Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900
The pension index card for Illinois Civil War veteran Charles Schrader indicated an application number but no certificate number. This usually means that the application was denied. This is what happened in Schrader’s case–he received no pension.
Don’t neglect denied pension applications. They can contain just as much information as approved pensions and the denial does not mean the applicant did not serve. It simply means he was not qualified for a pension under the laws in effect at the time of the application.
Schrader’s application indicated that he applied in 1866. This was shortly after the war when fewer applications were approved. Had he lived until the 1890s, he probably would have received a pension as the laws had relaxed by that point in time. Neither he nor his widow lived long enough to take advantage of more liberal pension laws.
More information on Civil War pensions can be found on the NARA site.
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