The Land Bounty Warrant-

Obtaining the Land Warrant was a critical event in the last days Thomas and his new wife before leaving New York City. The right to obtain 160 acres as a reward of his time in service obviously was the central point in establishing their future.

But he did have a few hoops to jump through before he might hold the document in his hand. The marriage of Thomas and Mary on May 12th 1850 was the first event in those last days on the East Coast followed by the discharge that came on May 19.

May 20th 1850 found Thomas appearing before a New York State official in the city in order to swear to and file an Oath of Identity, a requirement of the U.S. regulations for granting Warrant Bounty’s.

The Identity Oath

A remarkable and compassionate system in actuality given the fact that Thomas could not read or write and left only his mark to validate his identity

On May 20 after having a copy of the Identity Oath sworn to that very day by Thomas Captain Winder submitted the following letter to the War Dept Pension Office most likely in Washington D.C.

The document was created and returned to Ft. Columbus to be given to Thomas. Apparently, for some reason the Identity Oath had to be sworn to prior to actually being handed the Warrant. It is somewhat ironic if not somewhat confusing why the oath was even required since Thomas had been in the presence of his Military Commanders for the past five years and surely they could attest to and swear a document to prove the man’s identity. Assumedly a copy of both documents was probably a requirement meant to accompany any future filing with the Land Officials at the time of presenting his actual land claim long after receiving the right to the 160 acres. Having only a few pieces of paper to help piece this together I am sure all the red-tape was complied with and all was completed in proper fashion and it only appears to be confusing in retrospect.

Based on these documents found in the Pension File for Thomas and Mary it appears that they did not leave New York until at least late May or early June of 1850 since the following document states the Warrant was properly assigned a number and officially forwarded back to Captain Winder on May 27. He then gave the document to Thomas sometime after the 27th.

Considering the year was 1850 it is remarkable just how rapid the communication between Ft. Columbus in New York City and Washington D.C. took place. Telegraph was in use by the time but not really available for this sort of communication. Railroads were coming into their own by then making that the only fastest means of such courier service between Military functions. It does point out that society was not all that handicapped in carrying out their communications as one might think when thought of in today’s terms. They completed the task in short order actually.