 FEDERAL SOURCES - REVOLUTIONARY WAR BOUNTY-LAND WARRANT APPLICATION FILES
       (from National Genealogical Society Newsletter Sep/Oct 1986)

Bounty-land warrants, which entitled their holders to free land in the 
public domain, were given to veterans or their survivors for wartime ser-
vice performed between 1775 and 3 March 1855.  Bounty-land warrant applica-
tion files, which provide evidence of military service, are part of Record 
Group 15, Records of the Veterans Administration.

Since most bounty-land warrants were transferable, an approved bounty-land 
warrant application is not evidence of land ownership.  Bounty-land war-
rants surrendered for land in the public domain, usually by someone other 
than the veteran who applied for the warrant, document ownership of land at 
a given time and place.  These surrendered warrants are part of Record 
Group 49, Records of the General Land Office.

A bounty-land warrant application is especially valuable in an instance 
where the veteran or his widow did not apply for a pension.   Not all 
Revolutionary War veterans and widows met the qualifications for pensions 
during their lifetimes, and some who did qualify did not apply.  Since 
there was no need requirement for bounty land, many of these veterans and 
widow did apply for bounty-land warrants.

In addition to his rank, military unit, and period of service, a bounty-
land warrant application by a Revolutionary War veteran will give his age 
and place of residence at the time of the application.  An application by a 
widow will normally give, in addition to her age and place of residence, 
the date and place of her marriage to him, and her maiden name.  An 
application by a survivor may list all of the veteran's heirs at law.


BOUNTY LAND LEGISLATION

In 1776, the Continental Congress promised land to officers and soldiers 
who engaged in military service and served until the end of the 
Revolutionary War or until discharged and to the survivors of those killed 
in the war.  The amount of land varied with rank.  Privates and noncommis-
sioned officers were to receive 100 acres, ensigns 150, lieutenants 200, 
captains 300, majors 400, lieutenant colonels 450, and colonels 500.  In 
1780 the law was extended to generals, granting brigadier generals 850 
acres and major generals 1,100.  This was the basic law under which bounty 
land was granted for Revolutionary War service until 1855.

In 1788 Congress directed the Secretary of War to begin issuing warrants to 
eligible veterans upon application.  This law provided that the veteran 
could transfer his warrant to another person, and most of the warrants 
issued under this and succeeding acts were assigned at least once before 
being surrendered for land.

Actual patenting of land in exchange for bounty-land warrants did not begin 
until about 1800.  Until 1830 the U.S. Military District of Ohio was the 
only place a Revolutionary War bounty-land warrant could be used.  Begin-
ning in 1830 a bounty-land warrant could be exchanged for scrip which was 
receivable at any land office in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.  In 1842 all 
federal bounty-land warrants were made good at any land office.

In 1855 Congress amended the basic law governing bounty land granted for 
Revolutionary War service by making the minimum entitlement 160 acres 
regardless of rank and reducing the service requirement to fourteen days or 
participation in any battle during the war.  A veteran or survivors who had 

previously received fewer than 160 acres could apply for the balance.  In 
1856 the benefits of the 1855 act were extended to Revolutionary War naval 
officers and enlisted men and their heirs.  Many applications for bounty-
land warrants were made under the 1855 act by persons who met the service 
requirement for the first time.

Claimants for bounty-land warrants based on Revolutionary War service 
forwarded their applications to the Secretary of War until 1841, to the 
Commissioner of Pensions in the War Department from 1841 to 1849, and to 
the Secretary of the Interior after the Pension Office was transferred to 
that department in 1849.  Some applications were accompanied by affidavits 
testifying to the military service performed, marriage records, and other 
forms of evidence.  When an application was approved, a warrant for a 
specified number of acres was issued to the claimant or his assignee.  The 
holder of the warrant then selected the portion of the public domain he 
wished to have in exchange for the warrant and surrendered the warrant at 
the appropriate district land office.  The papers were forwarded to 
Washington where the Treasury Department and, after 1849, the Interior 
Department issued a patent for the land.


BOUNTY-LAND WARRANT APPLICATION FILES

Bounty-land warrant applications and related papers approved before the War 
Department fire of November 1800 are presumed to have been lost in that 
fire.  These lost files are represented by 10" x 14" cards that show the 
name of the veteran, his rank, the state or organization for which he 
served, the symbol "B.L.Wt." followed by the warrant number and the number 
of acres granted, the date the warrant was issued, and the name of a person 
other than the veteran to whom the warrant was delivered or assigned.  This 
information was transcribed from surviving registers of bounty-land war-
rants issued before 8 November 1800.

Files for bounty-land warrants applications approved after 8 November 1800 
are in envelopes that have headings consisting of the name of the veteran, 
his widow's name if she applied for the warrant, the state or organization 
for which he served, the symbol "B.L.Wt." followed by the number of the 
warrant, the number of acres granted, and, in the case of applications made 
under the act of 1855, the number "55".  Records in the files may include 
applications, family Bible records, marriage records, affidavits testifying 
to the veteran's service, and other papers.

Envelopes containing rejected bounty-land warrant applications are marked 
"B.L.Reg." (for bounty-land register) followed by the register number 
assigned to the application 

Bounty-land warrant applications and related papers have been consolidated 
with pension application files based on the service of the same veteran.  
Frequently a widow's approved pension application is consolidated with her 
approved bounty-land warrant application under the act of 1855.  A 
veteran's pension application and bounty-land warrant application may be in 
the same file.  Rejected pension application files may also contain ap-
proved or rejected bounty-land warrant application papers.


MICROFILM PUBLICATION

The Revolutionary War pension and bounty land warrant application files 
have been microfilmed on 2,670 rolls of National Archives Microfilm Publi-
cation M804.  The files are arranged alphabetically by  the surnames of the 

veterans.  A pamphlet describing the contents of this publication roll by 
roll is available free of charge from the National Archives.

Microfilm Publication M804 is available to researchers at the National 
Archives in Washington, D.C. and at the eleven National Archives field 
branches.  Individual rolls can be borrowed for you by your local library 
through the Census Microfilm Rental program.  The publication is also 
available at the LDS Genealogical Department Library in Salt Lake City and 
through its branch libraries.  Microfilm rolls can be purchased from the 
National Archives.

As an alternative to using the microfilmed records, a copy of a 
Revolutionary War bounty-land warrant application file can be ordered by 
mail from the National Archives using NATF Form 80, Order for Copies of 
Veterans Records.  Check "Bounty-Land Warrant Application" on the form and 
provide the name of the veteran, the war in which he served, the state from 
which he served, and, if you have it, the bounty-land warrant application 
file number.

"Index to Revolutionary War Pension Applications in the National Archives," 
published by the National Genealogical Society gives the name of the 
veteran, the state from which he served, the bounty-land warrant applica-
tion file number, and, in the case of a widow's application, the given name 
of the widow.  This index is available in many libraries and can be pur-
chased from the Society.

Information found in a bounty-land warrant application file for your 
Revolutionary War ancestor  should be properly identified in your family 
records.  A citation should include the following: (Descriptive title of 
the document), (name of the veteran), Revolutionary War Bounty-Land Warrant 
Application File (symbol and numbers), Records of the Veterans Administra-
tion, Record Group 15, National Archives Microfilm Publication M804, roll 
(number.
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