The Southerners who opposed the Civil War came from all social, economic and racial classes.\u00a0 In East Tennessee many voted strongly against secession with the area being a hot bed for Union activity throughout the war.\u00a0 The nature of the war presented issues for these Loyal Southerners on two grounds \u2013 their neighbors and from the union itself.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Loyal Southerners whose neighbors predominantly supported the war were in a very dangerous position.\u00a0 Many keep their views to themselves, some left and many remained openly Unionist yet went unharmed.\u00a0 The Union invasion created still more problems for these Southerners \u2013 Union troops had little means or inclination to distinguish between pro union and anti union southerners.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 Claims were accepted from those who met the following criteria:<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The requester was an American citizen<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The requestor resided in a state that seceded<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The requester could document loyalty to the federal government throughout the conflict<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The requestor must have suffered official confiscation of goods.<\/p>\n
Each claim was submitted to the three commissioners who reviewed the evidence.\u00a0 The commissioners would take additional testimony and reach an agreement on two items:<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The loyalty of the claimant<\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The amount of damages that might be warranted.<\/p>\n
At the start of each Congressional session, the commission filed a formal report with the House of Representatives with its findings for each case.\u00a0 The House would then approve or disapprove each claim and determine the amount that should be paid for approved cases.<\/p>\n
Twenty two thousand two hundred and ninety eight (22,298) cases were filed for a total amount of alleged damages at $60,258,150.\u00a0\u00a0 Only a third of the claims (7,092) were able to withstand the rigid investigation and qualify for some amount of payment.\u00a0 Virtually all claims were settled at a reduced amount. Total payout for the claims was $4,636,929.69.<\/p>\n
Twenty Nine claims were filed from citizens in Rhea County.\u00a0 Of those 8 were disallowed and 21 were approved.<\/p>\n
Approved:<\/strong><\/p>\n Barred and Disallowed<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n For more information or copies of these records or if you can help with transcribing these documents, please contact Teresa Barley<\/a>.<\/p>\n Introduction from Byerley family website, used\u00a0with\u00a0permission.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Southerners who opposed the Civil War came from all social, economic and racial classes.\u00a0 In East Tennessee many voted strongly against secession with the area being a hot bed for Union activity throughout the war.\u00a0 The nature of the … Continue reading \n
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