U.S. News and World Report reports:
Despite the fact that the Civil War ended April 9, 1865 (53,630 days ago, for reference), the government is still paying out veterans' pensions.
Records from the Department of Veterans' Affairs show that two children of Civil War veterans, as of September, are receiving pensions from their fathers' service.
There's more:
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, only Union soldiers were eligible for military benefits. It wasn't until the 1930s that confederate soldiers began receiving pensions from the federal government. Prior to that, confederate soldiers could apply for benefits through the state they resided in.
The last verified Civil War veteran, Albert Woolson, died in 1956 at age 109. The last widow, Gertrude Janeway, died in 2003 at age 93.
Budhan says he respects the request for privacy, but would be fascinated to learn about the lives and memories of the last two people receiving pensions from the Civil War.
"I was hoping that someone would be able to talk to these folks," he says.
What would the warfare-welfare state be without pensions ?
