Tennessee had not yet become a state when the Revolutionary War was fought, 1775-1783. At that time, most of what is now Tennessee was a part of North Carolina, although a few areas may have been thought to belong to VA. The area that became Tennessee was quite sparsely populated, so there were very few actual “Tennesseans” who fought in the war. Soon after the war, however, many people came into Tennessee because many veterans were awarded land in Tennessee for their military service.

In searching for records on your ancestor, you may need to check three different kinds of records one you have located him. Look for his service records, his pen

sion records, and any relevant bounty land records.

There are many printed indexes and abstracts of pension records available. There are also microfilmed copies of records. Or you may obtain a copy of the records themselves from the National Archives.

The National Archives provides copies of many military service and pension records. In most cases, the cost for a copy of a file is $10.00. Contact the National Archives by writing: