An act of Congress, dated 3 Mar 1871, authorized a special board of three commissioners to be appointed by the President. These Commissioners of Claims — known as the Southern Claims Commission — were to "receive, examine, and consider the claims of those citizens who remained loyal adherents to the cause and the government of the United States during the war, for stores or supplies taken or furnished during the rebellion."
The commissioners were to satisfy themselves about the loyalty of each claimant; certify the amount, nature and value of the property taken or furnished; and report their judgment on each claim to the U.S. House of Representatives. That body, in turn, would approve or disallow the claim and appropriate money for payment.
The deadline for filing claims was set at 3 Mar 1873 and all evidence must have been submitted prior to March 1879. In an article written for "The CLF Newsletter" in 1976, Elizabeth Nitschke Hicks suggested that some of these claimants may have misrepresented their true loyalties: "[Y]ou should consider that people did what they had to to receive compensation for losses suffered during the war. Many southerners did not consider it 'lying' to 'lie' to a Yankee (especially a bureaucrat)." This appears to have been the case considering that of the 22,298 claims filed, only 7,092 satisfied the rigid tests of sworn statements and cross examination required to prove both the sustained "Unionism" of the claimant throughout the war and the validity of the claim.
A typical case file may contain any or all of the following types of documents: summary reports; petitions; inventories for supplies and property for which compensation was desired; applications to have testimony taken by a special commissioner; testimony of the claimant and others, both favorable and adverse, relating to the claim; vouchers; powers of attorney; correspondence; a copy of the final report; and the certificate of settlement issued by the U.S. Treasury.
Only 17 claims from Fayette Co., AL, were approved. Just a few notes, taken from sometimes lengthy case files, are included here. Please refer to the actual records for additional information. Images of these records also can be found online at Footnote.com (subscription fee required).
Source: Southern Claims Commission, Approved Claims, 1871–1880: Alabama. National Archives Microfilm M-2062, Rolls 9 & 10.
Find geographical lists of all Southern Claims Commission claimants here (PDF format only)
NOTE: Several of the incidents described below occurred during Wilson's Raid, "a cavalry operation through Alabama and Georgia in March-April 1865, late in the American Civil War. Brigadier General James H. WILSON led his Union Army Cavalry Corps to destroy Southern manufacturing facilities and was opposed unsuccessfully by the smaller force under Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford FORREST."