Revolutionary War pensions could differ substantially between officers and enlisted men**, but the exact difference depended on which pension law was being used and when.
A useful timeline:
- 1818 pension law: Pensions were based on financial need rather than simply rank. Contemporary records show a common rate of $8/month ($96/year) for privates, while commissioned officers commonly received $20/month ($240/year). (National Archives)
- 1828 law: Congress granted eligible surviving officers and soldiers full pay for life, according to rank, although an officer's rate could not exceed the pay of a captain. (National Archives)
- 1832 law: This was much broader. Veterans with 2+ years of qualifying service could receive their full pay for life, with the amount determined by rank. Those with 6 months–2 years received a proportional amount. (National Archives)
- The National Archives specifically notes that the pension amount depended on military rank and length of service. (National Archives)
So, for example, under the 1832 system, an enlisted private and an officer who had both served two years would not receive the same pension. The officer's pension was tied to his military pay/rank.
There's an additional wrinkle: officers had an older entitlement dating back to the Revolution itself. In 1780, Continental officers who served to the end of the war were promised half pay for life; in 1783 this was commuted to five years' full pay. (Founders Online)
