Land Warrant for George Rogers Clark

This warrant issued by the Virginia Land Office on January 29, 1780, grants George Rogers Clark (misspelled here as Clarke) 560 acres of land as partial payment for the personal expenses he had incurred while recruiting his battalion of soldiers for the western campaign during the American Revolution (1775–1783). This land patent was issued "in lieu of the bounty of 750 Dollars" that Clark was owed. In turn, a "sum of two hundred & twenty four pounds current Money [had to be] paid into the publick Treasury" for the warrant to be certified. An official from the land office signed and certified the warrant with the land office's red seal.

Though Virginia issued a great number of these military land warrants to Clark for back pay and his out-of-pocket expenses, he was also held liable for large unpaid debts he had accumulated in the state's name during the war. Unable to sell the tracts of land he owned in the West, he spent his final years in great financial distress.