Andrew Ward

Andrew Ward was the father of Zebulon Ward and nephew of Colonel William Ward.

See lafferty1945 and ward1961 for more information on genealogy.

This page focuses on Ward’s War of 1812 service, based on his pension record, which can be found in “Old War Invalid File 25915” at the National Archives and Records Administration. Unless otherwise noted, all information and quotes on this page comes from this file.

The file shows that he was a private in Bradford’s company of the 17th U.S. Infantry during the war and was wounded in the battle of Fort Meigs in Ohio. He enlisted at Cynthiana on May 20, 1812 for eighteen months, and was discharged November 20, 1813. He then reenlisted August 31, 1814, in Captain Charles Larrabee’s Company, and was discharged on August 30, 1819.

The file describes his wound in an application for an increase in his pension filed in 1841:

A wound from a Rifle ball, whilst in a leaning foward position, entering the back on the left side, passing a few inches obliquely upwards & outwards, then entering the left arm, shattering the bone about one fortuh of the distance from the head of the humerous to its junction with the forearm at the elbow joint, producing an inability to use the left arm, which with his increase of years make his disability three fourths, while in the line of his duty, and in the said service, on or about the 5th day of May 1813, at a place called Fort Meigs … and he is not only disabled in consequence of said injury but in our opinion is entitled to receive two dollars more per month than he already receives.

Another affidavit indicates the wound broke some ribs as well.

He was first issued a pension certificate in May 1830, but then had to be issued a duplicate certificate in 1835, and yet another duplicate in 1837. In 1841, his pension was increased to $6 per month from $4 per month.

The file contains a sworn affidavit by Harrison County Justice of the Peace reporting that Ward appeared before him to state:

That he received a certificate of that fact under the signature and seal of the Secretary of War. Which certificate on the night of the seventeenth day of September 1834 in the town of Lexington (together with his pocket book, a variety of papers, and some money) was stolen from the pocket of him the said Andrew Ward whilst he was asleep in a Grocery Store in Lexington, that he has used due diligence to find the same, but has not been able to see or hear any thing concerning it. That he believes said certificate, pocket book, papers and money was stolen by a negro, who after securing the money destroyed the certificate pocket book and papers.

The affidavit is dated August 24, 1835 and signed by Ward. Another witness, Isaac Miller, swears that he had seen the pension certificate before and that Ward

left [it] with me on several occasions for safe keeping. The last time I saw it was in August or September 1834. When he applied to me for his certificate to go to Lexington to draw his pension I gave it to him, having had it in my custody from about the month of March 1834 until the month of August or September 1834. … Some days after I saw him, he told me had been to Lexington, had drawn his pension, had got drunk in a Grocery Store in that town and whilst asleep had been robbed of his certificate of pension and some papers, a pocket book and about $36 in cash.

The file later contains a filled out template form for “Application for a New Certificate” filed in 1837, reporting that on September 17, 1836, “he lost [it] from his pocket on the road from Lexington to Paris.”