Scope and Content: As early as the seventeenth century, the Massachusetts legislature provided pensions to soldiers wounded or disabled while in military service. Throughout the Revolutionary War, pensions continued to be issued at the state level to members of the Continental Army, as authorized by the Continental Congress. In addition, Massachusetts also provided post-war bonuses (bounties) in the form of monetary payment or a grant of land in Maine to veterans meeting certain requirements. Because so few individuals were disabled in service or qualified for bounties, the state granted pensions or bounties to only several hundred individuals. From 1789 pensions were funded by the federal government, from 1792 new pensions were administered by it, and from 1806 veterans of state troops and militia were also eligible. From 1818, Congress expanded pension eligibility for Revolutionary War service beyond invalidism, adding thousands to the rolls. However, to qualify, veterans often needed to obtain certificates of service from the state. –On Apr. 23, 1782,  Congress authorized pensions for Revolutionary War soldiers who were sick or wounded. Massachusetts paid out the pensions through Commissioner of Pensions John Lucas, with the expectation of federal reimbursement. The Massachusetts General Court passed Resolves 1785, Feb 1786 Sess, c 134 ( Mar.17, 1786), requiring all officers and soldiers receiving or applying for a pension to provide proper evidence of their disability to Lucas, who was authorized to provide certificates attesting to their disability, with copies to go to the state secretary. The secretary was responsible for making an annual list of persons certified and transmitting it to the federal secretary of war. Resolves 1786,  May Sess,  c 123 (July 8, 1786) required Lucas to supply the governor with a list of pensioners fit for garrison duty, whom he could appoint as guards of the convicts at Castle Island.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
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