US Atlas of 1810

In May 1812, an act of Congress was passed which set aside bounty lands as payment to volunteer soldiers for the War against the British (War of 1812). The land was set aside in western territories that became part of the present states of Arkansas, Michigan and Illinois. File links The following pages link to this file: Louisiana Purchase Louisiana Territory Timeline of United States history (1790-1819) Categories: National Atlas images | National Atlas territorial expansion maps ... File links The following pages link to this file: Louisiana Purchase Louisiana Territory Timeline of United States history (1790-1819) Categories: National Atlas images | National Atlas territorial expansion maps ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate President pro tempore Dick Cheney, (R) since January 20, 2001 Robert C. Byrd, (D) since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political... This article is about the U.S.–U.K. war. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (140,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ...

However, lands in Missouri were later substituted for those in Michigan, due to a report by the surveyor-general of the United States, Edward Tiffin, which quite misleadingly described the land in Michigan that had been set aside for this purpose as undesirable. Other later acts of Congress, until 1855, continued to address the needs of soldiers wishing to redeem their bounty land warrants and efforts continued to try to provide suitable land area for these soldiers. This article is about the U.S. state. ... Edward Tiffin (June 19, 1766 – August 9, 1829) was a Democratic-Republican politician from Ohio, and the first Governor of that state. ...

Bounty lands

The term bounty land is somewhat self-explanatory. Tracts of land were given outright by the states, and later by the federal government as partial compensation (or "bounty") for service in times of military conflict. Such bounty was also occasionally used by the government to incent men to serve in war or conflicts. Bounty land warrants were issued from the colonial period until 1858, when the program was discontinued, and five years later, in 1863, the rights to locate and take possession of bounty lands ceased.

Military land bounties were offered by the United States Government in the early national period to attract men into the Army or to reward soldiers for their services. Warrants were issued to the men for these bounties. This article is about the federal government of the United States. ... The United States Army is the largest and oldest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ...

The great bulk of early bounty land at the time of the Revolution was in Virginia, as it existed in colonial times. Since Virginia provided the great bulk of fighting men in the Revolution, the first bounty lands were to be located between the Mississippi, Ohio and Green Rivers in what is now Kentucky. However, this area did not provide enough land, and the Virginia Military Tract was established, which was in what is now the state of Ohio. Continental Army soldiers from Virginia were the only group allowed to settle in the Ohio area, while state soldiers were to use the lands in Kentucky. John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence, showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia The American Revolution refers to the period during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen... This article is about the U.S. state. ... For the river in Canada, see Mississippi River (Ontario). ... View of Pittsburgh, the largest metropolitan area on the Ohio River, where the Allegheny River (left) and the Monongahela River (right) join at Point State Park to form the Ohio River Cincinnati, Ohio is a well known city along the Ohio River, historically known for its riverboats. ... The Green River is a tributary of the Ohio River that rises in Lincoln County in south-central Kentucky. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... The Continental Army was an army formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. ...

Illinois Military Tract of 1812

Illinois Military Tract of 1812

One of the three districts (or "tracts") created to meet the warrants given in the War of 1812, "The Tract" was within a triangle of the Illinois Territory between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. This area eventually becomes part of the state of Illinois in 1818 (Illinois statehood). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Categories: Stub | Illinois history | U.S. historical regions and territories ... For the river in Canada, see Mississippi River (Ontario). ... This article is about the river in the U.S. state of Illinois. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (140,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ...

The Northern Boundary, which extended ninety miles east from the Mississippi River, is the southern county line of Rock Island county. This northern boundary line is ninety miles north of the Base Line (also known as the Beardstown Baseline) which was established with the Fourth Principal meridian in 1815.

The Illinois tract, surveyed in 1815-1816, contained more than 5,000,000 acres (20,000 km²), of which 3,500,000 acres (14,000 km²) were deemed fit for cultivation and set aside for military bounties. Comprising 207 entire townships, each six miles (10 km) square, and 61 fractional townships, the tract included present Illinois counties of Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, McDonough, Mercer, Peoria, Pike, Schuyler, Stark, and Warren Counties. Adams County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. ... Brown County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... Calhoun County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. ... Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. ... Hancock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. ... Henderson County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... Knox County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... McDonough County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. ... Mercer County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... Peoria County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... Pike County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... Schuyler County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... Stark County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... Warren County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ...

It also includes part of Henry and Bureau Counties, and those parts of Marshall and Putnam which are on the west side of the Illinois River. Henry County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... Bureau County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... Marshall County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... Putnam County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ... This article is about the river in the U.S. state of Illinois. ...

Soldiers of the War of 1812, who received 160 acres (0.6 km²) each, were required to locate their warrants by lottery. Most soldiers or their heirs decided, however, against moving great distances to take up their claims. Instead, they sold their warrants to speculators. One company alone acquired 900,000 acres (3,600 km²). Such large-scale land holdings aroused frontier hostility against absentee speculators. Squatters settled upon the lands, ignoring titles and rights. Many speculators were unable to realize a quick profit and, faced with ever-increasing taxation, lost their titles or sold their lands at a loss of money.

The tract was surveyed in 1815-1816 and opened to settlement. Then warrants for land were issued by the government. Many of these land grants can be found by searching Illinois Public Land Sales. For an explanation of the way the land in these grants are surveyed, see Public Land Survey System. The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is a method used in the United States to survey and identify land parcels, particularly for titles and deeds of rural, wild or undeveloped land. ...

The General Land Office issued over 17,000 patents in the Illinois Military Tract between October 1817 and January 1819. No one has determined the number of War of 1812 veterans who actually moved to their free land in the Illinois, Arkansas or Missouri military tracts. Over 60% of these patents were issued in the Illinois Military Tract. The General Land Office, a former agency of the United States government, was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury relating to the public domain. ...

After the organization of the Illinois state government in 1818, the state began to sell these lands for taxes, and for a considerable period the principal revenue of the state was derived from this source. The greater portion of these lands thus went into possession of parties who held them under these tax titles. The grantees of the soldiers, who were the original patentees, brought suit for ejectment and much of the court business of pioneer days was given over to tax titles. Final adjustment of the claims was made only after years of litigation, a supreme court decision (1859) and much legislation.

The white population of Illinois exploded after the War of 1812, exceeding 50,000 in 1820 and 150,000 in 1830. In 1828, the U.S. government liaison, Thomas Forsyth, informed the native Indian tribes that they should begin vacating their settlements east of the Mississippi.

The Black Hawk War of 1832 resulted in the deaths of 70 settlers and soldiers, and hundreds of Black Hawk's band. The war not only affected the lives of the Indians, settlers, and militiamen involved, but also the settlements of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The Black Hawk War was responsible for the end of conflict between settlers and Indians in these states. After the Black Hawk War settlement was further retarded by conflicting land claims. The newspaper Illinois Bounty Land Register, first published in 1835, to advertise lands granted to veterans, is one of the ancestors of the current Quincy Herald-Whig newspaper. For other uses, see Black Hawk War (disambiguation). ... For other uses of Blackhawk/Black Hawk, see Black Hawk. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Quincy Newspapers, Inc. ...

See also

• Land grant

A land grant is a gift of land made by the government for projects such as roads, railroads, or especially academic institutions. ...

References

• The History of McDonough County, Illinois compiled by R. Chenoweth and S.W. Semonis, sponsored by the McDonough Co. Genealogical Society, 1992, Curtis Media Corporation, Dallas, TX.
• http://www.historyillinois.org/Markers/old_markers/224.htm
• http://users.arn.net/~billco/uslpr4.htm
• MAXWELL v. MOORE, 63 U.S. Supreme Court 185 (1859)
• Black Hawk War
• Quincy Herald-Whig
• An Act to provide for designating, surveying and granting the Military Bounty Lands, Act of the 12th United States Congress, Session I, Chapter 77, May 6, 1812
• An Act to authorize the survey of two million acres (8,000 km²) of the public lands, in lieu of that quantity heretofore authorized to be surveyed, in the territory of Michigan, as military bounty lands, Act of the 14th United States Congress, Session I, Chapter 164, April 19, 1816
• Description of the military land in Michigan, report by surveyor-general Edward Tiffin, November 30, 1815, in Michigan As a Province, Territory and State, the Twenty-Sixth Member of the Federal Union Vol. 2, by Henry M. Utley and Clarence M. Cutcheon. pg. 254-255.