Deranged and Unemployed

Casualties of military service existed in many forms during the infancy of America’s army, the overwhelming majority of which were monetary.  Many soldiers worked without pay for months and in some cases were left unpaid until their discharge.  Injuries sustained during war also rendered soldiers incapable of earning a living after their discharge.  Many soldiers petitioned Congress for supplementary income in the form of a pension to offset the cost of living.  With limited means of income, the Federal government attempted to justify a tax on the general public to provide funds for Federal government operations.  Pay of pensions was one such responsibility.

The compensation was decided to come from Federal funds in the Resolve of Congress 23 April 1782 and was granted after service records were scrutinized by the Secretary of War and the Accountant’s Office and the officer was examined by a doctor.  In 1785 a similar resolution was made by Congress ordering states to provide compensation to discharged military personnel.  In most cases, half pay for life was allowed to “deranged officers” found unfit for duty or future employment after being discharged.   The case of one such soldier was discussed at length in correspondence between Issac Craig and William Simmons, and I. Craig and Samuel Hodgedon.  In May 1797, John Polhemus’s was awarded a pension after previously mortgaging his home and property to pay his recruits during service which left him destitute.  This approval by the Federal government among countless others, marked the responsibility of the Federal government to the American public and was a move that bolstered the Nationalist agenda.