, was at the time actually in the field, or on the march, or at some post, fort, or garrison ; or if in the naval service was at the time borne on the books of some ship, or other vessel of the United States, at sea or in harbor, actually in commission, or was on his way, by direction of competent authority, to the United States, or to some other vessel or naval station.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That so much of the acts approved April sixth, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, and August twenty-third, eighteen hundred and forty-two, as requires that pensions remaining unclaimed for fourteen months after the same have become due, shall be adjusted at the office of the third auditor, is hereby repealed ; and the failure of any pensioner to claim his or her pension for a period of three years after the same shall have become due, shall be deemed presumptive evidence that such pension has legally terminated by reason of the pensioners death, remarriage, recovery from disability, or otherwise, and the pensioners name shall be stricken from the rolls, subject to the right of restoration to the same on a new application, with evidence satisfactorily accounting for the failure to claim such pension.
SEC. 4. And be it farther enacted, That if any officer, soldier, seaman, or enlisted man has died since the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or shall hereafter die, leaving a widow entitled to a pension, and a child or children under sixteen years of age by a former wife, each of said children shall be entitled to receive two dollars per month, to continence from the death of their father and continue until they severally attain the age of sixteen years, to be paid to the guardian of such child or children for their use and benefit: Provided, however, That in all cases where such widow is charged with the care, custody, and maintenance of such child or children, the said sum of two dollars per month for each of said children shall be paid to her for and during the time she is, or may have been, so charge with the care, custody, and maintenance of such child or children, subject to the same conditions, provisions, and limitations as if they were her own children by her said deceased husband.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That in alt eases where an increased pension has been or may hereafter be granted to any widow or guardian pf the children under sixteen years of age of a deceased soldier or sailor under an act entitled “ An act increasing the pensions of widows, and for other purposes,” approved July twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, or any subsequent act, such widow, or the guardian of such children, shall not be deprived of such increase by reason of any child or children of such deceased soldier or sailor being the inmate of any home, orphan’s asylum, or other public or private charitable institution organized for the care and education of soldiers’ orphans under the laws of any of the States, or in any school or institution where such orphan may in whole or in part be maintained or educated at the expense of a State, or of the public.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That all pensions which have been granted in consequence of death occurring or disease contracted, or wounds received, since the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or may hereafter be granted, shall commence from the discharge or from the death of the person on whose account the pension has been or shall hereafter be granted: Provided, That the application for such pension has been or shall hereafter be, filed with the Commissioner of Pensions within five years after the right thereto shall have accrued; except that applications by or in behalf of insane persons and children under sixteen years of age may be filed after the expiration of the said five years, if previously thereto they were without guardians or other proper legal representatives.
Sac. 7. And be it further enacted, That immediately upon the passage of this act, or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, it shall be the duty of the commissioner of pensions to give public notice of the contents of the foregoing section, particularly at the offices of the several pension agencies; and upon any application by letter or otherwise for or on behalf of any person entitled to the benefit of its provisions, or upon any notification that such person is so entitled, to pay or cause to be paid to him all such arrears of pensions as he may be entitled to under the pro Claim visions of the said section; and no claim agent or other person shall be entitled to receive any compensation for services in making application for the arrears of pension under this and the preceding section.
Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That section eleven of an act entitled “ An act supplementary to the several acts relating to pensions,” approved June six, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows: “That if any officer, soldier, or seaman shall have died of wounds received or of disease contracted in the line of duty in the military or naval service of the United States, leaving a widow and a child or children under the age of sixteen years, and it shall be duly certified under seal, by any court having probate jurisdiction, that satisfactory evidence has been produced before such court that the widow aforesaid has abandoned the care of such child or children, or is an unsuitable person, by reason of immoral conduct, to have the custody of the same, or on presentation of satisfactory evidence thereof to the commissioner of pensions, then no pension shall be allowed to such widow until said child or children shall have severally become sixteen years of age, any previous enactment to the contrary notwithstanding; and the child or children aforesaid shall be pensioned in the same manner as if no widow had survived tile said officer’, soldier, or seaman, and such pension may be paid to the regularly authorized guardian of such child or children.”
See. 9. And be it further enacted, That section six of an act entitled “An act supplementary to the several acts relating to pensions,” approved June six, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, be, and the same is hereby, amended and re-enacted, so as to read as follows: That if any person entitled to a pension has died since March fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, or shall hereafter die while an application for such pension is pending, leaving no widow and no child under sixteen years of age, his or her heirs or legal representatives shall be entitled to receive the accrued pension to which the applicant would have been entitled had the certificates been issued before his or her death.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted’, That the remarriage of any widow or dependent mother, otherwise entitled to a pension prior to the application therefore, or to the issue. of a pension certificate to her, shall not debar her right to a pension for the period elapsing from the death of her husband or son, on account of whose services and death she may claim a pension, to her remarriage: Provided, however, That nothing in this section shall be construed to repeal or modify the fourth section of an act entitled “ An act supplementary to the several acts granting pensions,” approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-five.
Sec. 11. And be it further enacted’, That the provisions of the ninth section of an act approved July fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, “An act supplementary to ‘An act to grant pensions,’” are here by continued in force for five years from the fourth day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven.
Sue. 12. And be it further enacted, That section one of an act entitled “An act supplementary to the several acts relating to pensions approved June six, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, shall be so construed as to secure to every person entitled by law before the passage of said act to a less pension than twenty-five dollars per month, who while in the military or naval service and in the line of 4uty, or in consequence of wounds received or disease contracted therein, having only one eye, shall have lost the same, a pension of’ twenty-five dollars per month.
Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That the third section of an act entitled “An act increasing the pensions of widows and orphans, and, for other purposes,” approved July twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six shall be so construed as to place all pensioners whose right there to accrued subsequently to the war of the Revolution, and prior to the fourth of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, on the same footing, as to rate of pension, from and after the passage of said act, as those who have been pensioned under acts passed since said fourth day of March, eight of teen hundred and sixty-one; and the widows of revolutionary soldiers and sailors now receiving a less sum shall hereafter be paid at the rate of eight dollars per month.
Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That all officers in the military naval service, of the
rank of captain in the army or lieutenant in the navy, and of less rank, who have lost a leg or arm in such service and in the line of duty, or in consequence of wounds received or disease contracted therein, shall be entitled to receive an artificial limb on the same terms as privates in the army are now entitled to receive tile same.
Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That in all cases pensions hereto fore or hereafter granted by special acts of Congress shall be subject to be varied in amount according to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws.
SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the foregoing provisions of this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed.
APPROVED, July 27, 1868
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July 7, 1870
CHAP. CCXIII. — An Act to construe certain Acts therein cited, in Relation to Pensions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That neither the act of July twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, entitled “An act increasing the pensions of widows and orphans, and for other purposes. nor the act of July twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, entitled “An act relating to pensions,” shall be so construed as to increase the amount directed to be paid in any special act of Congress granting a pension; nor shall said acts be construed so as to reduce the same whenever such act fixes definitely the amount of pension to which the person therein named shall be entitled, in excess of the rate fixed by general law for the rank in respect to which such special pensions may have been or may hereafter be granted.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That this act shall have the effect to restore to the persons affected hereby any sums heretofore withheld from them by the construction hereinbefore prohibited.
APPROVED, July 7, 1870.
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February 14, 1871
CHAP. L.—An Act granting Pe4ssions to certain Soldiers and Sailors of the War of
eighteen hundred and twelve, and the Widows of deceased Soldiers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to place on the pension roll the names of the surviving officers and enlisted and drafted men, including militia and volunteers, of the military and naval service the United States, who served sixty days in the war with Great Britain of eighteen hundred and twelve, and were honorably discharged, and to such other officers and soldiers as may have been personally named in any resolution of Congress for any specific service in said war, although their term of service may have been less than sixty days, and who at no time, during the late rebellion against the authority of the United States, adhered to the cause of the enemies of the government, giving them aid and comfort, or exercised the functions of any office whatever under any authority or pretended authority in hostility to the United States, and who shall take and subscribe an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and the surviving widows of such officers and enlisted and drafted men: Provided, That such widows shall have been married, prior to tile treaty of peace which terminated said war, to an officer, or enlisted or drafted man, who served as aforesaid in said war, and shall not have remarried.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this act shall not apply to any person who is receiving a pension at the rate of eight dollars or more per month; nor to any person receiving a pension less than eight dollars per month, except for the difference between the pension now received and eight dollars per month. Pensions under this act shall be at the rate of eight dollars per month, except as herein provided when a person is receiving a pension of less than eight dollars per month, and shall be paid to the persons entitled thereto from and after the passage of this act for and during the term of their natural lives.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That before the name of any person shall be placed upon the pension roll under this act, proof shall be made, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe, that the applicant is entitled to a pension under the provisions of this act; and any person who shall falsely take any oath required to be taken under the provisions of this act, shall be guilty of perjury; and the Secretary of the Interior shall cause to be stricken from the pension roll the name of any person whenever it shall appear, by proof satisfactory to him, that such name was put upon such roll through false or fraudulent representations as to the right of such person to a pension under the pro of this act. The loss of a certificate of discharge shall not deprive the applicant of the benefits of this act, but other proof of services performed and of an honorable discharge, if satisfactory, shall be deemed
sufficient.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of sections twelve and thirteen of an act entitled “An act supplementary to ‘An act to grant pensions,’” approved July four, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and of sections two, three, and four of an act entitled “An act supplementary to several acts relating to pensions,” approved June six, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, shall be applicable to the pensions granted by this act.
Approved, February 14, 1871.
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June 8, 1872
CHAP. CCCXLII. — An Act increasing the Rates of Pension to certain Persons therein described.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the act entitled “An act supplementary to the several acts relating to pensions,” approved June sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, be so amended that from and after the passage of this act all persons entitled by law to a less pension than hereinafter specified, who, while in the military or naval service of the United States and in line of duty, shall have lost the sight of both eyes, or shall have lost both hands, or shall have lost both feet, or been permanently and totally disabled in the same, or otherwise so permanently and totally disabled as to render them utterly helpless, or so nearly so as to require the constant personal aid and attendance of another person, shall be entitled to a pension of thirty-one dollars and twenty-five cents per month; and all persons who under like circumstances shall have lost one hand and one foot, or been totally and permanently disabled in the same, or otherwise so disabled as to be incapacitated for performing any manual labor, but not so much as to require constant personal aid and attendance, shall be entitled to a pension of twenty-four dollars per month; and all persons who under like circumstances shall have lost one hand, or one foot, or been totally and permanently disabled in the same, or other- wise so disabled as to render their incapacity to perform manual labor equivalent to the loss of a hand or foot, shall be entitled to a pension of
eighteen dollars per month, from and after the fourth day of June, eighteen hundred and seventy-two.
APPROVED, June 8, 1872.
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