Georgia, U.S., Confederate Pension Applications, 1879-1960

Historical Background:

Because the Confederacy was dissolved after the war, no central governmental agency provided pensions for service or disability of Confederate soldiers. Some of the former Confederate states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia authorized pensions to veterans and their widows. Each state had its own regulations which applicants had to meet. In each case, however, the pension could be paid only if the applicant continued to reside within the borders of the state. If he or she moved elsewhere, the applicant had to qualify under the regulations of the new jurisdiction (Chapter 9: Research in Military Records, The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Johni Cerny, Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck, and David Thackery; edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Incorporated, 1997).

In Georgia, the first law for providing pensions for Confederate soldiers was passed in 1879. Therefore, that’s when the pension application files begin. Later, pensions were granted to the widows of the Confederate soldiers as well.

About this Database:

This database contains pension application files of Confederate soldiers and widows applying from Georgia. Information contained in the database includes:

• Name of applicant (soldier or widow)


• Approximate application year


• Application type (Indigent Soldier, Indigent Widow, Indigent Colored, Widow, Soldier, or Colored)

Additional information about the widow and/or soldier can be found in the actual pension application. The application usually consists of a few pages, including a cover sheet. The other pages included may vary depending on the year of application. For example, under the application act of 1910, the soldiers were asked to fill out a questionnaire providing information such as address of residence, number of continuous years as a resident of the state, name of company and regiment enlisted, and other information relating to his military service. Additional forms may include certificates, affidavits, witnesses, correspondences, and documents of military service.

The images of the original files are arranged by county of application, and then by surname of pensioner.