Help us Preserve the Veteran Bounty Land Records—Update!

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) is spearheading a campaign to save thousands of precious military records housed in the National Archives that are rapidly deteriorating and of vital interest to genealogists. Along with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the leaders of FamilySearch, NGS is reaching out to local and state genealogy societies across the U.S. in an organized effort to preserve these records, and StLGS has recently begun to assist in these important efforts. We learned about the project a few months ago and posted some preliminary information then. Here is an update, now that StLGS is officially part of the project.

Veteran Bounty Land Records (VBLR)

More than 360,000 case records of soldiers and their families from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and miscellaneous frontier conflicts are housed at the National Archives. These records are currently in poor condition, and they remain inaccessible to researchers. We have the chance to ensure their preservation and make them available online, but it takes money, and all of us can help!

What are these records?

• The U.S. government paid soldiers in land to attract more recruits and reward them for their service during the Revolution, the War of 1812, and the subsequent Indian and Mexican-American wars.
• If a soldier served before 1850, he was eligible, no matter what his ethnicity, so many African Americans and Native Americans are included in this record set.
• Widows and children could also apply for benefits.
• Records may contain a wealth of genealogical information, including copies of pages from bibles, handwritten testimonies, affidavits, military history, and much more.

Why the urgency?

These deteriorating papers are languishing in the National Archives. There is currently no money for doing anything with them, and there appears to be no political will in Congress to push for funds.

If the genealogy community does not act to preserve them, they eventually will be too far gone to save.

How can we help?

It's going to take about $2.5 million to digitize and publish these records, and NGS has made a commitment to raise the money by 2027. They are currently almost halfway there. If you would like to donate to honor your military ancestors, you can now easily do so. 

We have created a dedicated page on our website where you can learn more, read through information provided to us by NGS, and click a link to our secure online store to make a donation. If you prefer, you can go directly to our store. Of course, you can also mail a check to our office (4 Sunnen Drive, Suite 140, St. Louis, MO 63143); just be sure you indicate that it's a donation to the VBLR project.

Although large donations are wonderful, anything you can give will be appreciated. All of us working together can surely save these records to honor the heroes in our families!