He was confirmed a veteran of the war and awarded a pension of $500 semi-annually by House Bill 1044 (passed by Congress February 22, 1866).

Journalist/attorney James M. Dalzell wrote a book (published by Gibson Brothers, Printers in 1868) titled John Gray, of Mount Vernon: the Last Soldier of the Revolution.

As of the Fall of 1867 after the death of Samuel Downing in Edinburgh, Saratoga County, New York, John Gray was then believed by the Bureau of Pensions of the U.S. Department of the Interior to be the last surviving veteran.

Samuel Downing and Gray had been granted pensions, by special act of the U.S. Congress (in February 1867, retroactive to June 1, 1866).

His father, John Gray Sr., fought in the war and was killed in the Battle of White Plains.