Veterans' benefits played a vital role in the development of the nation and its institutions and contributed significantly to the welfare of many citizens. In addition to salary and enlistment bonuses paid to men fighting in American forces, four basic kinds of public benefits were created in recognition of their service and its consequences: pensions for veterans disabled in combat; pensions for the widows and orphans of men killed in combat; grants of land in western regions of the country; and pensions for men based on service alone, or on service combined with poverty.

Early American Origins

The earliest American veterans' benefits were pensions established by individual colonies for men who were disabled in combat and rendered incapable of earning a living. These "invalid" pensions reflected the English practice of supporting poor, wounded, and disabled soldiers. As early as 1624, the general assembly of Virginia...