Reclaiming a Revolutionary Past: War Veterans, Pensions, and the Struggle for Recognition

In March 1818, Congress passed into law a bill that seemed to mark a watershed moment in the contest over public memory of the Revolutionary War. The Pension Act finally recognized and rewarded the services of rank-and-file war veterans from the conflict that gave birth to the new nation. Introduced by President James Monroe—a former Continental Army officer himself—the Pension Act was hailed as “an auspicious circumstance,” by one Congressional Representative. It was “gratifying evidence of the re-connexion of public feeling with the principles of the Revolution.”