The Battle for Bounty Land – War of 1812 and Mexican-American Wars

Land given as a “Bounty” for military service has been an American tradition from the Colonial Era up to the Civil War when the practice saw its ultimate discontinuance. The Spanish-American and Mexican-American Wars and the battle waged by the veterans for their bounty land tell the story of a nation and a military in transition. Lucky for us genealogists, there is a “bounty” of both military pension and land-purchase records left behind to tell the story both nationally and personally.