{"id":111120,"date":"2022-12-08T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/?p=111120"},"modified":"2026-03-04T12:27:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T17:27:26","slug":"object-50-commissioner-of-pensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-50-commissioner-of-pensions\/","title":{"rendered":"Object 50: Commissioner of Pensions Annual Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kb-image111120_2b4bff-3a.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image111120_2b4bff-3a .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:550px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image111120_2b4bff-3a.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image111120_2b4bff-3a .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image111120_2b4bff-3a figure{max-width:550px;}.kb-image111120_2b4bff-3a .image-is-svg, .kb-image111120_2b4bff-3a .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image111120_2b4bff-3a .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image111120_2b4bff-3a\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2022120803.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2022120803.jpg?w=879\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2022120803.jpg?w=879\" alt=\"Cover page of Commissioner of Pensions 1845 annual report. The commissioner was charged by Congress with carrying out \u201csuch duties in relation to the various pension laws as may be prescribed by the President of the United States.&quot; (VA) \" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-111122\" width=\"659px\" height=\"658px\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27659%27%20height%3D%27658%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20659%20658%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27659%27%20height%3D%27658%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2022120803.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2022120803.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2022120803.jpg?resize=768,766 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2022120803.jpg 879w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 879px) 100vw, 879px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Cover&nbsp;page of Commissioner of Pensions 1845&nbsp;annual&nbsp;report. The&nbsp;commissioner was charged&nbsp;by Congress with carrying out \u201csuch duties in relation to the various pension laws as may be prescribed by the President of the United States.&#8221;&nbsp;(VA)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1832, the federal government found itself with a pension problem largely of its own making. In June, Congress passed a law granting a pension to <a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/100-objects\/object-7-portrait-joseph-winter\/\">all surviving<\/a> Revolutionary War Veterans who had served in any capacity for at least six months. Previously, pensions had been limited to Veterans disabled by wartime injury or, after 1818, to those in financial need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the new law\u2019s staunchest supporters in the Senate argued that the country could afford to be generous, as he believed no more than 10,000 Veterans were still alive and eligible to claim the benefit and the costs to the government would be modest. In fact, the senator\u2019s estimations were badly off the mark. By year\u2019s end, 24,000 applications had been received and the projected expense was four times greater than anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The influx of applications overwhelmed the small office in the War Department responsible for processing them. As head of the department, the Secretary of War was nominally in charge of the pension system, but the day-to-day business of the office was conducted by a head clerk and sixteen other clerks. As of early January 1833, they had reviewed only one-third of the submitted claims and half of those examined had been returned with requests for more documentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lewis Cass, who had been appointed Secretary of War in 1831 by President Andrew Jackson, blamed the office\u2019s struggles on the fact that it lacked an executive officer with the necessary authority to manage the clerical staff and make decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is no doubt that this state of things has impaired and, as long as it continues, will impair the operations of the department,\u201d he wrote Congress in response to its inquiry about execution of the 1832 act. Cass asked lawmakers to create a Commissioner of Pensions position with duties clearly defined by statute. In his view, for the commissioner to be an effective leader and administrator, his office \u201cshould have a legal existence, an efficient control, and an acknowledged responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congress agreed with his proposition and included a provision in the March 1833 appropriation bill granting the president the authority to appoint a pensions commissioner. However, legislators limited the office\u2019s existence to two years, leaving it to later sessions to decide if the position should be continued. The chief clerk at the time, James L. Edwards, was named the first Commissioner of Pensions, a promotion that increased his annual salary from $1,600 to $2,500. He was the logical choice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Born around 1786, Edwards enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1811 and earned a silver medal for his actions aboard the frigate\u00a0<em>United States<\/em>\u00a0during the War of 1812. He became chief clerk at the pension office in 1818, the same year Congress approved the first general service pension law permitting Revolutionary War Veterans without disabilities to file claims. Edwards helped the War Department weed out thousands of applications from ineligible claimants and he also cleaned house of clerks suspected of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image111120_5f8888-bf.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image111120_5f8888-bf .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:600px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image111120_5f8888-bf.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image111120_5f8888-bf .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image111120_5f8888-bf figure{max-width:600px;}.kb-image111120_5f8888-bf .image-is-svg, .kb-image111120_5f8888-bf .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image111120_5f8888-bf .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image111120_5f8888-bf\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2022120804.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2022120804.jpg?resize=696,1024\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2022120804.jpg?resize=696,1024\" alt=\"Portrait of Lewis Cass, lawyer, general, politician, and cabinet officer under two presidents. As Secretary of War in 1833, he asked Congress to appoint a Pensions Commissioner after a new law created an enormous backlog in applications. (Detroit News Archives)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-111121\" width=\"522px\" height=\"768px\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27522%27%20height%3D%27768%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20522%20768%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27522%27%20height%3D%27768%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2022120804.jpg?resize=204,300 204w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2022120804.jpg?resize=408,600 408w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2022120804.jpg?resize=768,1130 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/02\/2022120804.jpg 852w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 852px) 100vw, 852px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Portrait of Lewis Cass, lawyer, general, politician, and cabinet officer under two presidents. As Secretary of War in 1833, he asked Congress to appoint a Commissioner of Pensions after a new law created an enormous backlog in applications. (Detroit News Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both the office and his appointment proved to be lasting. Congress after 1833 periodically voted to renew the commissioner\u2019s position before finally dropping in 1849 all references to the law expiring after a set amount of time. Edwards served as commissioner throughout this period, weathering five changes in presidential administrations. Under his steady leadership, the pension office tackled the huge backlog in claims resulting from the 1832 act, eventually issuing over <a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/100-objects\/object-16-war-of-1812-widows-pension-claim\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"104388\">32,000 pensions <\/a>to Veterans of the war. During his tenure as commissioner, Edwards also continued his crusade against corruption, instituting various checks in the pension payment process and other reforms to reduce the incidence of fraud and graft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In July 1850, <a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/100-objects\/object-34-president-zachary-taylors-well-traveled-remains\/\">President Zachary Taylor died<\/a> unexpectedly and his vice president, Millard Fillmore, assumed office. In November, Edwards was finally replaced as Commissioner of Pensions by James E. Heath. The circumstances of his departure are murky. Edwards was in his mid-sixties and, with more than three decades of public service to his name, he may have simply decided to retire. However, it is also possible that Fillmore wanted to appoint a commissioner of his own choosing. Heath was a man of many talents\u2014writer, editor, politician, and public auditor with thirty years of experience, which prepared him well for the commissioner&#8217;s position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He served less than three years, though. The inauguration of Franklin Pierce as president in March 1853 resulted in the appointment of a new commissioner two weeks later. For the remainder of the century and into the next, commissioners rarely lasted for more than one administration and most owed their appointments to political patronage rather than their qualifications for the job. Many would still turn out to be dedicated public servants, but none would come close to matching James Edwards\u2019 length or record of service.\u00a0The position was abolished when the <a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/featured-stories\/vas-birthday\/\">Veterans Administration<\/a> absorbed the Pension Bureau in 1930.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 1832, the federal government found itself with a pension problem largely of its own making. In June, Congress passed a law granting a pension to all surviving Revolutionary War Veterans who had served for at least six months, but the increased applications overwhelmed the staff handling claims. A Commissioner of Pensions was then appointed to address the issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":117342,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[102,108,99,91,103,96],"class_list":["post-111120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-100-objects","tag-commissioner-of-pensions","tag-pension-bureau","tag-revolutionary-war","tag-veterans-benefits","tag-war-department-pension-office","tag-war-of-1812"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-50-commissioner-of-pensions\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Object 50: Commissioner of Pensions Annual Report","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-50-commissioner-of-pensions\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-50-commissioner-of-pensions\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/12\/Screenshot-2026-03-04-082726.webp?w=300","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/12\/Screenshot-2026-03-04-082726.webp"},"articleSection":"History of VA in 100 Objects","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)"}],"creator":["Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"VA History","logo":""},"keywords":["commissioner of pensions","pension bureau","revolutionary war","veterans benefits","war department pension office","war of 1812"],"dateCreated":"2022-12-08T15:00:00Z","datePublished":"2022-12-08T15:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-03-04T17:27:26Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Object 50: Commissioner of Pensions Annual Report\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/object-50-commissioner-of-pensions\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/object-50-commissioner-of-pensions\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/Screenshot-2026-03-04-082726.webp?w=300\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/Screenshot-2026-03-04-082726.webp\"},\"articleSection\":\"History of VA in 100 Objects\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)\"}],\"creator\":[\"Department of Veterans Affairs (jdt)\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"VA History\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"commissioner of pensions\",\"pension bureau\",\"revolutionary war\",\"veterans benefits\",\"war department pension office\",\"war of 1812\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2022-12-08T15:00:00Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-08T15:00:00Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-04T17:27:26Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/department.va.gov\/p.js"},"meta_box":{"external_links":"0","endorsement":"0","subheading":"","featured_image_alt_text":"Cover\u00a0page of Commissioner of Pensions 1845\u00a0annual\u00a0report. The\u00a0commissioner was charged\u00a0by Congress with carrying out \u201csuch duties in relation to the various pension laws as may be prescribed by the President of the United States.\"\u00a0(VA)","byline":"Scott Hudson, Virtual Student Federal Service Intern, VA History Office","author_title":"Virtual Student Federal Service Intern, VA History Office","external_source":"","external_source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111120"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115361,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111120\/revisions\/115361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}