Bounty Land Records

http://www.leecountygenealogy.org/guides/lan= d%20records%20and%20maps/bounty%2010-17-1997.pdf.
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Page 1

Compiled by=20 Bryan L. Mulcahy, Reference Librarian, Fort Myers-Lee County Library, = Fort=20 Myers, FL, October 1997

Provided for=20 your personal reference by the Lee County Genealogical Society,=20 www.rootsweb.com/fllcgs

Bounty Land = Records=20

Land = was very=20 significant in the early history of America. People were willing to move = and=20 fight

for = land and our=20 government used land to entice our men to serve in the military. In many = cases,=20

the = promise of=20 land was in lieu of any monetary compensation. This practice was = followed=20 from

the = Colonial=20 Period until just prior to the Civil War at both the State and Federal = level=20 of

government.=20

The = colonies=20 promised land for service in the colonial wars. This was especially true = during=20 the

French = and Indian=20 War, 1754-1763. Your best way to access this material is by searching=20

bibliographies of=20 the thirteen colonies. When the American Revolution began in 1775, some = of=20

the = colonies=20 promised land to men who would serve in state militia units and in the=20 Continental

Line. = Virginia,=20 Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia traded = land=20

for = service. The=20 amount of land varied. North Carolina allocated land by rank, whereas=20

Maryland=20 allocated 50 acres for everybody. The Continental Congress promised land = to=20 soldiers

who = served in the=20 Continental Line. Soldiers who were privates or non-commissioned = officers=20

were = allocated=20 100 acres. Other allocations were as follows: Lieutenants =E2=80=93 200 = acres, Captains=20 =E2=80=93

300 = acres, Major,=20 Colonel, General =E2=80=93 400+, depending on various circumstances. In = some cases,=20

officers above=20 the rank of captain received as much as 1,000 acres.

Between = 1788 and=20 1855 there were = more bounty land = applicants than=20 pension applicants. The

U.S. = Militia=20 District in Ohio was the only federal land where warrants could be used = from=20 1796,

when it = opened,=20 until 1830. A second reserve that would have encompassed the southern = end of=20

Illinois was=20 proposed, but never created. The district of Ohio was enlarged. After = the War of=20

1812, = Congress=20 created the three militia reserves of Illinois, Arkansas, and Missouri = for the=20

veterans of that=20 war. These were the last =E2=80=9Cfederal reserves=E2=80=9D created. The = United States began=20

granting land in=20 Missouri from the United States Land Offices in 1818. The Act of = 1811-1812=20

gave = 160 acres to=20 privates and non-commissioned officers. In 1814, legislation was passed = to=20

double = the=20 acreage for those who enlisted after December 10, 1814. Warrants that = could be=20 used

in the = Virginia=20 and United States Military Districts in Ohio were made redeemable by = =E2=80=9Cscrip=20

acts=E2=80=9D in 1830 and=20 1832 at any general land office in Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. By 1842, = all=20

federal = bounty land = warrants were=20 honored at any land office.

The = warrant=20 market became a thriving business. Major brokerage firms were born and = flooded=20

the = newspapers=20 with advertisements. More warrants were used in Iowa than in any other = state.=20

It is = estimated=20 that over half of the state of Iowa was purchased with federal military = bounty land =

warrants. To=20 receive federal bounty lands between 1788 and 1855, the soldier = or his=20 heirs had to

apply. = These=20 applications are in RECORD GROUP 15 in the Military Service records at = the=20

National=20 Archives. To obtain the land, the warrants were surrendered. These = surrendered=20

warrants are in=20 the Eastern States Office of the Bureau of Land Management located in=20

Alexandria,=20 Virginia. Before these can be obtained, you need to know the warrant = number,=20

acreage=20 obtained, and date of the act used. You obtain this information from the = Bounty Land =

Application.=20

Page = 2

Compiled by=20 Bryan L. Mulcahy, Reference Librarian, Fort Myers-Lee County Library, = Fort=20 Myers, FL, October 1997

Provided for=20 your personal reference by the Lee County Genealogical Society,=20 www.rootsweb.com/fllcgs

For = soldiers who=20 fought in the Mexican War, Congress authorized 160 acres for one year of =

service. If a=20 soldier fell short of one year, the allocation was 40 acres. The Acts of = 1850-1855

were = to reward=20 for former service. The Act of 1850 gave bounty land to = officers and=20 enlisted

men = who had=20 served in a war since 1790, including the various Indian Wars. The = allocations=20

were = as follows:=20 9 months and more - 160 acres, 4-8 months =E2=80=93 80 acres, 1-4 months = =E2=80=93 40 acres.=20

When = the Act of=20 1855 was = passed, 160=20 acres was provided for 14 days of service OR for

traveling over=20 1,000 miles while in service. This provided a way for chaplains, wagon = masters,=20

militia rangers,=20 and volunteers to get land if they didn=E2=80=99t meet other provisions. = There were=20

598,599 bounty land = warrants issued=20 during the period between 1788 and 1855.=20

Compiled by=20 Bryan L. Mulcahy, Reference Librarian, Fort Myers-Lee County Library,=20 10/17/1997.