Revolutionary War Service Window & Widow-Act Date Checker

Have dates for an ancestor's service? This checker tells you, in plain words, whether they fit the date windows that lineage societies and the old federal pension laws published.

It does not look anything up. You type in what you know, and it compares your dates with the published rules. It never makes a decision about membership or a pension; your society does that. Everything you type stays in this browser.

Use the checker

How this works. This checker does not search any records or databases. You type the dates you already know about your ancestor. It compares them with the published date rules and tells you whether they fit. Nothing you type leaves your device; it is saved only in this browser.

Load an example Fills in a made-up soldier so you can see a result right away.

1 Check the service dates

What kind of service was it?

Not sure? Pick the first choice. The others have their own start dates.

General military, civil or patriotic serviceCommittee that furthered the cause (from April 1774) Virginia Oath of FidelitySpanish troops under Gálvez / Louisiana Militia Supplying cattle for Gálvez's forces When did the service start?

Numbers only, e.g. 1776 or 1776-07 (a full date like 1776-07-04 also works).

When did it end? (leave blank if you only have one date) Check these dates

2 Optional: widow pension and bounty-land laws

Only needed if you are looking for a widow's pension or bounty-land papers. Fill in what you know and leave the rest blank.

When did the couple marry?

When did his last period of service end?

Total months of service (a number)

Total days of service (a number, if you know it)

He was in at least one battle Check the widow pension laws

3 What to do next

4 Print or save your results

Open my printable report

Delete my saved checker data

Saved only in this browser (keys starting "pi.toolA"). Nothing is sent anywhere.

The windows the checker uses

DAR accepts service performed between 19 April 1775 and 26 November 1783.^[1] SAR accepts patriotic service, with some exceptions, for the same period.^[2] Committee service that furthered the cause of the Colonies counts from April 1774.^[1] The Virginia Oath of Fidelity counts from October 1779 to 26 November 1783.^[1] Service in the Spanish troops under Gálvez or the Louisiana Militia counts after 24 December 1776.^[1] Supplying cattle for Gálvez's forces in Spanish America counts after 24 December 1776.^[1] DAR gives no end date for the two Gálvez categories or for committee service, so the checker applies the general end date and says so in its result.

Widow pension and bounty-land laws

The 1832 act covered veterans with at least 6 months of service, with full pay for life at 2 years or more.^[3] It covered service in the Continental Line or State troops, volunteers or militia.^[3] The 1836 act required the widow to have married the veteran before his last period of service expired.^[3] The checker tests the 1836 marriage date and months of service only; it does not check the 1832 service-category rules the 1836 act inherits.^[3] The 1838 act granted 5-year pensions to widows married before January 1, 1794.^[3] The July 1848 act granted life pensions to widows married before January 2, 1800.^[3] Acts in 1853 and 1855 removed the marriage-date restrictions.^[3] The source used here gives no other terms for those two acts, so the checker marks them "Not checked". The 1878 act covered widows of soldiers who served as few as 14 days or were in any engagement.^[3] The March 1855 bounty-land act covered veterans with as few as 14 days of service, and their widows and minor children.^[3]

What a result means

• "Dates fit the official period (not a ruling)": your dates line up with the rule. Next, gather the original records that show the service.
• "Partly inside the period": some of your dates fall outside. Check the exact dates in your records.
• "Outside the period as typed": double-check the dates and the type of service you picked.
• "Not checked": the official source this site uses does not give enough detail to test that rule. The result tells you why and what to do next, such as reading the widow's own pension papers or asking your society's registrar.

Related guides: How to Read a Pension File, Patriotic Service Without a Musket.

Sources

1. DAR — Accepted Revolutionary War Service. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.dar.org/national-society/accepted-revolutionary-war-service
2. SAR — Step 1: Determine Eligibility. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.sar.org/step-1/
3. NARA M804 descriptive pamphlet — Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files. Retrieved 2026-10-31. https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/army/dc/m804.pdf