Southern Claims Commission

The Southern Claims Commission (SCC) was an organization of the executive branch of the United States government from 1871 to 1880, created under President Ulysses S. Grant.

The applications of claimants (successful or not), testimony, and the SCC papers provide excellent historical background information about Southern life during the Civil War.

Although only a few people per county qualified for a settlement, the application papers of the Southern Claims Commission typically include questions mentioning hundreds of their neighbors.

Neighbors of all races, and classes were questioned and discussed in SCC records, potentially including: In one such account, following the Battle of Antietam and during the winter of 1862–1863, a brigade of General William B. Franklin's VI Corps, totaling about 3,000 troops, camped on the 273 acres (110 ha) New Baltimore, Virginia farm of Julia F. Claggett along the Warrenton Turnpike and Georgetown Road.

The soldiers appropriated food stores and supplies, seized horses, pigs, and cattle, cut down 40 acres (16 ha) of woodland, tore down barns and fences for fuel and torched what remained.