Daily AncestorHalf pay
Half pay was a pension of half a man's military pay; in Revolutionary records it was promised to disabled men, to officers who served to the end and to officers' widows.
The Continental Congress used half pay three ways. A 1776 resolution granted it to officers and men disabled in service, for as long as the disability lasted. In 1778 officers who stayed to the end of the war were promised half pay for seven years, while enlisted men got an $80 gratuity. A 1780 resolution offered half pay for seven years to the widows and orphans of those officers.
States also paid pensions of their own, and Virginia's half-pay files form a separate NARA series.
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Daily Ancestor. "Half pay." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/military/half-pay. Last checked 2026-10-03.