This table contains claims presented to the Southern Claims Commission in Washington, D. C., following the end of the Civil War for losses suffered as a result of military action or uncompensated appropriation of their property by federal troops.

This covers only the first few years of the decade during which the Commission was active. The claim files include detail that can be of genealogical value. Each claimant was required to describe his losses in great detail and to prove his loyalty to the Union. Claim files sometimes included testimony of witnesses (usually neighbors and/or relatives) in support of the alleged losses.

All Southern Claims Commission files are located at the National Archives. Some claims are available on microfilm from the TN State Library & Archives and the LDS Family History Library. Check those catalogues for details.

For more information on the Commission and it’s activities, see Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: the Southern Claims Commission by Gary B. Mills (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994).

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