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Show MILITARY BOUNTY LAND POLICIES 253 Greene who had been responsible for the defeat of the British in the South.10 Pennsylvania, which always seemed to tie itself up in intricate legislation, passed a series of extremely complicated measures in 1780-85, providing land bounties for its soldiers in the Continental Army. The bounties ranged from 200 acres for fifers, drummers, and privates, to 400 acres for lieutenants, 500 acres for captains, 800 acres for colonels, 1,500 acres for brigadier generals, and 2,000 acres for major generals. Noncommissioned officers and privates were prohibited from selling their allotments until they had been "surveyed and laid off." The allotments were to be tax free as long as the grantees held them. A Donation Tract was set aside in northwestern Pennsylvania for the allotments and no other grants were to be allowed there. When surveyed, it was found that the tract contained sufficient reasonably good land to make 2,680 allotments totaling 616,500 acres. Pennsylvania opened its bounty land district to veterans shortly after the war and appears to have been most successful in settling them there-a contrast to the experience of the United States and Virginia with their military tracts.11 10 Walter Clark (ed.), State Records of North Carolina (Goldsboro, N.C. 1905), XXIV, 337-39, 421, 783-86; Register of Debates, 19th Cong., 2d sess., Jan. 12, 1837, p. 677. 11 For a brief history of the Donation lands, a map showing the tract and a list of the warrantees- the best known of whom were General Arthur St. Clair, later to be Governor of Ohio Territory, and Baron Steuben, Inspector General of the United States Army-see Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Vol. Ill, 577ff. St. Clair and Steuben each received 2,000 acres. Officers and soldiers were also offered some compensation for the depreciation in the Continental currency paid them in the form of certificates of depreciation that were accepted in payment for confiscated lands and for lands within a tract specifically set aside for this purpose just north of Pittsburgh. This Depreciation Tract contained 720,000 acres. The early sales in the Depreciation Tract brought about 27 cents an acre; the balance was held at 20 cents each. See an account of the Depreciation Lands in Ibid., pp. 761 ff. Georgia, constantly beset by Indians and with only a thin population from which to draw troops for its defense during the Revolution, was eager to attract men to its armed forces from its more populous neighbors. As early as July 12, 1776, it offered a bounty of 100 acres to everyone who would enlist in the military service for 3 years or until the war ended. Two years later the 100-acre bounty was promised for a period of service as short as 4 months and in 1781 it was increased to 250 acres and 10 years' tax exemption was promised. At the same time graduated bounties similar to those of the Continental Congress were offered which, as in other states, were to be in addition to the Continental bounty. In 1784 the tax exemption feature was commuted to an additional grant of 15 acres for each 100 to which the officer or soldier was entitled. Five hundred acre bounties were offered people from other Colonies who would settle on the Georgia frontier and serve in the militia when called. Families coming to Georgia were promised headrights of 200 acres for each member and 50 acres for each slave up to 10. The Governor was instructed to advertise Georgia's offer of land bounties and headrights and to send agents to other states to invite immigration. Some 750,000 acres were taken up by 1,700 veterans and a smaller acreage was given to immigrants from other states holding United States bounty rights. Georgia veterans did not have to wait to secure their lands as the soldiers of other states did; as early as 1784 one-fourth had located their warrants.12 The state set off a military district in which the land bounties might be located but did not require that warrantees make their selections there. Land was abundant and the state's headright grants were most liberal. Probably the troops in Georgia won more land for themselves through headrights than they did through the military bounties. Military land bounties were offered again in 1787 during the Creek War. Soldiers and officers were promised 12 Heath, Constructive Liberalism, pp. 78-79, 94-95. |