The Southerners who opposed the Civil War came from all social, economic and racial classes. In East Tennessee many voted strongly against secession with the area being a hot bed for Union activity throughout the war. The nature of the war presented issues for these Loyal Southerners on two grounds – their neighbors and from the union itself.
Loyal Southerners whose neighbors predominantly supported the war were in a very dangerous position. Many keep their views to themselves, some left, and many remained openly Unionist yet went unharmed. The Union invasion created still more problems for these Southerners – Union troops had little means or inclination to distinguish between pro-union and anti-union southerners. Much property was confiscated and destroyed by union soldiers more often with disregard as to whether the individual was loyal to the union or not.
On 3 March 1871, six years after the hostilities ended, Congress created the Southern Claims Commission, an agency by which pro-union southerners could apply for reimbursement of some of their losses from the way. Claims were accepted from those who met the following criteria:
- The requestor was an American Citizen
- The requestor resided in a state that seceded from the Union
- The requestor could document loyalty to the federal government throughout the conflict
- The requestor must have suffered from official confiscation of goods they owned
Each claim was submitted to the three commissioners who reviewed the evidence. The commissioners would take additional testimony and reach an agreement on two items:
- The loyalty of the claimant
- The dollar amount associated to the damages that were warranted
At the start of each Congressional session, the commission filed a formal report with the House of Representatives with its findings for each case. The House would then approve or disapprove each claim and determine the amount that should be paid for approved cases.
Twenty two thousand two hundred and ninety eight (22,298) cases were filed for a total amount of alleged damages at $60,258,150. Only a third of the claims (7,092) were able to withstand the rigid investigation and qualify for some amount of payment. Virtually all claims were settled at a reduced amount. Total payout for the claims was $4,636,929.69.
These files are a wealth of knowledge offering insight into how those who lived in areas divided by the Civil War were impacted. We get a glimpse of what they lost, why they believed what they did and who in the community was with them and who was not.
One of those who filed a claim was my 3rd great grandfather, Jacob Byerley, of Rhea County, Tennessee. Several years ago, I had a researcher in Washington D.C. try to find the file for me, but she was not successful – so I had given up hope. When these files started to be updated online, I watched with anticipation, just in case the file was somehow found during the digitization process. My anticipation paid off as his file has been published online.
