Georgia:  Chattooga County:  History of the Southern Claims Commission

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This file was contributed by:
Michelle Doss
http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00028.html#0006861

"A Nation Divided"

Southern Loyalists

From Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission 
by Gary B. Mills.

The Civil War is a painful reminder of how failure to resolve social and 
economic differences can result in a Nation--divided. There were many 
southerners who were northern born who believed that their family heritage 
had to be preserved. In some areas of the South, an actual majority of the 
citizens hoped to preserve the Union cause for social and economic 
reasons. Of course, they were in a dangerous position. Many felt it best 
to simply keep their view to themselves and tried to coexist without 
making an issue of their loyalty. 

"Those southerners who were loyal to the North, were faced with the same 
property confiscation's and destruction as were their Southern neighbors 
by the Union Army. Six years after armed hostilities cease --on 3 March 
1871--Congress created a channel through which pro-Union Southerners could 
apply for reimbursement of some losses. Similar commissions had been 
created both during and after the war for the benefit of Northern 
citizens, but sectional animosities and a congressional power struggle 
delayed the extension of economic justice to Southern loyalists."

The newly formed Southern Claims Commission, a three-man board, applied a 
number of exclusions. Claims were to be accepted only from those who

» held American citizenship;

» resided in a state that seceded;

» could document loyalty to the federal government throughout the 
conflict; and

» had suffered official confiscation's of goods.