A Pension Office Document, Related to Bounty Land Grants under the Act of March 3, 1855

S. l. (Washington, DC): s. n., 1855. Very good. Printed document, partially filled in manuscript; 9 3/4 x 7 1/2; single sheet, text to recto only; two horizontal creases, else minor wear; in very good to near fine condition.From 1775 until 1855, the United States granted bounty-land warrants for military service - both to encourage enlistments and to reward military veterans of the Revolutionary War, the Mexican War, the War of 1812, and so on. There were several Acts of Congress, with the 1855 one being the final one. This specific Act of March 3 also extended the law to Native American veterans of the Revolutionary War and the Indian Wars. The law also encompassed the widows of deceased soldiers and/or their lawful children, only if their mothers would waive their rights in favor of the dependents. The document, on Pension Office letterhead, addressed Charles Mason - lawyer and husband of poet Caroline Atherton Briggs Mason (1823 - 1890) - acting as an agent on behalf of one Joel Cowell of Fitchburgh, Massachusetts - and listed the claimant's name and number and acknowledged receipt of the claim. It also requested that "...every applicant will wait a reasonable time before making application to know what has been done in relation to his or her claim."