Southern Claims Commission

[samgrant]

Beginning March 3, 1871 Congress allowed Southerners to file claim for losses during the War Between the States if (1) that individual was a Union loyalist; or (2) property was seized by the Union Army.

"Between 3 March 1871 and 3 March 1873, Southerners filed 22,298 claims before the Southern Claims Commission (SCC) based on the fact they

• were loyal to the Union during the Civil War
• had quartermaster stores or supplies taken by or furnished to the Union Army during the rebellion

Southern Loyalists made 22,298 claims for property losses totaling $60,258,150.44. However, only 7,092 claims (32%) were approved for settlements totaling $4,636,920.69. Each claimant sought to prove their loyalty and loss through the testimony of others. The paper trail created by the claimants and the people who came forward to testify, for or against a claimant, provide a wealth of information about individuals living in the South during the Civil War."

from: http://www.slcl.lib.mo.us/branches/h...c/scc-main.htm


Questions for Claimants and witnesses (lots!):

http://www.slcl.lib.mo.us/branches/h...uest-final.htm


Samples of disallowed claims (click on the blue number, some are quite interesting evaluations of why a claim was disallowed):

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.co...c/71index.html


A random sample of disallowed claims:

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.co...c/scc71_50.JPG

[unionblue]

samgrant,

What an excellent site! I had no idea that there had been an atempt to pay loyal union men in the South for damages!

Thanks for bringing this site to my attention.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

[samgrant]

My G,G,Grandfather's claim (which was approved) runs 444 pages!

"Thank you for your inquiry to NARA. We have checked our holdings and located the claim that you requested. The claim for Franklin D. Cossitt commission claim # 20,459 from Fayette County, Tennessee. The total cost for the purchase of copies of this document is 444 pages x .50 = $222.00."

Wow!

[ole]

Sam, that's a quandary! Lot's of bucks for almost nothing at all. I'd go for it (and forego another thing or two), but it's not my ancestor's papers. Did they pay the claim?
Ole

[samgrant]

Ole,

He claimed for ~ $32,000, was awarded ~ $14,000.

For more info see the following link:

http://civilwartalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24504

Sam

[ole]

Thanks for the reference, sam. I'd guess that if he can hold onto that much cotton, he almost certainly had to use slaves. Strange that the 1850, 1860 census records didn't turn up any hints.

For the "nonslave property" specification, I suspect that the commission was not going to compensate him for slaves, if he owned any. "Boilerplate" works for me.

Ole

[Battalion]

Those awarding compensation seem to be rather stingy.

If the items stolen were not for regular military use (their reasoning)...

..-one example: several thousands of pounds of tobacco-.....

...no compensation was granted.

[samgrant]

Originally Posted by Battalion

Those awarding compensation seem to be rather stingy.

If the items stolen were not for regular military use (their reasoning)...

..-one example: several thousands of pounds of tobacco-.....

...no compensation was granted.

True, that Commission was very strick in it's requirements. The claimant had to prove to be a loyal Unionist and have documentation and witnesses.

Check out the links I provided above and you will find many reasons for claims denied - many of them reasons why rather obvious.

[ole]

Those awarding compensation seem to be rather stingy.

Bureaucrats at work.
Ole

[samgrant]

In case anyone is confused about this issue, this Southern Claims Commission was established to compensate those in those states of rebellion who were loyal Unionists, not anybody in those states, and certainly not those who in any way gave any aid or allegiance to the Confederacy.

The high percentage of disallowed claims may not so much reflect on the bureaucratic nature of government, but more on the numerous claims made by clearly non-unionists who were angling to get some money.

See the links for examples of some of those ludicrous claims.