Flush with national pride after the War of 1812, U.S. lawmakers decided to show their gratitude to the redoubtable men who had won the first war against Great Britain. In 1818, Congress passed a law granting a lifetime pension to anyone who served for at least nine months in the Continental Army, Navy, or Marines during the American Revolution, provided the individual was “in need of assistance from his country for support.” Overwhelmed by the number of applications for pensions, Congress in 1820 revised the law to require claimants to supply proof of their financial distress.
Even under these more stringent terms, more than 15,000 Revolutionary War Veterans qualified for a pension. Joseph Winter was one of the unlucky few who did not. The German-born Winter lived in a settlement among his fellow immigrants near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania before the war, where he supported himself and his family as a weaver. His wife and children died sometime after the Revolution. As he grew older, his vision deteriorated and he could no longer perform the work required by his chosen trade. With no family to turn to, no means of earning a livelihood, and no pension, Winter became homeless.
On a snowy night in December 1829, portrait painter John Neagle encountered Winter on the streets of Philadelphia. The sight of the destitute Revolutionary War Veteran saddened and dismayed Neagle. Despite communication difficulties, as Winter’s first language was German, Neagle invited him home to hear his story.
Neagle used his local grocer as a translator. After learning the details of Winter’s life and his services in the Revolution, Neagle decided to paint his portrait. While many artists had produced portraits of Revolutionary War veterans, the subjects were all shown in the prime of their lives. Neagle chose to represent Winter as he was in 1829, old, downtrodden, wearing threadbare clothes, his face lined with the hardships he had experienced. At the same time, Neagle was careful to portray Winter with dignity, in a manner calculated to invite sympathy for his situation and his suffering.
The completed portrait attracted a great deal of attention. Another artist, John Sartain, created an engraving of the picture that was sold under the title Patriotism and Age. Through the portrait and the engraving, Winter became the symbol for thousands of elderly veterans. The popularity of the engraving drew the government’s attention to the plight of these men who earlier in their lives had fought for the nation’s independence. In 1832, Congress passed a comprehensive pension act, which offered a monthly payment to almost all surviving Veterans of the conflict, the members of the state militias included and without regard to finances or disabilities. Four years later, Congress extended the same benefits to widows of Revolutionary War Veterans.
What became of Winter after his meeting with Neagle is unknown. However, his image, captured in the portrait and engraving, serves as a powerful reminder that the problem of Veteran homelessness is as old as the nation itself.
By Olivia Holly-Johnson
Virtual Student Federal Service Intern, Veterans Benefits Administration
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History of VA in 100 Objects
Object 80: LUKE/DEKA Prosthetic Arm
In the 19th century, the federal government left the manufacture and distribution of prosthetic limbs for disabled Veterans to private enterprise. The experience of fighting two world wars in the first half of the 20th century led to a reversal in this policy.
In the interwar era, first the Veterans Bureau and then the Veterans Administration assumed responsibility for providing replacement limbs and medical care to Veterans.
In recent decades, another federal agency, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), has joined VA as a supporter of cutting-edge research into artificial limb technology. DARPA’s efforts were spurred by the spike in traumatic injuries resulting from the emergence of improvised explosive devices as the insurgent’s weapon of choice in Iraq in 2003-04.
Out of that effort came the LUKE/DEKA prosthetic limb, named after the main character from "Star Wars."
History of VA in 100 Objects
Object 79: VA Study of Former Prisoners of War
American prisoners of war from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam faced starvation, torture, forced labor, and other abuses at the hands of their captors. For those that returned home, their experiences in captivity often had long-lasting impacts on their physical and mental health. Over the decades, the U.S. government sought to address their specific needs through legislation conferring special benefits on former prisoners of war.
In 1978, five years after the United States withdrew the last of its combat troops from South Vietnam, Congress mandated VA carry out a thorough study of the disability and medical needs of former prisoners of war. In consultation with the Secretary of Defense, VA completed the study in 14 months and published its findings in early 1980. Like previous investigations in the 1950s, the study confirmed that former prisoners of war had higher rates of service-connected disabilities.
History of VA in 100 Objects
Object 78: French Cross at Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn
In the waning days of World War I, French sailors from three visiting allied warships marched through New York in a Liberty Loan Parade. The timing was unfortunate as the second wave of the influenza pandemic was spreading in the U.S. By January, 25 of French sailors died from the virus.
These men were later buried at the Cypress Hills National Cemetery and later a 12-foot granite cross monument, the French Cross, was dedicated in 1920 on Armistice Day. This event later influenced changes to burial laws that opened up availability of allied service members and U.S. citizens who served in foreign armies in the war against Germany and Austrian empires.
