Kentucky was one of the last of the southern states to provide financial help for veterans who provided service for the South during the Civil War. These pension applications, which begin in 1912, are a great source of information as they contain the veteran’s date and place of birth, his unit designation and terms of service. The application may also contain depositions of persons familiar with the veteran’s military service and his current situation. If the veteran served in another state, the application will state how long he had resided in Kentucky. Remember, though, the pension application was filed in the state in which the veteran lived when the application was made, no matter where he lived when he enlisted in the service.
An index of Kentucky CSA pensioners has been published and is available in many libraries. Copies of pension applications of CSA veterans filed in Kentucky are available from the Kentucky Dept for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky.
Below is the application of John A. Thompson, who served in a Virginia regiment and filed from Livingston County, Kentucky, where he was living in 1912.
On 26th of April 1912, John A. Thompson of Salem, Livingston County, Kentucky, applied for a pension based on his service in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He stated he served in Company G, 14th VA Regiment, Armstead’s Brigade, Picket’s Division, Longstreet Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.
Thompson stated he was born in Halifax County, Virginia 17 Mar 1843 and enlisted in the army in 1861. He got out of the army at Five Forks, Virginia on 2 April 1865 - “We cut and fought our way out.”
He reported he was a prisoner for 10 days at Fort Norfolk, Virginia and was paroled there in 1863. He took the oath of allegiance after Lee surrendered.
Thompson is now a tenant on a farm in Livingston County. He has no estate except for a little household furniture. He has been a resident of Kentucky since 1865.
On 29 April 1912, W.H. Mann gave a deposition regarding Thompson’s service. He said he had served with Thompson in the Confederate Army and for a while they were members of the same regiment. He said he was captured at Five Forks on 1 April 1865 and never knew what became of Thompson at that battle until he met him about 30 years ago in Livingston County.
James B. Thompson, brother of John A. Thompson, gave a deposition on 5 Mary 1912 in Livingston County. He stated John A. was in the 14th VA Regiment and enlisted in Halifax County, Virginiia. He has known him all his life and he and his brother belonged to the same regiment.
The pension was allowed and his pension number is #393.
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