Last Updated
July 27 2003
Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants
The act of the General Assembly passed on June 22, 1779, which established the Virginia Land Office, also provided
for the awarding of bounty lands for specified Revolutionary War military service. The purpose of the bounty land
system was to encourage longer military service. In order to qualify for bounty land, a soldier or sailor had to
serve at least three (3) years continuously in the State or Continental Line or State Navy. Militia service did
not count. The process of obtaining bounty lands was lengthy, and, in many cases, land speculators acquired the
right to the land from the veteran or his heirs.
Servicemen submitted various documents such as affidavits of commanding officers and fellow soldiers and discharge
papers in order to substantiate their service record. The Governor's Office reviewed and approved or disapproved
the applications. The accumulated papers used to verify service are called "Bounty Warrants" if the claim
was approved and "Rejected Claims" if the claim was disapproved. If a soldier or sailor died while in
service, his heirs were required to submit documentation verifying their status as legal heirs in addition to proof
of the veteran's military service.
When a claim was proved, the Governor's Office issued a military certificate to the register of the Land Office
(see Land Office Military Certificates) authorizing him to issue a warrant specifying the amount of land to be
received and directing the land to be surveyed. The amount of land awarded was based on the rank of the soldier
and the amount of time served. Virginia retained no records of the next two steps in the process, which was to
have the land surveyed based on the warrant, followed by the issuance of a grant. The first warrant was issued
in 1783 and the last in 1876 as heirs of warrantees continued to seek lands for additional service.
Records related to Federal bounty land are held by either the National Archives or repositories in the respective
states where the land lay.
All Virginia bounty land was in the present-day states of Kentucky and
Ohio and records of surveys and grants are held by the:
Kentucky Land Office
Secretary of State's Office
Capitol Building
Frankfort, KY 40601 Ohio Historical Society
Research Services Department
1982 Velma Avenue
Columbus, OH 43211
The Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants are part of: Records of the Executive Branch.