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.
This site deals with surnames of the wars of the United States, up to the Civil War, and the civilians of the same era. It will also cover the surnames of the Colonial era. This site is to help all searchers find a lead to their family lines (including Native American ancestors). This site will cover the years from 1700’s to the early 1900’s.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Thursday, January 01, 2009
The Pension Laws Of The United States-1824-1845
There is Little to say about this page, this is page three of the pension laws. It looks likethere will be at lest five pages in all. Those of you who need to know someting abut the pension laws will if these pages very help I know I leard a lot and you will too.
April 9, 1824
CHAP. XXXIV.—.An act extending the term of pensions granted to persons disabled and to the widows and orphans of those who hare been skein, or who have died, in consequence of wounds or casualties, received while in t)u line of their duty, on board the private armed h(ps of the United States, during the late war.(a)
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That, the pensions of all persons, who now are in the receipt thereof, under the provisions of the following laws of the United States, or either of them, to wit: an act passed March fourth, one thousand eight hundred and fourteen, entitled “An act giving pensions to the orphans and widows of persons slain in the public or private armed vessels of the United States ;“ and an act passed April sixteenth, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, entitled “An act in addition to an act giving pensions to the orphans and widows of persons slain in the public or private armed vessels of the United States:” so far as regards persons receiving pensions from the fund arising from captures and salvage, made by the private armed vessels of the United States, be, and the same are hereby, continued, under the restrictions and regulations in the said acts contained, for and during the additional term of live years, from and after the period of the expiration Proviso. of the said pensions, respectively: Provided, however, That the said pensions shall alone be paid from the proceeds of the privateer pension fund so called, and without recourse to the United States for any deficiency (should such occur,) which may hereafter arise thereon: And provide, further, That no pension shall be paid to any such widow after her intermarriage, nor to any orphan children of such officer, seamen, or marines, after they shall have attained the age of sixteen years.
APPROVED, April 9, 1824.
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May 26, 1824
CHAP. CLXXXVII.—An .act explanatory of an act, entitled “for the relief of the officers, volunteers, and other persons, engaged in the late campaign against the Seminole Indians, passed the fourth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.”
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the proper accounting officer of the Treasury Department be, and he is hereby, directed to give such construction to the act of the fourth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, as that its provisions shall extend to the claims of the volunteer, field, and staff officers, engaged in the campaign of eighteen hundred and eighteen, against the Seminole Indians, who lost horses or the necessary equipage thereof, in the manner mentioned in said act; and, also, to the claims of all the volunteer officers or soldiers engaged in the campaign aforesaid, who, without any fault or negligence on their part, respectively, lost horses, or the necessary equipage thereof, in battle.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the proper accounting officer of the Treasury Department be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to audit and settle the claims of all owners of wagons and teams, and others, for any horse or horses, impressed into the public service during the said Seminole campaign: Provided, That such impressment, and the value of said horse, or horses, be satisfactorily proved, and that it shall, also, be satisfactorily proved that such horse or horses were not returned to their owners, and that any compensation which may have been allowed and paid for the service of said horse or horses, after the time of their impressment, he deducted.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the amount of such claims, so audited and settled, when ascertained, shall be paid out of any money in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated.
APPROVED, May 26, 1824.
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May 26, 1824
CHAP. CXC.—.An act to revive and extend the term of certain pensions which
have expired by limitation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the pensions hereto granted, and paid out of the privateer pension fund, to the widows and orphans of such officers, seamen, and marines, as were slain, or died in consequence of wounds or casualties received while in the line of their duty, on board the private armed ships of the United States, and the terms for the payment of which had expired by limitation, before the ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, he, and the same are hereby, revived, and extended to such widows and orphans, with all the advantages, and in the same manner, as if their respective terms had not expired; subject to the provisions, restrictions, and limitations, of an act, passed the ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, entitled “An act extending the term of pensions granted to persons disabled, and to the widows and orphans of those who have been slain, or who have died in consequence of wounds, or casualties, received while in the line of their duty, on board the private armed ships of the United States, during the late war.”
APPROVED, May 26, 1824.
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December 23, 1825
CHAP. I.—.An .act making appropriation for compensation to the members and
officers, and for the contingent expenses, of the to Houses of Congress.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the sum of four hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, for compensation to the Senators and members of the House of Representatives, and delegates of territories, their officers and attendants; and the further sum of eighty thousand dollars, for fuel, stationery, and all other contingent expenses of the two Houses of Congress, and that the said sums be paid out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
APPROVED, December 23, 1825.
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May 15, 1828
CHAP. LIII,—.An act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of
the army of the revolution.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That each of the surviving officers of the army of the Revolution in the continental line, who was entitled to half pay by the resolve of October twenty-first, seventeen hundred and eighty, be authorized to receive, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, the amount of his full pay in said line, according to his rank in the line, to begin on the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, and to continue during his natural life: Provided, That, under this act, no officer shall be entitled to receive a larger sum than the full pay of a captain in said line.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That whenever any of said officers received money of the United States, as a pensioner, since the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, afore said, the sum so received shall be deducted from what said officer would otherwise be entitled to, under the first section of this act; and every pension to which said officer is now entitled shall cease after the passage of this act.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That every surviving non-commissioned officer, musician, or private, in said army, who enlisted therein for and during the war, and continued in service until its termination, and thereby became entitled to receive a reward of eighty dollars, under a resolved of Congress, passed May fifteenth, seventeen hundred and seventy eight, shall be entitled to receive his full monthly pay in said service, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated; to begin on the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, and to continue during his natural life: Provided: That no non-commissioned officer, musician or private in said army, who is now on the pension list of the United States, shall be entitled to the benefits of this act.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the pay allowed by this act, shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, be paid to the officer or soldier entitled thereto, or to their authorized attorney, at such places and days as said secretary may direct; and that no foreign officer shall be entitled to said pay, nor shall any officer or soldier receive the same, until he furnish to said secretary satisfactory evidence that he is entitled to the same in conformity to the provisions of this act; and the pay allowed by this act shall not, in any way, be transferable or liable to attachment, levy, or seizure, by any legal process whatever, but shall inure wholly to the personal benefit of the officer or soldier entitled to the same by this act.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That so much of said pay, as accrued by the provisions of this act, before the third day of March, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight, shall be paid to the officers and soldiers entities tied to the same, as soon as may be, in the manner and under the provisions before mentioned; and the pay which shall accrue after said day, shall be paid semi-annually, in like manner, and under the same provisions.
APPROVED, May 15, 1828.
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May 24, 1828
CHAP. CIX.—An act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled “ to Provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the .Revolutionary war.”
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 to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” passed on the tenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and six, and limited, as in said act declared, to the term of six years, and afterwards revived and continued in force for and during the term of six years, by an act, entitled “ An act to revive and continue in force’ An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war, and for other purposes,” passed on the twenty-fifth of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twelve, and afterwards revived and continued in force for the term of one year, by an act, entitled “ An act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled ‘An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,’” passed on the fifteenth day of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty, and further revived and continued in force for the term of six years, by an act, entitled “An act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled ‘An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds, received in the revolutionary war,” passed on the fourth day of February, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, shall be, and the said act is hereby, revived and continued in full force and effect for and during the term of six years from and after the passing of this act, and from thence unto the end of the next session of Congress: Provided, That any evidence which has been taken to support any claim of any person disabled in the revolutionary war, under the authority of the act of the fifteenth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, reviving and continuing in force for one year “ An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds, received in the revolutionary war,” shall be received and acted upon by the Secretary of War, in the same manner as if said act was still in force, and had not expired: And provided, also, That this act and any thing contained in the act hereby revived and continued in force, shall not he construed to repeal or make void the fourth section of an act, entitled “An act concerning invalid pensions,” passed the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen; and the said fourth section of the said last-mentioned act shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be, and to continue to be in full force and effect, any thing in the said act hereby revived and continued in force to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the right any person now has, or hereafter may acquire, to receive a pension in virtue of any law of the United States, shall be construed to commence at the time of completing his testimony, pursuant to the act hereby revived and continued in force.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the agents for the payment of pensions to invalid pensioners of the United States, shall in future be required to give bonds, with two or more sureties, to be approved by the Secretary of the Department of War, in such penalty as lie shall direct for the faithful discharge of the duties confided to them respectively.
Approved, May 24, 1828,
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March 2, 1829
CHAP. XXVIII.—.An .act making provision for the payment of pensions to the
widow or children of pensioners, in certain cases, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That in case of the death of any invalid pensioner, before the certificate of the continuance of his disability, required by the act, entitled “An act regulating the payments to invalid pensioners,” passed March third, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, was obtained, it shall be lawful for the Secretary of War, and he is hereby directed, to pay to the legal representatives of such deceased invalid, the arrears of pensions due at the time of his death, at the rate at which it was fixed at his last examination: Provided, Such last examination was within two years from the time of his death.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That whenever any revolutionary pensioner shall die, the Secretary of War shall cause to be paid the arrears of pension due to the said pensioner at the time of his death; and all payments, under this act, shall be made to the widow of the deceased pensioner, or to her attorney, or if he left no widow, or she be dead, to the children of the pensioner, or to their guardian, or his attorney; and if no child or children, then to the legal representatives of the deceased.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That in all cases of applications for pensions, for wounds received in the revolutionary war, the testimony to establish the facts may be authenticated in the same manner with those who apply for pensions for wounds received in the late war with Great Britain.
APPROVED, March 2, 1829.
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May 31, 1830
CHAP. CCXXVIII.—An .act to amend the act, entitled “.An act for the relief of
certain surviving officers and soldiers of the army of the revolution.”
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the second section of the act, entitled “An act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the army of the revolution,” approved the fifteenth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, shall not be construed to embrace invalid pensioners, and that the pension of invalid soldiers, shall not be deducted from the amount receivable by them under the said act.
APPROVED, May 31, 1830.
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June 7, 1832
CHAP. CXXVI.—.An act supplementary to the “ Act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the revolution.”
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of lice United States of America in Congress assembled, That each of the surviving officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, soldiers and Indian spies, who shall have served in the continental line, or state troops, volunteers or militia, at one or more terms, a period of two years, during the war of the revolution, and who are not entitled to any benefit under the act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the revolution, passed the fifteenth day of May, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight, be authorized to receive, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, the amount of his full pay in the said line, according to his rank, but not exceeding, in any case, the pay of a captain in the said line; such pay to commence from the fourth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, and shall continue during his natural life; and that any such officer, non-commissioned officer, musician, or private, as aforesaid, who shall have served in the continental line, state troops, volunteers or militia, a term or terms in the whole less than the above period, but not less than six months, shall be authorized to receive out of any unappropriated money in the treasury, during his natural life, each according to his term of service, an amount bearing such proportion to the annuity granted to the same rank for the service of two years, as his term of service did to the term aforesaid; to commence from the fourth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That no person, receiving any annuity or pension under any law of the United States providing for revolutionary officers and soldiers, shall be entitled to the benefits of this act, unless he shall first relinquish his further claim to such pension; and in all payments under this act, the amount which may have been received under any other act as aforesaid, since the date at which the payments under this act shall commence, shall first be deducted from such payment.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the pay allowed by this act shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, be paid to the officer, non-commissioned officer, musician or private, entitled thereto, or his or their authorized attorney, at such places and times as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct, and that no foreign officer shall be entitled to said pay, nor shall any officer, non-commissioned officer, musician or private, receive the same until he furnish the said Secretary satisfactory evidence that he is entitled to the same, in conformity to the provisions of this act; and the pay hereby allowed shall not be in any way transferable or liable to attachment, levy, or seizure, by any legal process whatever, but shall inure wholly to the personal benefit of the officer, non-commissioned officer, musician, or soldier, entitled to the same.
SEC. 4. And he it further enacted, That so much of the said pay as accrued before the approval of this act, shall be paid to the person entitled to the same as soon as may be, in the manner and under the provisions above mentioned; and the pay which shall accrue thereafter shall be paid semi-annually, in the manner above directed; and, in ease of the death of any person embraced by the provisions of this act, or of the act to which it is supplementary, during the period intervening between the semi-annual payments directed to be made by said acts, the proportionate amount of pay which shall accrue between the last preceding semi-annual payment, and the death of such person, shall be paid to his widow, or, if he leave no widow, to his children.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the officers, non-commissioned officers, mariners, or marines, who served for a like term in the naval service during the revolutionary war, shall be entitled to the benefits of this act, in the same manner as is provided for the officers and soldiers of the army of the revolution.
APPROVED, June 7, 1832.
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June 28, 1832
CHAP. CLI.—An .act further to extend the pension heretofore granted to the widows of persons killed or who died in the naval service.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That in all cases where pro, vision has been made by law, for the five years’ half-pay to widows and children of officers, seamen, and marines, who were killed in battle, or who died in the naval service of the United States; and, also, in all cases where provision has been made for extending the term for five years, in addition to any term of five years, the said provision shall be, and is hereby, further extended for an additional term of five years, so far as respects widows only, to commence at the end of the current or last expired term of five years in each case, respectively; which pension shall be paid out of the fund heretofore provided by law. And the pension herein continued shall cease for the causes mentioned in the laws granting the same, respectively.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of this act shall be extended to the widows of all those who may have died by reason of wounds received during the war.
APPROVED, June 28, 1832.
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April 14, 1836
CHAP. LII.—.An .act snaking appropriations for the payment of the revolutionary
and oilier pensioners of the United States, for the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, and the same are hereby appropriated to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the pensioners of the United States, for the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six; For the revolutionary pensioners under the several acts, other than those of the fifteenth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, the seventh of June, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, and the fifth of July, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, in addition to an unexpended balance of three hundred and thirty-five thousand three hundred and ninety-five dollars and seventy cents, the sum of three hundred and forty-seven thousand six hundred and twenty- nine dollars. For the invalid pensioners, under various laws, in addition to an unexpended balance of two hundred and one thousand, seven hundred and twenty-one dollars and twenty-seven cents, one hundred and five thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five dollars. For pensions to widows and orphans, payable through the office of the Third Auditor, in addition to the unexpended balance of two thousand one hundred and ninety-five dollars and twenty-two cents, two thousand dollars.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That hereafter, no bank note of less denomination than ten dollars, and that from and after the third day of March, an no Domini, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, no bank note of less denomination than twenty dollars shall he offered in payment in any ease whatsoever in which money is to be paid by the United States or the Post Office Department, nor shall any bank note, of any denomination, be so offered, unless the same shall be payable, and paid on demand, in gold or silver coin, at the place where issued, and which shall not be equivalent to specie at the place where offered, and convertible into gold or silver upon the pot, at the will of the holder, and with- out delay or loss to him; Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to make any thing but gold or silver a legal tender by any individual, or by the United States.
APPROVED, April 14, 1836.
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April 20, 1836
Chap. LVI.—.,An act to prescribe the mode of paying pensions heretofore granted by the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all laws and parts of laws, authorizing or requiring the Bank of the United States, or its branches to pay any pensions granted under the authority of the United States, shall be, and the same are hereby, repealed; and such payments shall be hereafter made, at such times and places, by such persons or corporations, and under such regulations, as the Secretary of War may direct; but no compensation or allowance shall be made to such persons or corporations for making such payments, without authority of law.
APPROVED, April 20, 1836.
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May 20, 1836
CHAP. LXXVII.—.An act explanatory of the act entitled “.An act to prevent defalcations on the part of the disbursing agents of the Government, and for other purposes.”
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 to prevent defalcations on the part of the disbursing agents of the Government, and for other purposes,” approved the twenty-fifth of January, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight, shall not be construed to authorize the pension of any pensioner of the United States to be withheld.
APPROVED, May 20, 1836.
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July 4, 1836
CHAP. CCCLXII.—.An act granting half pay to widows or orphans, where their husbands and fathers leave died of wounds received in the military service of the United States, in certain cases, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That when any officer, non-officer, musician or private of the militia, including rangers, sea fencibles, and volunteers, shall have died while in the service of the United States, since the twentieth of April, eighteen hundred and eighteen, or who shall have died in consequence of a wound received whilst in the service, since the day aforesaid, and shall have left a widow, or, if no widow, a child or children under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if no widow, such child or children, shall be entitled to receive half the monthly pay to which the deceased was entitled at the time of his death or receiving such wound, for and during the term of five years; and in case of the death or marriage of such widow before the expiration of said five years, the half pay for the remainder of the time shall go to the said decedent: Provided, That the half pay aforesaid shall be half the monthly pay of the officers, noncommissioned officers, musicians and privates of the infantry of the regular army, and no more: Provided, also, That no greater sum shall be allowed to the widow or to the child or children, of any officer, than the half pay of a lieutenant colonel.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any officer, non-commissioned officer, musician, soldier, Indian spy, mariner or marine, whose service during the revolutionary war was such as is specified in the act passed the seventh day of June eighteen hundred and thirty-two, entitled “An act supplementary to the act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the revolution,” have died since the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, and before the date of said act, the amount of pension which would have accrued from the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, to the time of his death, and become payable to him by virtue of that act, if he had survived the passage thereof, shall be paid to his widow; and If he left no widow, to his children, in the manner prescribed in the act hereby amended.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That if any person who served in the war of the revolution, in the manner specified in the act passed the seventh day of June, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, entitled “An act supplementary to the act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the revolution,” have died, leaving a widow whose marriage took place before the expiration of the last period of his service, such widow shall be entitled to receive, during the time she may remain unmarried, the annuity or pension which might have been allowed to her husband, by virtue of the act aforesaid, if living at the time it was passed.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That any pledge, mortgage, sale, assignment, or transfer of any right, claim, or interest in any money or half pay granted by this act, shall be utterly void and of no effect; each person acting for and in behalf of any one entitled to money under this act, shall take and subscribe an oath, to be administered by the proper accounting officer and retained by him and put on file, before a warrant shall be delivered to him, that he has no interest in said money by any pledge, mortgage, sale, assignment or transfer, and that he does not know or believe that the same has been so disposed of to any person whatever.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War shall adopt such forms of evidence, in applications under this act, as the President of the United States shall prescribe.
APPROVED, July 4, 1836.
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July 7, 1838
CHAP. CLXXXIX.—.An .act granting half pay and pensions to certain widows.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congres8 assembled, That if any person who served in the war of the Revolution, in the manner specified in the act passed the seventh day of June, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, entitled “An act supplementary to the act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the Revolution,” have died, leaving a widow, whose marriage took place after the expiration of the last period of his service, and before the first day of January, seventeen hundred and ninety-four, such widow shall be entitled to receive, for and during the term of five years from the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, the annuity or pension which might have been allowed to her husband in virtue of said act, if living at the time it was passed; Provided, That in the event of the marriage of such widow, said annuity or pension shall be discontinued.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That no pledge, mortgage, sale, assignment, or transfer of any right, claim, or interest, in any annuity, half pay, or pension, granted by this act, shall be valid, nor shall the half pay, annuity, or pension, granted by this act, or any former act of Congress, be liable to attachment, levy, or seizure, by any process in law, or equity, but shall ensure wholly to the personal benefit of the pensioner or annuitant entitled to the same; and that before a warrant shall he delivered to any person acting for or in behalf of any one entitled to money under this act, such person shall take and subscribe an oath or affirmation, to be administered by the proper accounting officer, and put on file, that he has no interest in said money, by any pledge, mortgage, transfer, agreement, understanding, or arrangement, and that he does not know or believe that the same has been so disposed of to any other person.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War shall adopt such regulations and forms of evidence, in relation to applications and payments under this act as the President of the United States may prescribe.
Approved, July 7, 1838.
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June 19, 1840
CHAP. XXXIX. — .An .act making provision for the payment of pensions to the
executors or administrators of deceased pensioners in certain cases.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in case any male pensioner shall die, leaving children, hut no widow, the amount of pension to such pensioner at the time of his death shall be paid to the executor or administrator on the estate of such pensioner, for the sole and exclusive benefit of the children, to be by him distributed among them in equal shares, and the same shall not be considered as a part of the assets of said estate, nor liable to be applied to the payment of the debts of said estate in any case whatever.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That in case any pensioner who is a widow shall die, leaving children, the amount of pension due at the time of her death shall be paid to the executor or administrator for the benefit of her children, as directed in the foregoing section.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That in case of the death of any pensioner, whether male or female, leaving children, the amount of pension may be paid to any one or each of them, as they may prefer, without the intervention of an administrator.
APPROVED, June 19, 1840.
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August 16, 1841
CHAP. VIII.—An act to provide for the payment of Navy Pensions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the sum of one hundred and thirty-nine thousand six hundred and sixty-six dollars and six cents is hereby appropriated, to be paid out of any money in th0 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the payment of pensions and half-pay chargeable on the navy pension fund: Provided, That all widow or children of all naval officers, seamen, or marines, now deceased, and entitled to receive or make proof of their pensions under the act of the third of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, shall receive the same until the close of the next session of Congress; but no widows or children of any naval officer, seaman, or marine, who may hereafter die, shall be entitled to any pension by virtue only of any provision in the said act.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That no officer, seaman, or ma1rifle, entitled to a pension from the navy pension fund, who receives pay from the public treasury, shall receive more from the said fund than is sufficient to make the whole amount received from both the above named sources equal to the pay fixed by law for the grade to which the officer, seaman, or marine may belong as an officer in the services in which he may be engaged, during the year, so that no officer shall receive pay at the same time both as a pensioner and an officer in service.
APPROVED, August 16, 1841.
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August 23, 1842
CHAP. CXCI.—An .act to amend the acts of July, eighteen hundred and thirty
six, and eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, allowing pensions to certain Widows.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America in congress assembled, That the marriage of the widow, after the death of her husband, for whose services she claims a pension, under the act of the seventh of July, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, shall be no bar to the claim of such widow to the benefit of that act, she being a widow at the time she makes application for a pension.
APPROVED, August 23, 1842.
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February 20, 1845
CHAP. XV.—..An .act restricting the grant of pensions in certain cases.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Slates of America in congress assembled, That from and after the passage of this act a pension shall not be granted to any widow for or during any part or portion of the time her husband may have received one, whose declaration therefore shall not have been made on or before the thirtieth day of April one thousand eight hundred and forty-four, and shall not have been received at the pension office on or before the twenty-third day of January, one thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
APPROVED, February 20, 1845.
April 9, 1824
CHAP. XXXIV.—.An act extending the term of pensions granted to persons disabled and to the widows and orphans of those who hare been skein, or who have died, in consequence of wounds or casualties, received while in t)u line of their duty, on board the private armed h(ps of the United States, during the late war.(a)
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That, the pensions of all persons, who now are in the receipt thereof, under the provisions of the following laws of the United States, or either of them, to wit: an act passed March fourth, one thousand eight hundred and fourteen, entitled “An act giving pensions to the orphans and widows of persons slain in the public or private armed vessels of the United States ;“ and an act passed April sixteenth, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, entitled “An act in addition to an act giving pensions to the orphans and widows of persons slain in the public or private armed vessels of the United States:” so far as regards persons receiving pensions from the fund arising from captures and salvage, made by the private armed vessels of the United States, be, and the same are hereby, continued, under the restrictions and regulations in the said acts contained, for and during the additional term of live years, from and after the period of the expiration Proviso. of the said pensions, respectively: Provided, however, That the said pensions shall alone be paid from the proceeds of the privateer pension fund so called, and without recourse to the United States for any deficiency (should such occur,) which may hereafter arise thereon: And provide, further, That no pension shall be paid to any such widow after her intermarriage, nor to any orphan children of such officer, seamen, or marines, after they shall have attained the age of sixteen years.
APPROVED, April 9, 1824.
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May 26, 1824
CHAP. CLXXXVII.—An .act explanatory of an act, entitled “for the relief of the officers, volunteers, and other persons, engaged in the late campaign against the Seminole Indians, passed the fourth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.”
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the proper accounting officer of the Treasury Department be, and he is hereby, directed to give such construction to the act of the fourth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, as that its provisions shall extend to the claims of the volunteer, field, and staff officers, engaged in the campaign of eighteen hundred and eighteen, against the Seminole Indians, who lost horses or the necessary equipage thereof, in the manner mentioned in said act; and, also, to the claims of all the volunteer officers or soldiers engaged in the campaign aforesaid, who, without any fault or negligence on their part, respectively, lost horses, or the necessary equipage thereof, in battle.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the proper accounting officer of the Treasury Department be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to audit and settle the claims of all owners of wagons and teams, and others, for any horse or horses, impressed into the public service during the said Seminole campaign: Provided, That such impressment, and the value of said horse, or horses, be satisfactorily proved, and that it shall, also, be satisfactorily proved that such horse or horses were not returned to their owners, and that any compensation which may have been allowed and paid for the service of said horse or horses, after the time of their impressment, he deducted.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the amount of such claims, so audited and settled, when ascertained, shall be paid out of any money in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated.
APPROVED, May 26, 1824.
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May 26, 1824
CHAP. CXC.—.An act to revive and extend the term of certain pensions which
have expired by limitation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the pensions hereto granted, and paid out of the privateer pension fund, to the widows and orphans of such officers, seamen, and marines, as were slain, or died in consequence of wounds or casualties received while in the line of their duty, on board the private armed ships of the United States, and the terms for the payment of which had expired by limitation, before the ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, he, and the same are hereby, revived, and extended to such widows and orphans, with all the advantages, and in the same manner, as if their respective terms had not expired; subject to the provisions, restrictions, and limitations, of an act, passed the ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, entitled “An act extending the term of pensions granted to persons disabled, and to the widows and orphans of those who have been slain, or who have died in consequence of wounds, or casualties, received while in the line of their duty, on board the private armed ships of the United States, during the late war.”
APPROVED, May 26, 1824.
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December 23, 1825
CHAP. I.—.An .act making appropriation for compensation to the members and
officers, and for the contingent expenses, of the to Houses of Congress.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the sum of four hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, for compensation to the Senators and members of the House of Representatives, and delegates of territories, their officers and attendants; and the further sum of eighty thousand dollars, for fuel, stationery, and all other contingent expenses of the two Houses of Congress, and that the said sums be paid out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
APPROVED, December 23, 1825.
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May 15, 1828
CHAP. LIII,—.An act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of
the army of the revolution.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That each of the surviving officers of the army of the Revolution in the continental line, who was entitled to half pay by the resolve of October twenty-first, seventeen hundred and eighty, be authorized to receive, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, the amount of his full pay in said line, according to his rank in the line, to begin on the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, and to continue during his natural life: Provided, That, under this act, no officer shall be entitled to receive a larger sum than the full pay of a captain in said line.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That whenever any of said officers received money of the United States, as a pensioner, since the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, afore said, the sum so received shall be deducted from what said officer would otherwise be entitled to, under the first section of this act; and every pension to which said officer is now entitled shall cease after the passage of this act.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That every surviving non-commissioned officer, musician, or private, in said army, who enlisted therein for and during the war, and continued in service until its termination, and thereby became entitled to receive a reward of eighty dollars, under a resolved of Congress, passed May fifteenth, seventeen hundred and seventy eight, shall be entitled to receive his full monthly pay in said service, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated; to begin on the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, and to continue during his natural life: Provided: That no non-commissioned officer, musician or private in said army, who is now on the pension list of the United States, shall be entitled to the benefits of this act.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the pay allowed by this act, shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, be paid to the officer or soldier entitled thereto, or to their authorized attorney, at such places and days as said secretary may direct; and that no foreign officer shall be entitled to said pay, nor shall any officer or soldier receive the same, until he furnish to said secretary satisfactory evidence that he is entitled to the same in conformity to the provisions of this act; and the pay allowed by this act shall not, in any way, be transferable or liable to attachment, levy, or seizure, by any legal process whatever, but shall inure wholly to the personal benefit of the officer or soldier entitled to the same by this act.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That so much of said pay, as accrued by the provisions of this act, before the third day of March, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight, shall be paid to the officers and soldiers entities tied to the same, as soon as may be, in the manner and under the provisions before mentioned; and the pay which shall accrue after said day, shall be paid semi-annually, in like manner, and under the same provisions.
APPROVED, May 15, 1828.
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May 24, 1828
CHAP. CIX.—An act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled “ to Provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the .Revolutionary war.”
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 to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” passed on the tenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and six, and limited, as in said act declared, to the term of six years, and afterwards revived and continued in force for and during the term of six years, by an act, entitled “ An act to revive and continue in force’ An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war, and for other purposes,” passed on the twenty-fifth of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twelve, and afterwards revived and continued in force for the term of one year, by an act, entitled “ An act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled ‘An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,’” passed on the fifteenth day of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty, and further revived and continued in force for the term of six years, by an act, entitled “An act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled ‘An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds, received in the revolutionary war,” passed on the fourth day of February, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, shall be, and the said act is hereby, revived and continued in full force and effect for and during the term of six years from and after the passing of this act, and from thence unto the end of the next session of Congress: Provided, That any evidence which has been taken to support any claim of any person disabled in the revolutionary war, under the authority of the act of the fifteenth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, reviving and continuing in force for one year “ An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds, received in the revolutionary war,” shall be received and acted upon by the Secretary of War, in the same manner as if said act was still in force, and had not expired: And provided, also, That this act and any thing contained in the act hereby revived and continued in force, shall not he construed to repeal or make void the fourth section of an act, entitled “An act concerning invalid pensions,” passed the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen; and the said fourth section of the said last-mentioned act shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be, and to continue to be in full force and effect, any thing in the said act hereby revived and continued in force to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the right any person now has, or hereafter may acquire, to receive a pension in virtue of any law of the United States, shall be construed to commence at the time of completing his testimony, pursuant to the act hereby revived and continued in force.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the agents for the payment of pensions to invalid pensioners of the United States, shall in future be required to give bonds, with two or more sureties, to be approved by the Secretary of the Department of War, in such penalty as lie shall direct for the faithful discharge of the duties confided to them respectively.
Approved, May 24, 1828,
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March 2, 1829
CHAP. XXVIII.—.An .act making provision for the payment of pensions to the
widow or children of pensioners, in certain cases, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That in case of the death of any invalid pensioner, before the certificate of the continuance of his disability, required by the act, entitled “An act regulating the payments to invalid pensioners,” passed March third, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, was obtained, it shall be lawful for the Secretary of War, and he is hereby directed, to pay to the legal representatives of such deceased invalid, the arrears of pensions due at the time of his death, at the rate at which it was fixed at his last examination: Provided, Such last examination was within two years from the time of his death.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That whenever any revolutionary pensioner shall die, the Secretary of War shall cause to be paid the arrears of pension due to the said pensioner at the time of his death; and all payments, under this act, shall be made to the widow of the deceased pensioner, or to her attorney, or if he left no widow, or she be dead, to the children of the pensioner, or to their guardian, or his attorney; and if no child or children, then to the legal representatives of the deceased.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That in all cases of applications for pensions, for wounds received in the revolutionary war, the testimony to establish the facts may be authenticated in the same manner with those who apply for pensions for wounds received in the late war with Great Britain.
APPROVED, March 2, 1829.
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May 31, 1830
CHAP. CCXXVIII.—An .act to amend the act, entitled “.An act for the relief of
certain surviving officers and soldiers of the army of the revolution.”
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the second section of the act, entitled “An act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the army of the revolution,” approved the fifteenth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, shall not be construed to embrace invalid pensioners, and that the pension of invalid soldiers, shall not be deducted from the amount receivable by them under the said act.
APPROVED, May 31, 1830.
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June 7, 1832
CHAP. CXXVI.—.An act supplementary to the “ Act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the revolution.”
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of lice United States of America in Congress assembled, That each of the surviving officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, soldiers and Indian spies, who shall have served in the continental line, or state troops, volunteers or militia, at one or more terms, a period of two years, during the war of the revolution, and who are not entitled to any benefit under the act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the revolution, passed the fifteenth day of May, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight, be authorized to receive, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, the amount of his full pay in the said line, according to his rank, but not exceeding, in any case, the pay of a captain in the said line; such pay to commence from the fourth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, and shall continue during his natural life; and that any such officer, non-commissioned officer, musician, or private, as aforesaid, who shall have served in the continental line, state troops, volunteers or militia, a term or terms in the whole less than the above period, but not less than six months, shall be authorized to receive out of any unappropriated money in the treasury, during his natural life, each according to his term of service, an amount bearing such proportion to the annuity granted to the same rank for the service of two years, as his term of service did to the term aforesaid; to commence from the fourth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That no person, receiving any annuity or pension under any law of the United States providing for revolutionary officers and soldiers, shall be entitled to the benefits of this act, unless he shall first relinquish his further claim to such pension; and in all payments under this act, the amount which may have been received under any other act as aforesaid, since the date at which the payments under this act shall commence, shall first be deducted from such payment.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the pay allowed by this act shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, be paid to the officer, non-commissioned officer, musician or private, entitled thereto, or his or their authorized attorney, at such places and times as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct, and that no foreign officer shall be entitled to said pay, nor shall any officer, non-commissioned officer, musician or private, receive the same until he furnish the said Secretary satisfactory evidence that he is entitled to the same, in conformity to the provisions of this act; and the pay hereby allowed shall not be in any way transferable or liable to attachment, levy, or seizure, by any legal process whatever, but shall inure wholly to the personal benefit of the officer, non-commissioned officer, musician, or soldier, entitled to the same.
SEC. 4. And he it further enacted, That so much of the said pay as accrued before the approval of this act, shall be paid to the person entitled to the same as soon as may be, in the manner and under the provisions above mentioned; and the pay which shall accrue thereafter shall be paid semi-annually, in the manner above directed; and, in ease of the death of any person embraced by the provisions of this act, or of the act to which it is supplementary, during the period intervening between the semi-annual payments directed to be made by said acts, the proportionate amount of pay which shall accrue between the last preceding semi-annual payment, and the death of such person, shall be paid to his widow, or, if he leave no widow, to his children.
SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the officers, non-commissioned officers, mariners, or marines, who served for a like term in the naval service during the revolutionary war, shall be entitled to the benefits of this act, in the same manner as is provided for the officers and soldiers of the army of the revolution.
APPROVED, June 7, 1832.
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June 28, 1832
CHAP. CLI.—An .act further to extend the pension heretofore granted to the widows of persons killed or who died in the naval service.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That in all cases where pro, vision has been made by law, for the five years’ half-pay to widows and children of officers, seamen, and marines, who were killed in battle, or who died in the naval service of the United States; and, also, in all cases where provision has been made for extending the term for five years, in addition to any term of five years, the said provision shall be, and is hereby, further extended for an additional term of five years, so far as respects widows only, to commence at the end of the current or last expired term of five years in each case, respectively; which pension shall be paid out of the fund heretofore provided by law. And the pension herein continued shall cease for the causes mentioned in the laws granting the same, respectively.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of this act shall be extended to the widows of all those who may have died by reason of wounds received during the war.
APPROVED, June 28, 1832.
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April 14, 1836
CHAP. LII.—.An .act snaking appropriations for the payment of the revolutionary
and oilier pensioners of the United States, for the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, and the same are hereby appropriated to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the pensioners of the United States, for the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six; For the revolutionary pensioners under the several acts, other than those of the fifteenth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, the seventh of June, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, and the fifth of July, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, in addition to an unexpended balance of three hundred and thirty-five thousand three hundred and ninety-five dollars and seventy cents, the sum of three hundred and forty-seven thousand six hundred and twenty- nine dollars. For the invalid pensioners, under various laws, in addition to an unexpended balance of two hundred and one thousand, seven hundred and twenty-one dollars and twenty-seven cents, one hundred and five thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five dollars. For pensions to widows and orphans, payable through the office of the Third Auditor, in addition to the unexpended balance of two thousand one hundred and ninety-five dollars and twenty-two cents, two thousand dollars.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That hereafter, no bank note of less denomination than ten dollars, and that from and after the third day of March, an no Domini, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, no bank note of less denomination than twenty dollars shall he offered in payment in any ease whatsoever in which money is to be paid by the United States or the Post Office Department, nor shall any bank note, of any denomination, be so offered, unless the same shall be payable, and paid on demand, in gold or silver coin, at the place where issued, and which shall not be equivalent to specie at the place where offered, and convertible into gold or silver upon the pot, at the will of the holder, and with- out delay or loss to him; Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to make any thing but gold or silver a legal tender by any individual, or by the United States.
APPROVED, April 14, 1836.
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April 20, 1836
Chap. LVI.—.,An act to prescribe the mode of paying pensions heretofore granted by the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all laws and parts of laws, authorizing or requiring the Bank of the United States, or its branches to pay any pensions granted under the authority of the United States, shall be, and the same are hereby, repealed; and such payments shall be hereafter made, at such times and places, by such persons or corporations, and under such regulations, as the Secretary of War may direct; but no compensation or allowance shall be made to such persons or corporations for making such payments, without authority of law.
APPROVED, April 20, 1836.
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May 20, 1836
CHAP. LXXVII.—.An act explanatory of the act entitled “.An act to prevent defalcations on the part of the disbursing agents of the Government, and for other purposes.”
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 to prevent defalcations on the part of the disbursing agents of the Government, and for other purposes,” approved the twenty-fifth of January, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight, shall not be construed to authorize the pension of any pensioner of the United States to be withheld.
APPROVED, May 20, 1836.
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July 4, 1836
CHAP. CCCLXII.—.An act granting half pay to widows or orphans, where their husbands and fathers leave died of wounds received in the military service of the United States, in certain cases, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That when any officer, non-officer, musician or private of the militia, including rangers, sea fencibles, and volunteers, shall have died while in the service of the United States, since the twentieth of April, eighteen hundred and eighteen, or who shall have died in consequence of a wound received whilst in the service, since the day aforesaid, and shall have left a widow, or, if no widow, a child or children under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if no widow, such child or children, shall be entitled to receive half the monthly pay to which the deceased was entitled at the time of his death or receiving such wound, for and during the term of five years; and in case of the death or marriage of such widow before the expiration of said five years, the half pay for the remainder of the time shall go to the said decedent: Provided, That the half pay aforesaid shall be half the monthly pay of the officers, noncommissioned officers, musicians and privates of the infantry of the regular army, and no more: Provided, also, That no greater sum shall be allowed to the widow or to the child or children, of any officer, than the half pay of a lieutenant colonel.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any officer, non-commissioned officer, musician, soldier, Indian spy, mariner or marine, whose service during the revolutionary war was such as is specified in the act passed the seventh day of June eighteen hundred and thirty-two, entitled “An act supplementary to the act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the revolution,” have died since the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, and before the date of said act, the amount of pension which would have accrued from the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, to the time of his death, and become payable to him by virtue of that act, if he had survived the passage thereof, shall be paid to his widow; and If he left no widow, to his children, in the manner prescribed in the act hereby amended.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That if any person who served in the war of the revolution, in the manner specified in the act passed the seventh day of June, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, entitled “An act supplementary to the act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the revolution,” have died, leaving a widow whose marriage took place before the expiration of the last period of his service, such widow shall be entitled to receive, during the time she may remain unmarried, the annuity or pension which might have been allowed to her husband, by virtue of the act aforesaid, if living at the time it was passed.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That any pledge, mortgage, sale, assignment, or transfer of any right, claim, or interest in any money or half pay granted by this act, shall be utterly void and of no effect; each person acting for and in behalf of any one entitled to money under this act, shall take and subscribe an oath, to be administered by the proper accounting officer and retained by him and put on file, before a warrant shall be delivered to him, that he has no interest in said money by any pledge, mortgage, sale, assignment or transfer, and that he does not know or believe that the same has been so disposed of to any person whatever.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War shall adopt such forms of evidence, in applications under this act, as the President of the United States shall prescribe.
APPROVED, July 4, 1836.
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July 7, 1838
CHAP. CLXXXIX.—.An .act granting half pay and pensions to certain widows.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congres8 assembled, That if any person who served in the war of the Revolution, in the manner specified in the act passed the seventh day of June, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, entitled “An act supplementary to the act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the Revolution,” have died, leaving a widow, whose marriage took place after the expiration of the last period of his service, and before the first day of January, seventeen hundred and ninety-four, such widow shall be entitled to receive, for and during the term of five years from the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, the annuity or pension which might have been allowed to her husband in virtue of said act, if living at the time it was passed; Provided, That in the event of the marriage of such widow, said annuity or pension shall be discontinued.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That no pledge, mortgage, sale, assignment, or transfer of any right, claim, or interest, in any annuity, half pay, or pension, granted by this act, shall be valid, nor shall the half pay, annuity, or pension, granted by this act, or any former act of Congress, be liable to attachment, levy, or seizure, by any process in law, or equity, but shall ensure wholly to the personal benefit of the pensioner or annuitant entitled to the same; and that before a warrant shall he delivered to any person acting for or in behalf of any one entitled to money under this act, such person shall take and subscribe an oath or affirmation, to be administered by the proper accounting officer, and put on file, that he has no interest in said money, by any pledge, mortgage, transfer, agreement, understanding, or arrangement, and that he does not know or believe that the same has been so disposed of to any other person.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War shall adopt such regulations and forms of evidence, in relation to applications and payments under this act as the President of the United States may prescribe.
Approved, July 7, 1838.
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June 19, 1840
CHAP. XXXIX. — .An .act making provision for the payment of pensions to the
executors or administrators of deceased pensioners in certain cases.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in case any male pensioner shall die, leaving children, hut no widow, the amount of pension to such pensioner at the time of his death shall be paid to the executor or administrator on the estate of such pensioner, for the sole and exclusive benefit of the children, to be by him distributed among them in equal shares, and the same shall not be considered as a part of the assets of said estate, nor liable to be applied to the payment of the debts of said estate in any case whatever.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That in case any pensioner who is a widow shall die, leaving children, the amount of pension due at the time of her death shall be paid to the executor or administrator for the benefit of her children, as directed in the foregoing section.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That in case of the death of any pensioner, whether male or female, leaving children, the amount of pension may be paid to any one or each of them, as they may prefer, without the intervention of an administrator.
APPROVED, June 19, 1840.
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August 16, 1841
CHAP. VIII.—An act to provide for the payment of Navy Pensions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the sum of one hundred and thirty-nine thousand six hundred and sixty-six dollars and six cents is hereby appropriated, to be paid out of any money in th0 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the payment of pensions and half-pay chargeable on the navy pension fund: Provided, That all widow or children of all naval officers, seamen, or marines, now deceased, and entitled to receive or make proof of their pensions under the act of the third of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, shall receive the same until the close of the next session of Congress; but no widows or children of any naval officer, seaman, or marine, who may hereafter die, shall be entitled to any pension by virtue only of any provision in the said act.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That no officer, seaman, or ma1rifle, entitled to a pension from the navy pension fund, who receives pay from the public treasury, shall receive more from the said fund than is sufficient to make the whole amount received from both the above named sources equal to the pay fixed by law for the grade to which the officer, seaman, or marine may belong as an officer in the services in which he may be engaged, during the year, so that no officer shall receive pay at the same time both as a pensioner and an officer in service.
APPROVED, August 16, 1841.
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August 23, 1842
CHAP. CXCI.—An .act to amend the acts of July, eighteen hundred and thirty
six, and eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, allowing pensions to certain Widows.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America in congress assembled, That the marriage of the widow, after the death of her husband, for whose services she claims a pension, under the act of the seventh of July, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, shall be no bar to the claim of such widow to the benefit of that act, she being a widow at the time she makes application for a pension.
APPROVED, August 23, 1842.
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February 20, 1845
CHAP. XV.—..An .act restricting the grant of pensions in certain cases.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Slates of America in congress assembled, That from and after the passage of this act a pension shall not be granted to any widow for or during any part or portion of the time her husband may have received one, whose declaration therefore shall not have been made on or before the thirtieth day of April one thousand eight hundred and forty-four, and shall not have been received at the pension office on or before the twenty-third day of January, one thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
APPROVED, February 20, 1845.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Pension Laws OF The United States 1813-1823.
When I started these pages on the pension laws I had no idea what I was getting into, in the beginning I thought it may take up to four pages to get them all down, but now I see it may take as many as 17, pages. To help you find the pension laws you maybe looking for I will keep the titles of the pages the same but the years will change, so you will know what page to work off of.
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August 2, 1813
CHAP. XL.—.An .act to provide far the widows and orphans of militia slain, and
for militia disabled in, the service of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United of America in Congress assembled, That if any commissioned officer of the militia, or of any volunteer corps, shall while in the service of the United States die by reason of any wound received in actual service of the United States, and leave a widow, or if no widow, a child or children under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if no widow, such child or children shall be entitled to receiye half the monthly pay to which the deceased was entitled at the time of his death, for and during the term of five years; but in case of the death or intermarriage of such widow, before the expiration of the said term of five years, the half pay for the remainder of the time shall go to the child or children of such deceased officer: Provided always, That such half pay shall cease on the death of such child or children.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any officer, non-commissioned officer, musician, or private of the militia, or of any volunteer corps, shall be disabled by known wounds received in the actual service of the United States, while in the line of his duty, he shall upon substantiating his claim in the manner described by an act, entitled “An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” passed the tenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and six, be placed on the list of invalids of the United States, at such rate of pension, and under such regulations as are provided by the said act, or as may hereafter be provided by law: Provided always, That the compensation to be allowed for such wounds or disabilities, to a commissioned officer shall not exceed for the highest rate of disability half the monthly pay of such officer at the time of his being wounded or disabled, and that no officer shall receive more than the half pay of a lieutenant colonel; and that the rate of compensation to noncommissioned officers, musicians, and privates, shall not exceed five dollars per month: And provided also, That all inferior disabilities shall entitle the persons so disabled, to receive an allowance proportionate to the highest disability.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of this act shall be construed to have effect from and after the eighteenth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twelve.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the sixth section of an act, entitled “An act authorizing the President of the United States to accept and organize certain volunteer military corps,” passed the sixth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, be and the same is hereby repealed.
APPROVED, August 2, 1813.
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August 2, 1813
CHAP. LVIII.—An .act to amend and explain the act regulating pensions to persons on board private armed ships.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the act regulating pensions to persons on board private armed ships shall be construed to authorize the Secretary of the Navy to place on the pension list under the restrictions and regulations of the said act any officer, seaman, or marine belonging to any private armed ship or vessel of the United States, bearing a commission of letter of marque, who shall have been wounded or otherwise disabled in the line of their duty as officers, seamen, or marines of such private armed ship or vessel.
APPROVED, August 2, 1813.
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March 4, 1814
CRAP. XX.—An act giving pensions to the orphans and widows of persons slain
in the public or private armed vessels of the United States.(a)
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That if any officer, seaman or marine serving on board of any private armed ship or vessel a commission of letter of marque, shall die, or shall have died since the eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve, by reason of a wound received in the line of his duty, leaving a widow, or if no widow, a child or children under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if rio widow, such child or children shall be placed on the pension list by the Secretary of the Navy, who shall allow to such widow, child or children, half the monthly pension to which the rank of the deceased would have entitled him for the highest rate of disability, under “ An act regulating pensions to persons on board private armed ships ;“ which allowance shall continue for the term of five years; but in case of the death or intermarriage of such widow before the expiration of the term of five years, the half-pay for the remainder of the term shall go to the child or children of the deceased: Provided, That the half-pay shall cease on the death of such child or children. And the several pensions hereby directed shall be paid by direction of the Secretary of the Navy out of the fund provided by the seventeenth section of an act, entitled “An act concerning letters of marque, prizes and prize goods,” and from no other.
Sac. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any seaman or marine belonging to the navy of the United States shall die, or if any officer, seaman or marine belonging to the navy of the United States, shall have died, since the eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve, by reason of a wound received in the line of his duty, leaving a widow, or if no widow, a child or children under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if no widow, such child or children shall be entitled to receive half the monthly pay to which the deceased was entitled at the time of his death, which allowance shall continue for the term of five years; but in case of the death or intermarriage of such widow before the expiration of the said term of five years, the half-pay for the remainder of the term shall go to the child or children of the deceased: Provided, That such half-pay shall cease on the death of such child or children. And the money required for this purpose shall be paid out of the navy pension fund under the direction of the commissioners of that fund.
APPROVED, March 4, 1814.
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April 18, 1814
CHAP. LXV.—An act granting pensions to the officers and seamen serving on
board the revenue cutters in certain cases.
Be it enacted by tire Senate and house of Representatives of tire United States of America en Congress assembled, That the officers and seamen of the revenue cutters of the United States, who have been or may be wounded or disabled in the discharge of their duty whilst co-operating the navy by order of the President of the United States, shall be entitled to be placed on the navy pension list, at the same rate of pension, and under the same regulations and restrictions as are now provided by law for the officers and seamen of the navy.
APPROVED, April 18, 1814.
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April 24, 1816
CHAP. LXVIII.—An act to increase the pensions of invalids in certain eases; for
the relief of invalids of the militia; and for the appointment of pension agents in those states where there is no commissioner of loans. (a).
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That all persons, of the ranks hereinafter named, who are now on the military pension roll of the United States, shall, from and after the passage of this act, be entitled to, and receive, for disabilities of the highest degree, the following sums, in lieu of those to which they are now entitled, to wit: a first lieutenant, seventeen dollars; a second lieutenant, fifteen dollars; a third lieutenant, fourteen dollars; an ensign, thirteen dollars; and a non-commissioned officer, musician or private, eight dollars per month; and for disabilities of a degree less than the highest, a sum proportionably less.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That all persons of the aforesaid ranks, who may hereafter be placed on the military pension roll of the United States, shall, according to their ranks and degrees of disabilities, be placed on at the aforesaid rates of pensions in lieu of those heretofore established: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to lessen the pension of any person who, by special provision, is entitled a higher pension than is herein provided.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all laws and regulations relating to the admission of the officers and soldiers of the regular army to be placed on the pension roll of the United States shall, and they are hereby declared to relate equally to the officers and soldiers of the militia, whilst in the service of the United States.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary for the department of War be, and he is hereby authorized and required to appoint fit and proper person in those states and territories where there is no commissioner of loans, and also in the district of Maine, to perform the duties in those states and territories, and in said district respectively, relating to pensions and pensioners, which are now required of said commissioners in their respective states.
Approved, April 24, 1816.
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March 3, 1817
CHAP. LX.—An .Act to amend and explain an “.&t giving pensions to the orphans and widows of persons slain in 1/se public or private armed vessels of the United States.”
Be it enacted by tire Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That if any officer, seaman, or marine, belonging to the navy of the United States, shall die, or shall have died, since the eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve, in consequence of disease contracted, or of casualties or injuries received, while in the line of his duty, and which shall be satisfactorily proved to the commissioners of the navy pension fund, leaving a widow, or if no widow, a child or children, under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if no widow, such child or children, shall be entitled to receive half the monthly pay to which the deceased was entitled at the time of his death, which allowance shall continue for the term of five years; but in case of the death or intermarriage of such widow, before the expiration of the said term of five years, the half pay for the remainder of the term, shall go to the child or children of the deceased : Provided, That such half pay shall cease on the death of such child or children. And the money required for this purpose shall be paid out of the navy pension fund, under the direction of the commissioners of that fund.
APPROVED, March 3, 1817.
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March 3, 1817
CHAP. CVIL—.An Act to amend an act, entitled “.An act making further provisions for military services during the late war, and for other purposes.”
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the widows anti children of soldiers, of the militia, the volunteers, the rangers, and the sea-fencibles, who served during the late war, and for whom half pay for five years was provided, by an act passed the sixteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, entitled “An act making further provision for military services during the late war, and for other purposes,” shall he placed on ‘an equality as to their annual allowance, that is to say: Such widows, and in case of no widow, such children as may be embraced in the before recited act, shall be entitled to receive, (as the half pay to which they are entitled,) at the rate of forty-eight dollars per annum, and no more; and the widows and children, aforesaid, of the officers of the different corps, aforesaid, shall be entitled to the half pay of the officers of the infantry.
Sac. 2. And be it further enacted, That the provisions contained in an act, entitled “An act fixing the military peace establishment of the United States,” passed on the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, granting to the commissioned officers of the regular army, who were deranged by said act, three months’ pay in addition to the pay and emoluments to which they were entitled by law at the time of their discharge, shall equally extend to wagon-masters, forage-masters, barrack- masters, and other warrant officers of the staff of the regular army, who were deranged by the before recited act, except those provisionally retained by the President of the United States.
SEC. 3. And be ii further enacted, That the further time of two years shall be allowed to the guardians of the minor children of deceased soldiers, to relinquish their claims to bounty lands for five years’ half pay, according to the second section of the before recited act, to which this a supplement, passed the sixteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the widows and children of the non-commissioned officers of the rangers, shall be placed on the same as to half pay, for five years with the widows and children of the infantry.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of the second section of the act to which this is a supplement, shall be, and the same are hereby, extended to all cases where either of the children therein mentioned shall have been under sixteen years of age at the time of the father’s decease: Provided, The guardian of such minor children shall, in addition to the relinquishment by said act required, file, in the office of the Department of War, evidence of the assent of all the other heirs, if any there be, of said deceased soldier, or of their guardians, to such elinquishment.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That in all cases where the child or children of a regular soldier, deceased, have the right, under the laws of the United States, to relinquish their bounty in land, for five years’ pay, the said child or children shall be entitled to the swine amount as is given by the act to the widows of the militia soldiers who died in service during the late war, viz: four dollars per month.
APPROVED, March 3, 1517.
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March 18, 1818
CHAP. XIX.—.An .Act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States, in the Revolutionary War.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That every commissioned officer, non-commissioned officer, musician, and private soldier, and all officers in the hospital department and medical staff, who served in the war cf the revolution until the end thereof, or for the term of nine months, or longer, at any period of the war, on the continental establishment; and every commissioned officer, non-commissioned officer, manncr, or marine, who served at the same time, and for a like term, in the naval service of the United States, who is yet a resident citizen of the United States, and who is, or hereafter, by reason of has reduced circumstances in life, shall be, in need of assistance from his country for support, and shall have substantiated his claim to a pension in the manner hereinafter directed, shall receive a pension from the United States : if an officer, of twenty dollars per month during life; if a non-commissioned officer, musician, mariner, marine, or private soldier, of eight dollars per month during life: Provided, No person shall he entitled to the provisions of this act, until he shall have relinquished his claim to every pension heretofore allowed him by the laws of the United States.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That to entitle any person to the provisions of this act, he shall make a declaration, under oath or affirmation, before the district judge of the United States of the district, or before any judge or court of record of the county, state, or territory, in which the applicant shall reside, setting forth, if he belonged to the army, the company, regiment, and line, to which he belonged: the time he entered the service, and the time and manner of leaving the service; and in case he belonged to the navy, a lake declaration, setting forth the name of the vessel, and particular service in which he was employed, and the time and manner of leaving the service, and shall offer such other evidence as may be in his power; and, on its appearing, to the satisfaction of the said judge, that the applicant served in the revolutionary war as aforesaid against the common enemy, he shall certify and transmit Testimony, the testimony in the case, and the proceedings had thereon, to the Secretary of the Department of War, whose duty it shall be, if satisfied the applicant comes under the provisions of this act, to place such officer,
musician, mariner, marine, or soldier, on the pension list of the United States, to be paid in the same manner as pensions to invalids who have been placed on the pension list are now paid, and under such restrictions and regulations, in all respects, as are prescribed by law.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That every pension by virtue of this act shall commence on the day that the declaration under oath or affirmation, prescribed in the foregoing section, shall be made.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That from and after the passage of this act, no sale, transfer, or mortgage, of the whole, or any part, of the pension payable in pursuance of this act, shall be valid; and any person who shall swear or affirm falsely in the premises, and be thereof conshall suffer as for willful and corrupt perjury.
APPROVED, March 18, 1818.
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April 16, 1818.
CHAP. LXV.—.An .Act in addition to “An act giving pension to the orphans and widows of persons slain in the public or private armed vessels of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That in every case where a person has been put on the pension list, or granted a certificate of pension, by virtue of the first section of ala act, passed the fourth day of March, in the year eighteen hundred and fourteen, entitled “An act giving pensions to the orphans and widows of persons slain in the public or private armed vessels of the United States,” the Secretary of the Navy b and he is hereby, authorized, at the expiration of the term of five years, for which any pension certificate shall have been granted as aforesaid, to allow the full monthly pension to which the rank of the deceased would have entitled him for the highest rate of disability, and that such pension shall continue to such person for the further term of five years: Provided, That such pension shall cease on the death of suds widow, child, or children.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any officer, seamen or marine, shall have died since the eighteenth day of June, in the year eighteen hundred and twelve, in consequence of an accident or casualty, which occurred while in the line of his duty on board a private armed vessel, leaving a widow, or, if no widow, a child or children under sixteen years of age, the Secretary of the Navy be, and he is hereby, authorized to place such widow, child, or children, on the pension list, and allow to such widow, child, or children, the same monthly pension as if the deceased had died by reason of wounds received in the line of his duty: Provided, That all moneys paid by virtue of this act shall be paid out of the privateer pension fund, and no other.
APPROVED, April 16, 1818.
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March 3, 1819
CHAP. LX.—.An act extending the term of half-pay pensions to the widows and children of certain officers, seamen, and marines, who died in the public service.
Be it enacted by 1/ic Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in congress assembled, That in all cases where provision has been made by law for five years, half pay to the widows and children of officers, seamen, and marines, who were killed in battle, or died of wounds received in battle, or who died in the naval service of the United States, during tile late war, the said provision shall be continued for the additional term of five years, to commence at the end of the first term of five years, in each case, respectively, making the provision equal to ten years half pay; which shall be paid iii the manner, and out of the fund, heretofore designated by law; and the said pensions shall also cease for the reasons mentioned in the said law.
Approved, March 3, 1819.
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March 3, 1819
CHAP. LXXXI.. An .act regulating tire payments to invalid pensioners.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That in all cases of application for the payment of pensions to invalids, under the several laws of Congress granting pensions to invalids, the affidavit of two surgeons or physicians, whose credibility, as such, shall be certified by the magistrate before whom the affidavit is made, stating the continuance of the disability continuance for which the pension was originally granted, (describing it,) and the rate of such disability at the time of making the affidavit, shall accompany ability, the application of the first payment which shall fall due after the fourth day of March next, and at the end of every two years thereafter; and if, in a case of a continued disability, it shall be stated at a rate below that for which the pension was originally granted, the applicant shall only be paid at the rate stated in the affidavit: Provided, That where the pension davit shall have been originally granted for a total disability, in consequence of the loss of a limb, or other cause which cannot, either in whole or in part, be removed, the above affidavit shall not be necessary to entitle tile applicant to payment: And provided, also, That this act shall not extend to the invalids of the revolution, who have been, or shall be, placed on the pension list, pursuant to an act of Congress, entitled “An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United Slates in the revolutionary war,’ approved the eighteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eight. [eighteen.]
APPROVED, March 3, 1819.
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March 3, 1819
CHAP. XCIV,—.-An .Act concerning the allowance of pensions upon a relinquishment of bounty land.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in congress assembled, That the second section of the act making further provision for military services during the late war, and for other purposes, approved April sixteenth, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, and so much of the act to amend the same, approved March third, one thousand eight hundred and seventeen, as relates to the subject of that section, shall be continued in force for the term of three years from and after the passing of this act: Provided, nevertheless, That no pension shall be granted under the said acts, after the sixteenth day of April next, unless, at the time of relinquishing the bounty land, in the manner therein described, the children, for whose benefit the same may be granted, or one of them, shall be under sixteen years of age: And provided also, That the pensions shall commence at the date of the relinquishments respectively.
Approved,, March 3, 1819.
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May 1, 1820
CHAP. LIII.—An act in addition to an act, entitled “An act to provide for certain
persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war,” passed the eighteenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That no person who now is, or hereafter may be, placed on the pension list of the United States, by virtue of the act, entitled “An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war,” passed on the eighteenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, shall, after the payment of that part of the pension which became due on the fourth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, continue to receive the pension granted by the said act, until he shall have exhibited to some court of record, in the county, city, or borough, in which he resides, a schedule, subscribed by him, containing his whole estate and income, (his necessary clothing and bedding excepted) and shall have (before the said court, or some one of the judges thereof,) taken and subscribed, produced to the said court, the following oath or affirmation, to wit: I, A. B. do solemnly swear or affirm, (as the case may be) that I was a resident citizen of the United States on the eighteenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, and that I have not, since that time, by gift, sale, or in any manner whatever, disposed of my property, or any part thereof, with intent thereby so to diminish it as to bring myself within the provisions of an act of Congress, entitled “An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war,” passed on the eighteenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen; and that I have not, nor has any person in trust for me, any property, or securities, contracts, or debts, due to me; nor have I any income, other than what is contained in the schedule hereto annexed and by me subscribed: Nor until such person shall have delivered, or caused to be delivered, to the Secretary of War, a copy of the aforesaid schedule and oath or affirmation, certified by the clerk of the court to which the said schedule was delivered, together the opinion of the said court, also certified by their clerk, of the value of the property contained in the said schedule: Provided, That in every case, in which the pensioner may be insane, or incapable of taking an oath, the court may receive the said schedule, without the aforesaid oath or affirmation, from the committee, or other person authorized to take care of such person.
2. And be it further enacted, That the original schedule and oath or affirmation shall be filed in the clerk’s office, of the court which the schedule and oath or affirmation aforesaid shall be exhibited: And any person who shall swear or affirm falsely in the premises, and be thereof convicted, shall suffer as for willful and corrupt perjury.
Sac. 3. And be it further enacted, That on the receipt of the copy of the schedule and oath, or affirmation aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the War Department to cause to be struck from the list of pensioners under the said act, the name of such person, in case the said person shall not, in his opinion, be in such indigent circumstances as to be unable to support himself without the assistance of his country: Provided, That every person, who shall have been placed on the pension list in consequence of disability, from known wounds received in the revolutionary war, and who shall have relinquished such pension in order to avail themselves of the benefit of the provisions of the act, to which this is an amendment, who, by virtue, of this section, may be stricken from the pension list, shall be forthwith restored to the pension so relinquished.
Approved, May 1, 1820.
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May 15, 1820
CHAP. CIX.—.An .act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled “.An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” and for other purposes.
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 to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” passed on the tenth of April, one thousand eight hundred and six, and limited, as in said act declared, to the term of years, and afterwards revived and continued in force by an act, entitled “An [act) to revive and continue in force ‘An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,’ and for other purposes,” for and during the term of six years, as in the said act is declared, shall be, and the same is hereby, revived, and is continued in force for one year, and no longer, from the passing of this act: Provided, That this act shall not be construed to repeal or make void the fourth section of an act, entitled “An act concerning invalid pensions,” passed the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen; but the said fourth section of the said last mentioned act shall be, and hereby is declared to be, in full force and effect, any thing in the said act hereby revived and made perpetual to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the right any person now has, or may hereafter acquire, to receive a pension in virtue of any law of the United States, be considered to commence at the time of completing his testimony, pursuant to the act hereby revived and continued in force.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the agents for the payment of invalid pensioners of the United States shall, in future, be required to give bond, with two or more sureties, to be approved by the Secretary for the Department of War, in a sum not exceeding five thousand dollars, for the faithful discharge of the duties confided to them, respectively.
Approved, May 15, 1820.
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February 4, 1822
CHAP. VI.—.An ,act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled “An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war.
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 to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” passed on the tenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and six, and limited, as in said act declared, to the term of six years, and afterwards revived and continued in force, for and during the term of six years, by an act, entitled “An act, to revive and continue in force ‘An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,’ and for other purposes,” passed on the twenty-fifth day of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twelve, and afterwards revived and continued in force for the term of one year, by an act, entitled “An act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled ‘An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” passed on the fifteenth day of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty, shall be, and the said act is hereby, revived and continued in full force and effect, for and during the term of six years from and after the passing of this act, and from thence unto the end of the next session of Congress: Provided, That any evidence which has been taken to support any claim of any person disabled in the revolutionary war, under the authority of the act of the fifteenth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, reviving and continuing in force, for one year, “An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” shall be received and acted upon by the Secretary of War, in the same manner as if said act was still in force and had not expired: And provided also, That this act, and any thing contained in the act hereby revived and continued in force, shall not be construed to repeal or make void the fourth section of an act, entitled “An act concerning invalid pensions,” passed the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen; and the said fourth section of the said last-mentioned act shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be, and to continue to be, in full force and effect; any thing in the said act hereby revived and continued in force to the contrary notwithstanding.
Sac. 2. And be it further enacted, That the right any person now has, or hereafter may acquire, to receive a pension in virtue of any law of the United States, shall be construed to commence at the time of completing his testimony pursuant to the act hereby revived and continued in force.
Sac. 3. And be it further enacted, That the agents for the payment of pensions to invalid pensioners of the United States, shall, in future, be required to give bonds, with two or more sureties, to be approved by the Secretary of the Department of War, in such penalty as he shall direct, for the faithful discharge of the duties confided to them respectively. APPROVED, February 4, 1822.
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March 1, 1823
CHAP. LIX.—.An .act supplementary to the acts to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service f the United States in the revolutionary war.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and required to restore to the list of pension era the name of any person who may have been, or hereafter shall be stricken there from, in pursuance of the act of Congress, passed the first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, entitled” An act in addition to an act, entitled ‘An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war,’” passed the eighteenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, if such person, so stricken from the list of pensioners, has heretofore furnished, or hereafter shall furnish, evidence, in pursuance of the provisions of said act, to satisfy the Secretary of War that he is in such indigent circumstances as to be unable to support himself without the assistance of his country, and that he has not disposed of or transferred his property, or any portion thereof, with a view to obtain a pension.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, when any person, coming within the provisions of the acts to which this is supplementary, shall, by reason of bodily infirmity, be unable to attend in court to snake his schedule, and furnish the evidence by said acts required, it shall be lawfuI for any judge or justice of a court of record in the district, city, county, or borough, in which such person resides, to attend at his place of abode and receive his schedule, and oath or affirmation, and said judge or justice shall certify that said applicant was, from bodily infirmity, unable to attend such court; which schedule, and oath or affirmation, and certificate, shall, by said judge or justice, be produced in the court of which he is judge; and the opinion of said court, of the value of the property contained in said schedule, shall be entered thereon, and certified by the clerk of said court; and such schedule shall be valid for all the purposes contemplated by the acts aforesaid.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That no pension hereafter to be allowed on claims or schedules heretofore filed under the act or acts to which this act is a supplement, or under the provisions of this act, shall commence before the passage thereof; and all other pensions hereafter to be allowed under the acts aforesaid, shall commence from the time of completing the proof.
APPROVED, March 1, 1823.
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August 2, 1813
CHAP. XL.—.An .act to provide far the widows and orphans of militia slain, and
for militia disabled in, the service of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United of America in Congress assembled, That if any commissioned officer of the militia, or of any volunteer corps, shall while in the service of the United States die by reason of any wound received in actual service of the United States, and leave a widow, or if no widow, a child or children under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if no widow, such child or children shall be entitled to receiye half the monthly pay to which the deceased was entitled at the time of his death, for and during the term of five years; but in case of the death or intermarriage of such widow, before the expiration of the said term of five years, the half pay for the remainder of the time shall go to the child or children of such deceased officer: Provided always, That such half pay shall cease on the death of such child or children.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any officer, non-commissioned officer, musician, or private of the militia, or of any volunteer corps, shall be disabled by known wounds received in the actual service of the United States, while in the line of his duty, he shall upon substantiating his claim in the manner described by an act, entitled “An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” passed the tenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and six, be placed on the list of invalids of the United States, at such rate of pension, and under such regulations as are provided by the said act, or as may hereafter be provided by law: Provided always, That the compensation to be allowed for such wounds or disabilities, to a commissioned officer shall not exceed for the highest rate of disability half the monthly pay of such officer at the time of his being wounded or disabled, and that no officer shall receive more than the half pay of a lieutenant colonel; and that the rate of compensation to noncommissioned officers, musicians, and privates, shall not exceed five dollars per month: And provided also, That all inferior disabilities shall entitle the persons so disabled, to receive an allowance proportionate to the highest disability.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of this act shall be construed to have effect from and after the eighteenth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twelve.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the sixth section of an act, entitled “An act authorizing the President of the United States to accept and organize certain volunteer military corps,” passed the sixth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, be and the same is hereby repealed.
APPROVED, August 2, 1813.
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August 2, 1813
CHAP. LVIII.—An .act to amend and explain the act regulating pensions to persons on board private armed ships.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the act regulating pensions to persons on board private armed ships shall be construed to authorize the Secretary of the Navy to place on the pension list under the restrictions and regulations of the said act any officer, seaman, or marine belonging to any private armed ship or vessel of the United States, bearing a commission of letter of marque, who shall have been wounded or otherwise disabled in the line of their duty as officers, seamen, or marines of such private armed ship or vessel.
APPROVED, August 2, 1813.
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March 4, 1814
CRAP. XX.—An act giving pensions to the orphans and widows of persons slain
in the public or private armed vessels of the United States.(a)
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That if any officer, seaman or marine serving on board of any private armed ship or vessel a commission of letter of marque, shall die, or shall have died since the eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve, by reason of a wound received in the line of his duty, leaving a widow, or if no widow, a child or children under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if rio widow, such child or children shall be placed on the pension list by the Secretary of the Navy, who shall allow to such widow, child or children, half the monthly pension to which the rank of the deceased would have entitled him for the highest rate of disability, under “ An act regulating pensions to persons on board private armed ships ;“ which allowance shall continue for the term of five years; but in case of the death or intermarriage of such widow before the expiration of the term of five years, the half-pay for the remainder of the term shall go to the child or children of the deceased: Provided, That the half-pay shall cease on the death of such child or children. And the several pensions hereby directed shall be paid by direction of the Secretary of the Navy out of the fund provided by the seventeenth section of an act, entitled “An act concerning letters of marque, prizes and prize goods,” and from no other.
Sac. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any seaman or marine belonging to the navy of the United States shall die, or if any officer, seaman or marine belonging to the navy of the United States, shall have died, since the eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve, by reason of a wound received in the line of his duty, leaving a widow, or if no widow, a child or children under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if no widow, such child or children shall be entitled to receive half the monthly pay to which the deceased was entitled at the time of his death, which allowance shall continue for the term of five years; but in case of the death or intermarriage of such widow before the expiration of the said term of five years, the half-pay for the remainder of the term shall go to the child or children of the deceased: Provided, That such half-pay shall cease on the death of such child or children. And the money required for this purpose shall be paid out of the navy pension fund under the direction of the commissioners of that fund.
APPROVED, March 4, 1814.
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April 18, 1814
CHAP. LXV.—An act granting pensions to the officers and seamen serving on
board the revenue cutters in certain cases.
Be it enacted by tire Senate and house of Representatives of tire United States of America en Congress assembled, That the officers and seamen of the revenue cutters of the United States, who have been or may be wounded or disabled in the discharge of their duty whilst co-operating the navy by order of the President of the United States, shall be entitled to be placed on the navy pension list, at the same rate of pension, and under the same regulations and restrictions as are now provided by law for the officers and seamen of the navy.
APPROVED, April 18, 1814.
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April 24, 1816
CHAP. LXVIII.—An act to increase the pensions of invalids in certain eases; for
the relief of invalids of the militia; and for the appointment of pension agents in those states where there is no commissioner of loans. (a).
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That all persons, of the ranks hereinafter named, who are now on the military pension roll of the United States, shall, from and after the passage of this act, be entitled to, and receive, for disabilities of the highest degree, the following sums, in lieu of those to which they are now entitled, to wit: a first lieutenant, seventeen dollars; a second lieutenant, fifteen dollars; a third lieutenant, fourteen dollars; an ensign, thirteen dollars; and a non-commissioned officer, musician or private, eight dollars per month; and for disabilities of a degree less than the highest, a sum proportionably less.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That all persons of the aforesaid ranks, who may hereafter be placed on the military pension roll of the United States, shall, according to their ranks and degrees of disabilities, be placed on at the aforesaid rates of pensions in lieu of those heretofore established: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to lessen the pension of any person who, by special provision, is entitled a higher pension than is herein provided.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all laws and regulations relating to the admission of the officers and soldiers of the regular army to be placed on the pension roll of the United States shall, and they are hereby declared to relate equally to the officers and soldiers of the militia, whilst in the service of the United States.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary for the department of War be, and he is hereby authorized and required to appoint fit and proper person in those states and territories where there is no commissioner of loans, and also in the district of Maine, to perform the duties in those states and territories, and in said district respectively, relating to pensions and pensioners, which are now required of said commissioners in their respective states.
Approved, April 24, 1816.
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March 3, 1817
CHAP. LX.—An .Act to amend and explain an “.&t giving pensions to the orphans and widows of persons slain in 1/se public or private armed vessels of the United States.”
Be it enacted by tire Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That if any officer, seaman, or marine, belonging to the navy of the United States, shall die, or shall have died, since the eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve, in consequence of disease contracted, or of casualties or injuries received, while in the line of his duty, and which shall be satisfactorily proved to the commissioners of the navy pension fund, leaving a widow, or if no widow, a child or children, under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if no widow, such child or children, shall be entitled to receive half the monthly pay to which the deceased was entitled at the time of his death, which allowance shall continue for the term of five years; but in case of the death or intermarriage of such widow, before the expiration of the said term of five years, the half pay for the remainder of the term, shall go to the child or children of the deceased : Provided, That such half pay shall cease on the death of such child or children. And the money required for this purpose shall be paid out of the navy pension fund, under the direction of the commissioners of that fund.
APPROVED, March 3, 1817.
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March 3, 1817
CHAP. CVIL—.An Act to amend an act, entitled “.An act making further provisions for military services during the late war, and for other purposes.”
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the widows anti children of soldiers, of the militia, the volunteers, the rangers, and the sea-fencibles, who served during the late war, and for whom half pay for five years was provided, by an act passed the sixteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, entitled “An act making further provision for military services during the late war, and for other purposes,” shall he placed on ‘an equality as to their annual allowance, that is to say: Such widows, and in case of no widow, such children as may be embraced in the before recited act, shall be entitled to receive, (as the half pay to which they are entitled,) at the rate of forty-eight dollars per annum, and no more; and the widows and children, aforesaid, of the officers of the different corps, aforesaid, shall be entitled to the half pay of the officers of the infantry.
Sac. 2. And be it further enacted, That the provisions contained in an act, entitled “An act fixing the military peace establishment of the United States,” passed on the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, granting to the commissioned officers of the regular army, who were deranged by said act, three months’ pay in addition to the pay and emoluments to which they were entitled by law at the time of their discharge, shall equally extend to wagon-masters, forage-masters, barrack- masters, and other warrant officers of the staff of the regular army, who were deranged by the before recited act, except those provisionally retained by the President of the United States.
SEC. 3. And be ii further enacted, That the further time of two years shall be allowed to the guardians of the minor children of deceased soldiers, to relinquish their claims to bounty lands for five years’ half pay, according to the second section of the before recited act, to which this a supplement, passed the sixteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the widows and children of the non-commissioned officers of the rangers, shall be placed on the same as to half pay, for five years with the widows and children of the infantry.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of the second section of the act to which this is a supplement, shall be, and the same are hereby, extended to all cases where either of the children therein mentioned shall have been under sixteen years of age at the time of the father’s decease: Provided, The guardian of such minor children shall, in addition to the relinquishment by said act required, file, in the office of the Department of War, evidence of the assent of all the other heirs, if any there be, of said deceased soldier, or of their guardians, to such elinquishment.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That in all cases where the child or children of a regular soldier, deceased, have the right, under the laws of the United States, to relinquish their bounty in land, for five years’ pay, the said child or children shall be entitled to the swine amount as is given by the act to the widows of the militia soldiers who died in service during the late war, viz: four dollars per month.
APPROVED, March 3, 1517.
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March 18, 1818
CHAP. XIX.—.An .Act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States, in the Revolutionary War.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That every commissioned officer, non-commissioned officer, musician, and private soldier, and all officers in the hospital department and medical staff, who served in the war cf the revolution until the end thereof, or for the term of nine months, or longer, at any period of the war, on the continental establishment; and every commissioned officer, non-commissioned officer, manncr, or marine, who served at the same time, and for a like term, in the naval service of the United States, who is yet a resident citizen of the United States, and who is, or hereafter, by reason of has reduced circumstances in life, shall be, in need of assistance from his country for support, and shall have substantiated his claim to a pension in the manner hereinafter directed, shall receive a pension from the United States : if an officer, of twenty dollars per month during life; if a non-commissioned officer, musician, mariner, marine, or private soldier, of eight dollars per month during life: Provided, No person shall he entitled to the provisions of this act, until he shall have relinquished his claim to every pension heretofore allowed him by the laws of the United States.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That to entitle any person to the provisions of this act, he shall make a declaration, under oath or affirmation, before the district judge of the United States of the district, or before any judge or court of record of the county, state, or territory, in which the applicant shall reside, setting forth, if he belonged to the army, the company, regiment, and line, to which he belonged: the time he entered the service, and the time and manner of leaving the service; and in case he belonged to the navy, a lake declaration, setting forth the name of the vessel, and particular service in which he was employed, and the time and manner of leaving the service, and shall offer such other evidence as may be in his power; and, on its appearing, to the satisfaction of the said judge, that the applicant served in the revolutionary war as aforesaid against the common enemy, he shall certify and transmit Testimony, the testimony in the case, and the proceedings had thereon, to the Secretary of the Department of War, whose duty it shall be, if satisfied the applicant comes under the provisions of this act, to place such officer,
musician, mariner, marine, or soldier, on the pension list of the United States, to be paid in the same manner as pensions to invalids who have been placed on the pension list are now paid, and under such restrictions and regulations, in all respects, as are prescribed by law.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That every pension by virtue of this act shall commence on the day that the declaration under oath or affirmation, prescribed in the foregoing section, shall be made.
SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That from and after the passage of this act, no sale, transfer, or mortgage, of the whole, or any part, of the pension payable in pursuance of this act, shall be valid; and any person who shall swear or affirm falsely in the premises, and be thereof conshall suffer as for willful and corrupt perjury.
APPROVED, March 18, 1818.
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April 16, 1818.
CHAP. LXV.—.An .Act in addition to “An act giving pension to the orphans and widows of persons slain in the public or private armed vessels of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That in every case where a person has been put on the pension list, or granted a certificate of pension, by virtue of the first section of ala act, passed the fourth day of March, in the year eighteen hundred and fourteen, entitled “An act giving pensions to the orphans and widows of persons slain in the public or private armed vessels of the United States,” the Secretary of the Navy b and he is hereby, authorized, at the expiration of the term of five years, for which any pension certificate shall have been granted as aforesaid, to allow the full monthly pension to which the rank of the deceased would have entitled him for the highest rate of disability, and that such pension shall continue to such person for the further term of five years: Provided, That such pension shall cease on the death of suds widow, child, or children.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any officer, seamen or marine, shall have died since the eighteenth day of June, in the year eighteen hundred and twelve, in consequence of an accident or casualty, which occurred while in the line of his duty on board a private armed vessel, leaving a widow, or, if no widow, a child or children under sixteen years of age, the Secretary of the Navy be, and he is hereby, authorized to place such widow, child, or children, on the pension list, and allow to such widow, child, or children, the same monthly pension as if the deceased had died by reason of wounds received in the line of his duty: Provided, That all moneys paid by virtue of this act shall be paid out of the privateer pension fund, and no other.
APPROVED, April 16, 1818.
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March 3, 1819
CHAP. LX.—.An act extending the term of half-pay pensions to the widows and children of certain officers, seamen, and marines, who died in the public service.
Be it enacted by 1/ic Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in congress assembled, That in all cases where provision has been made by law for five years, half pay to the widows and children of officers, seamen, and marines, who were killed in battle, or died of wounds received in battle, or who died in the naval service of the United States, during tile late war, the said provision shall be continued for the additional term of five years, to commence at the end of the first term of five years, in each case, respectively, making the provision equal to ten years half pay; which shall be paid iii the manner, and out of the fund, heretofore designated by law; and the said pensions shall also cease for the reasons mentioned in the said law.
Approved, March 3, 1819.
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March 3, 1819
CHAP. LXXXI.. An .act regulating tire payments to invalid pensioners.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That in all cases of application for the payment of pensions to invalids, under the several laws of Congress granting pensions to invalids, the affidavit of two surgeons or physicians, whose credibility, as such, shall be certified by the magistrate before whom the affidavit is made, stating the continuance of the disability continuance for which the pension was originally granted, (describing it,) and the rate of such disability at the time of making the affidavit, shall accompany ability, the application of the first payment which shall fall due after the fourth day of March next, and at the end of every two years thereafter; and if, in a case of a continued disability, it shall be stated at a rate below that for which the pension was originally granted, the applicant shall only be paid at the rate stated in the affidavit: Provided, That where the pension davit shall have been originally granted for a total disability, in consequence of the loss of a limb, or other cause which cannot, either in whole or in part, be removed, the above affidavit shall not be necessary to entitle tile applicant to payment: And provided, also, That this act shall not extend to the invalids of the revolution, who have been, or shall be, placed on the pension list, pursuant to an act of Congress, entitled “An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United Slates in the revolutionary war,’ approved the eighteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eight. [eighteen.]
APPROVED, March 3, 1819.
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March 3, 1819
CHAP. XCIV,—.-An .Act concerning the allowance of pensions upon a relinquishment of bounty land.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in congress assembled, That the second section of the act making further provision for military services during the late war, and for other purposes, approved April sixteenth, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, and so much of the act to amend the same, approved March third, one thousand eight hundred and seventeen, as relates to the subject of that section, shall be continued in force for the term of three years from and after the passing of this act: Provided, nevertheless, That no pension shall be granted under the said acts, after the sixteenth day of April next, unless, at the time of relinquishing the bounty land, in the manner therein described, the children, for whose benefit the same may be granted, or one of them, shall be under sixteen years of age: And provided also, That the pensions shall commence at the date of the relinquishments respectively.
Approved,, March 3, 1819.
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May 1, 1820
CHAP. LIII.—An act in addition to an act, entitled “An act to provide for certain
persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war,” passed the eighteenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen.
Be it enacted by the Senate and house of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That no person who now is, or hereafter may be, placed on the pension list of the United States, by virtue of the act, entitled “An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war,” passed on the eighteenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, shall, after the payment of that part of the pension which became due on the fourth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, continue to receive the pension granted by the said act, until he shall have exhibited to some court of record, in the county, city, or borough, in which he resides, a schedule, subscribed by him, containing his whole estate and income, (his necessary clothing and bedding excepted) and shall have (before the said court, or some one of the judges thereof,) taken and subscribed, produced to the said court, the following oath or affirmation, to wit: I, A. B. do solemnly swear or affirm, (as the case may be) that I was a resident citizen of the United States on the eighteenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, and that I have not, since that time, by gift, sale, or in any manner whatever, disposed of my property, or any part thereof, with intent thereby so to diminish it as to bring myself within the provisions of an act of Congress, entitled “An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war,” passed on the eighteenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen; and that I have not, nor has any person in trust for me, any property, or securities, contracts, or debts, due to me; nor have I any income, other than what is contained in the schedule hereto annexed and by me subscribed: Nor until such person shall have delivered, or caused to be delivered, to the Secretary of War, a copy of the aforesaid schedule and oath or affirmation, certified by the clerk of the court to which the said schedule was delivered, together the opinion of the said court, also certified by their clerk, of the value of the property contained in the said schedule: Provided, That in every case, in which the pensioner may be insane, or incapable of taking an oath, the court may receive the said schedule, without the aforesaid oath or affirmation, from the committee, or other person authorized to take care of such person.
2. And be it further enacted, That the original schedule and oath or affirmation shall be filed in the clerk’s office, of the court which the schedule and oath or affirmation aforesaid shall be exhibited: And any person who shall swear or affirm falsely in the premises, and be thereof convicted, shall suffer as for willful and corrupt perjury.
Sac. 3. And be it further enacted, That on the receipt of the copy of the schedule and oath, or affirmation aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the War Department to cause to be struck from the list of pensioners under the said act, the name of such person, in case the said person shall not, in his opinion, be in such indigent circumstances as to be unable to support himself without the assistance of his country: Provided, That every person, who shall have been placed on the pension list in consequence of disability, from known wounds received in the revolutionary war, and who shall have relinquished such pension in order to avail themselves of the benefit of the provisions of the act, to which this is an amendment, who, by virtue, of this section, may be stricken from the pension list, shall be forthwith restored to the pension so relinquished.
Approved, May 1, 1820.
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May 15, 1820
CHAP. CIX.—.An .act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled “.An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” and for other purposes.
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 to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” passed on the tenth of April, one thousand eight hundred and six, and limited, as in said act declared, to the term of years, and afterwards revived and continued in force by an act, entitled “An [act) to revive and continue in force ‘An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,’ and for other purposes,” for and during the term of six years, as in the said act is declared, shall be, and the same is hereby, revived, and is continued in force for one year, and no longer, from the passing of this act: Provided, That this act shall not be construed to repeal or make void the fourth section of an act, entitled “An act concerning invalid pensions,” passed the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen; but the said fourth section of the said last mentioned act shall be, and hereby is declared to be, in full force and effect, any thing in the said act hereby revived and made perpetual to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the right any person now has, or may hereafter acquire, to receive a pension in virtue of any law of the United States, be considered to commence at the time of completing his testimony, pursuant to the act hereby revived and continued in force.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the agents for the payment of invalid pensioners of the United States shall, in future, be required to give bond, with two or more sureties, to be approved by the Secretary for the Department of War, in a sum not exceeding five thousand dollars, for the faithful discharge of the duties confided to them, respectively.
Approved, May 15, 1820.
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February 4, 1822
CHAP. VI.—.An ,act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled “An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war.
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 to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” passed on the tenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and six, and limited, as in said act declared, to the term of six years, and afterwards revived and continued in force, for and during the term of six years, by an act, entitled “An act, to revive and continue in force ‘An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,’ and for other purposes,” passed on the twenty-fifth day of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twelve, and afterwards revived and continued in force for the term of one year, by an act, entitled “An act to revive and continue in force an act, entitled ‘An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” passed on the fifteenth day of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty, shall be, and the said act is hereby, revived and continued in full force and effect, for and during the term of six years from and after the passing of this act, and from thence unto the end of the next session of Congress: Provided, That any evidence which has been taken to support any claim of any person disabled in the revolutionary war, under the authority of the act of the fifteenth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, reviving and continuing in force, for one year, “An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the revolutionary war,” shall be received and acted upon by the Secretary of War, in the same manner as if said act was still in force and had not expired: And provided also, That this act, and any thing contained in the act hereby revived and continued in force, shall not be construed to repeal or make void the fourth section of an act, entitled “An act concerning invalid pensions,” passed the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen; and the said fourth section of the said last-mentioned act shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be, and to continue to be, in full force and effect; any thing in the said act hereby revived and continued in force to the contrary notwithstanding.
Sac. 2. And be it further enacted, That the right any person now has, or hereafter may acquire, to receive a pension in virtue of any law of the United States, shall be construed to commence at the time of completing his testimony pursuant to the act hereby revived and continued in force.
Sac. 3. And be it further enacted, That the agents for the payment of pensions to invalid pensioners of the United States, shall, in future, be required to give bonds, with two or more sureties, to be approved by the Secretary of the Department of War, in such penalty as he shall direct, for the faithful discharge of the duties confided to them respectively. APPROVED, February 4, 1822.
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March 1, 1823
CHAP. LIX.—.An .act supplementary to the acts to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service f the United States in the revolutionary war.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and required to restore to the list of pension era the name of any person who may have been, or hereafter shall be stricken there from, in pursuance of the act of Congress, passed the first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, entitled” An act in addition to an act, entitled ‘An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war,’” passed the eighteenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, if such person, so stricken from the list of pensioners, has heretofore furnished, or hereafter shall furnish, evidence, in pursuance of the provisions of said act, to satisfy the Secretary of War that he is in such indigent circumstances as to be unable to support himself without the assistance of his country, and that he has not disposed of or transferred his property, or any portion thereof, with a view to obtain a pension.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, when any person, coming within the provisions of the acts to which this is supplementary, shall, by reason of bodily infirmity, be unable to attend in court to snake his schedule, and furnish the evidence by said acts required, it shall be lawfuI for any judge or justice of a court of record in the district, city, county, or borough, in which such person resides, to attend at his place of abode and receive his schedule, and oath or affirmation, and said judge or justice shall certify that said applicant was, from bodily infirmity, unable to attend such court; which schedule, and oath or affirmation, and certificate, shall, by said judge or justice, be produced in the court of which he is judge; and the opinion of said court, of the value of the property contained in said schedule, shall be entered thereon, and certified by the clerk of said court; and such schedule shall be valid for all the purposes contemplated by the acts aforesaid.
SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That no pension hereafter to be allowed on claims or schedules heretofore filed under the act or acts to which this act is a supplement, or under the provisions of this act, shall commence before the passage thereof; and all other pensions hereafter to be allowed under the acts aforesaid, shall commence from the time of completing the proof.
APPROVED, March 1, 1823.