On April 9, 1921 the Tennessee legislature passed an act providing pensions of $10.00 per month for “those colored men who served as servants and cooks in the Confederate Army in the War Between the States” (1921 Public Acts, Ch. 129). As a requirement for eligibility, applicants had to prove that they had served
until the end of the War. The Act did not provide any benefits for their widows.
In completing the form the applicant was required to give the state, county, and year of his birth, and the date on which he entered service. The application also required his former owner’s name, regiment, and commanding officer. It is also not unusual to find letters of testimony written by the former owner or one of
his family members as proof of the applicant’s service.

Complete copies of the pension applications may be ordered from the Tennessee State Library and Archives. For ordering instructions, please see the webpage —

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