Pensions

A limited sample suggests applications for pensions were made for about 1250 men (either the men themselves or their dependents), and that about 90% of them received pensions.

In at least two cases, spouses received pensions to which they were not entitled, because they had remarried. In one of those cases, the pension examiner recommended prosecution; in the other the spouse may have genuinely believed she was not married.

The Act of July 14, 1862 provided pensions for anyone disabled since 4 March 1861 as a result of wounds or illness contracted while in the service and in the line of duty. For total disability, it allowed eight dollars per month for privates, with the amount increasing as the rank increased, to a maximum of thirty dollars per month for lieutenant-colonels (and any higher ranks). Partially disabled men received proportional pensions. Widows and orphaned children less than sixteen were entitled to the same amount the soldier would have been entitled to if he had been totally disabled. Finally, mothers, or orphaned sisters, dependent on the soldier for support could claim if the soldier did not leave a widow or legitimate children.

The Act of 27 June 1890 significantly expanded the coverage. Anyone who had served at least ninety days and been honorably discharged, and was unable to earn a living by manual labor, was entitled to a pension of six to twelve dollars per month, as long as the inability was not due to his own vicious habits. Similarly, widows were eligible for pensions of eight dollars per month whether or not their husband's death was a result of his service, etc.

The Act of 6 February 1907 provided pensions for all men who had served at least ninety days and been honorably discharged and were at least sixty-two years old.

The Act of 11 May 1912 made the amount of the pension provided because of age depend also on the length of time the soldier had served.