Military Tract of 1812 - Bounty Lands

Bounty Lands

The term bounty land is somewhat self-explanatory. Tracts of land were given outright by the states, and later by the federal government as partial compensation (or "bounty") for service in times of military conflict. Such bounty was also occasionally used by the government to incite men to serve in war or conflicts. Bounty land warrants were issued from the colonial period until 1858, when the program was discontinued, and five years later, in 1863, the rights to locate and take possession of bounty lands ceased.

Military land bounties were offered by the United States Government in the early national period to attract men into the Army or to reward soldiers for their services. Warrants were issued to the men for these bounties.

The great bulk of early bounty land at the time of the Revolution was in Virginia, as it existed in colonial times. Since Virginia provided the great bulk of fighting men in the Revolution, the first bounty lands were to be located between the Mississippi, Ohio and Green Rivers in what is now Kentucky. However, this area did not provide enough land, and the Virginia Military Tract was established, which was in what is now the state of Ohio. Continental Army soldiers from Virginia were the only group allowed to settle in the Ohio area, while state soldiers were to use the lands in Kentucky. The United States Military District was a 2,500,000-acre (10,000 km2) tract in eastern Ohio established by the Federal Government in 1796 for bounties to soldiers from other states.

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Famous quotes containing the words bounty and/or lands:

    My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
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    The more I have, for both are infinite.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    I call
    to the spirits of other lands to make fecund my existence
    Frank O’Hara (1926–1966)