Claim Summary
Samuel Maxwell, who was held enslaved on George W. Walthour’s Westfield plantation in Liberty County, Georgia at the end of the Civil War, was interviewed in 1877/1878 about the U.S. Army’s 1864 raid there. As part of his claim against the U.S. government for property taken by the soldiers, Samuel Maxwell met with Southern Claims Commission Special Commissioner Henry Way and local businessman Robert Q. Cassels to have his testimony taken. A fellow formerly enslaved man named Jacob Dryer and G.W. Walthour’s white son Russell Walthour also testified for Maxwell.
Maxwell’s claim, submitted by Savannah attorney James Simms, had said that $219.50 worth of property was taken, including two cows and calves, 20 hogs, honey, rice, corn, clothing and bedding, and the testimony Commissioner Way submitted on his behalf appeared to corroborate this claim. However, the Commissioners of Claims in Washington, D.C., were suspicious, because all of the testimony that Way submitted from multiple such claims looked very similar and was suspiciously short on detail. The Commissioners knew that many of the claimants and witnesses, including Maxwell and Dryer, had been enslaved and had been forbidden to learn to read or write during slavery, so could not verify that their attorneys had made a true submission or that Way had written down what they really said.
So the Commissioners assigned their Special Agent, R.B. Avery, to re-interview Maxwell and Dryer, which he did on June 8, 1878, at the Crossroads Church (now the First African Baptist Church in Riceboro). Maxwell told Avery that he had had only one cow and a calf, and that they were actually his wife’s, who was enslaved on the same plantation. He said her mother had given her the cow before freedom. Jacob Dryer said he remembered one cow, but when pressed, would not testify to any more than that.
Avery also interviewed William A. Golding, a prominent member of the Liberty County African American community at that time, but Golding’s testimony was kept in the Commission’s private files and was not part of the public record.
Avery noted in his report that he had visited Maxwell’s home, where he found a small pony picketed out on the grass. He commented that Maxwell had received the horse when his father-in-law, Joseph James, had died.
Avery’s report that both the lawyer’s claim submission and Way’s account of the testimony were likely inflated resulted in payment of only $40 on Maxwell’s $219.50 claim, and presumably further fueled the Commission’s doubts about Henry Way, James Simms, and Robert Q. Cassels.
Claim transcribed by Stacy Ashmore Cole; Research by Stacy Ashmore Cole
More about the Claimant
Reports of Samuel Maxwell’s birth year varied from 1829 to 1845 in the U.S. federal census records for 1870-1910. He himself reported his age as 46 in the 1877 testimony, so 1831 is likely closest to correct. In the 1900 census, it was reported that he had been married to wife Betsy for 37 years, or since 1863.
In the 1870 census, he and his wife had two children in the household: Sarah (4) and William (7 months). By 1880, they had added Dianah (8), and they were living near Joseph James, who according to Special Agent Avery’s report was Betsy’s father.
On September 23, 1887, Betsey Maxwell bought a 55-acre tract of land from Mrs. J.S. Fleming. The land was known as “a part of the Oakland Plantation,” bounded north by Mr. J.B. Fraser, east by same, south by the Midway and Walthourville road, and west by Dick Maxwell and Mrs. J.S. Fleming. [NOTE: At that time, Liberty County records referred to white people with “Mr” and “Mrs” and did not use that for Black people; that usage is only included here because it helps with identifying the people involved, and thus with where this land might have been. Mrs. J.S. Fleming was probably Mary Jane Way Fleming (1835-1918), wife of John S. Fleming (1837-1915). John S. Fleming was alive at the time of the sale, so this was likely land she had inherited from one of her parents or grandparents.]
On June 24, 1890, Sam Maxwell bought 10 acres from Prince LeConte for $30. The tract was known as “the pine land tract” in Liberty County, bounded north by F.R. Lyons and south by Samuel Varnadoe.
In the 1900 census, William and Dianah were still in the Maxwell family household. By the 1910 census, Samuel was a widower, and living with daughter Dianna and her husband, Isaac Jones. Later that year, in November, he sold a 30-acre tract of land in Liberty County to Robert H. Knox of Chatham County for $50. It had been surveyed in 1882, and was said to have been bordered at that time by land belonging to W.A. (or O) Walthour, R.F. Walthour, G.W. Walthour and Margaret Walthour.
No records were found for Samuel Maxwell after 1910, when he would have been about 80, and no record was found of his death or the probate process when the Liberty County probate records online were checked.
Slavery
George W. Walthour, who had been identified by Samuel Maxwell as his slaveowner at the time of the 1864 raid, died in 1859 with minor children. It was usual for estates, especially large ones like Walthour’s, not to be finalized until the minor children came of age, so it is likely that Maxwell belonged to the estate. Walthour’s estate inventory identified a total of seven enslaved men with names that were some variant of Samuel (Samuel, Sam, Sammy, Sambo) on his three plantations: Westfield, Homestead, and Richland. On Westfield, where Samuel Maxwell said he was living at the time of the raid, were Sambo, 35 years old; Sambo, 16 years old; and Sam, 20 years old. There was also Betsy, 40 years old, and an Elizabeth, also 40 years old, one of whom may have been Betsy Maxwell, his wife, since they were said to have been on the same plantation.
Samuel took Maxwell as his surname after Emancipation. Why? There were other formerly enslaved people who also took that surname, most notably Syphax Maxwell, who had belonged jointly to Charles Colcock Jones and his sister Susan Mary Maxwell Cummings until their property was divided in 1839. The Maxwell family was close to the Jones family, and it is likely that either Samuel or one of his parents or grandparents had been owned by them at some time. Unfortunately, Samuel or some version of it was a fairly common name, which makes it difficult to follow the trail back to that point.46
Citations
Census Records
1870 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Subdivision 180, p. 3, dwelling #26, family #26, enumerated on November 14, 1870, by Robert Baker, Samuel Maxwell household, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 9/4/2020).
1880 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, District 15, enumeration district 67, p. 80, dwelling #853, family #860, Samuel Maxwell household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 9/4/2020).
1900 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Militia District 15, enumeration district 80, sheet #7, line number 75-78, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 9/4/2020).
1910 U.S. Census, Liberty County, Georgia, population schedule, Militia District 15, enumeration district 114, p. 5A, line number 18-20, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 9/4/2020).
Deed Records
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AK 1910-1911,” p. 370-1, Samuel Maxwell to Robert H. Knox; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AK-AL 1910-1912” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #226, ( https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-5SX8-X?i=225&cat=292358, accessed 9/3/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AA 1892-1894,” p. 114, Prince LeConte to Samuel Maxwell; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AA-AB 1892-1896” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #91, ( https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-594H-V?i=90&cat=292358, accessed 9/3/2020)
Liberty County Superior Court, “Deeds & Mortgages v. AA 1892-1894,” p. 141-2, Mrs. J.S. Fleming to Betsey Maxwell; digital image, FamilySearch.org, “Deeds & Mortgages, v. AA-AB 1892-1896” within “Deeds and mortgages, 1777-1920; general index to deeds and mortgages, 1777-1958,” image #104-5, ( https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QP-59CV-C?i=104&cat=292358, accessed 9/3/2020)
Probate Record for George W. Walthour
”Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-993T-XTF2?cc=1999178&wc=9SB7-6T5%3A267679901%2C268014801 : 20 May 2014), Liberty > Miscellaneous probate records 1850-1863 vol C and L > image 231 of 703
About the Southern Claims Commission
The Southern Claims Commmission was set up by Congress in 1871 to adjudicate claims for property taken by U.S. federal troops during the Civil War. More than 140 Liberty County residents — both black and white — filed claims, mostly for property taken during December 1864 when a unit of Sherman’s Army commanded by General Kilpatrick camped at Midway Church and conducted foraging raids throughout Liberty County. Horses, cows, hogs, poultry, corn and rice were the most common items of property taken. In Liberty County, many slaveowners allowed their enslaved people to work on their own time and own small amounts of property, most of which was taken by the U.S. troops for use by the Army.
The claims files, which are held at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), have been digitized and are available at Ancestry.com or Fold3.com. For more information on these files, click here. A set of standard questions were used to take the testimony of claimants and witnesses. This set of questions was amended twice, in 1872 and 1874. The questions are not usually part of the digitized file, but we have included them to help make sense of the answers. The questions we used were provided online courtesy of the St. Louis County Library Special Collections, as taken from National Archives Microfilm Publication M87, Roll 1, Frames 104–105, Records of the Commissioners of Claims (Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880), and can be found here.
About This Transcription
What you are seeing: The Southern Claims Commission files for each claimant included all forms filed for the claimant, including cover pages, standard forms with filled in information, a special agent’s report about the claim, remarks made by the Special Commissioner summarizing the case, testimony from the claimant and his or her witnesses based on a standard set of questions, and copies of other paperwork involved. Much of the information contained in the forms is repetitive. We have summarized that information into one block, and transcribed all testimony, the Special Commissioner’s remarks, the special agent’s report, and any other relevant text.
Methodology: The testimony of the claimant and the witnesses has been transcribed exactly as seen. Some of the files are faded and/or difficult to read. Any words that cannot be read are indicated by “[word]”, or, in the case of entire sections, “[section illegible]”. Alternative spellings of names are also indicated with brackets.
The Claim: Summary & Transcription
Find the digitized original of this claim file at this Ancestry.com link.
Summary
Claimant’s Name (Last Name, First Name): Maxwell, Samuel
Listed as “Colored”? (Y/N): Y
Amount of Claim: $259.50
Total Amount Allowed: $40
Nature of Claim: Stores for Genrl Sherman’s Army
Claimant living in: ?Montrose? Liberty Co, Ga.
Incident occurred in: Walthourville, Westfield plantation
Claim #: 20678
Secondary Claim #: 57868
Date Claim Submitted [YYYY-MM-DD]: [illegible]
Date Testimony taken [YYYY-MM-DD]: 1877-11-02
Claimant’s Attorney: Hosmer & Co; James M. Simms
Special Commissioner: Henry Way
Property Removed to: camp of the Army
Date property removed: 1864-12-15 to 1864-12-16
Army unit involved: Sherman’s Army under command of General Kilpatrick
Date Submitted to Congress [YYYY-MM-DD]: 1878-12-13
Post Office of Claimant: Stop #3, A & G Railroad [Atlantic & Gulf Railroad]
Items Claimed
Transcription
Remarks: Mr. Avery, our agent, has investigated this case and we refer to his report.
The clmt [claimant], formerly a slave, had one cow & one hog taken for Army use & probably a little corn & we allow for these items.
The other items not satisfactorily proved.
We allow in all $40.00
A.O. Aldis
J.B. Howell
O. Ferris } Comrs [Commissioners] of claims
[Transcriber’s Comments: Testimony taken at #3 A & G Railroad; R.Q. Cassels was present at the testimony as counsel. ]
Testimony of Claimant
1. What is your name, your age, your residence, and how long has it been such, and your occupation?
Saml [Samuel] Maxwell 46 years Liberty County Ga all my life farmer
2. If you are not the claimant, in what manner, if any, are you related to the claimant or interested in the success of the claim?
I am claimant
66. Who was the owner of the property charged in this claim when it was taken, and how did such person become owner?
I was worked for it
67. If any of the property was taken from a farm or plantation, where was such farm or plantation situated, what was its size, how much was cultivated, how much was woodland, and how much was waste land?
From plantation Liberty County Ga 7 or 800 acres 5 or 600 cultivated
68. Has the person who owned the property when taken since filed a petition in bankruptcy, or been declared a bankrupt?
No
70. Were you a slave or free at the beginning of the war? If ever a slave, when did you become free? What business did you follow after obtaining your freedom? Did you own this property before or after you became free? When did you get it? How did you become owner, and from whom did you obtain it? Where did you get the means to pay for it? What was the name and residence of your master, and is he still living? Is he a witness for you, and if not, why not? Are you in his employ now, or do you live on his land or on land bought from him? Are you in his debt? What other person besides yourself has any interest in this claim?
Slave at end of war Farmer before freedom before the war worked for it by labor G.W. Walthour Liberty County Ga he is dead he is not witness because dead no no no no no one
72. Were you present when any of the property charged in this claim was taken? Did you actually see any taken? If so, specify what you saw taken.
I was I did 2 cows & calves 20 hogs 10 bee hives 20 bushels rice 25 bushels corn clothing 10 fowls 4 ducks
73. Was any of the property taken in the night time, or was any taken secretly, so that you did not know of it at the time?
In day time openly
74. Was any complaint made to any officer of the taking of any of the property? If so, give the name, rank and regiment of the officer, and state who made the complaint to him, what he said and did in consequence, and what was the result of the complaint.
I complained to officer no good
75. Were any vouchers or receipts asked for or given? If given, where are the vouchers or receipts? If lost, state fully how lost. If asked and not given, by whom were they asked, who was asked to give them, and why were they refused or not given? State very fully in regard to the failure to ask or obtain receipts.
No was afraid of them
76. Has any payment ever been made for any property charged in this claim? Has any payment been made for any property taken at the same times as the property charged in this claim? Has any payment been made for any property taken from the same claimant during the war, and if so, when, by whom, for what property and to what amount? Has this property, or any part of it, been included in any claim heretofore presented to Congress, or any court, department or officer of the United States, or to any board of survey, military commission, State commission or officer, or any other authority? If so, when and to what tribunal or officers was the claim presented; was it larger or smaller in amount than this claim, and how is the difference explained, and what was the decision, if any, of the tribunal to which it was presented?
No no no no
77. Was the property charged in this claim taken by troops encamped in the vicinity, or were they on the march, or were they on a raid or expedition, or had there been any recent battle or skirmish?
Troops were camped
78. You will please listen attentively while the list of items, but not the quantities, is read to you, and as each kind of property is called off, say whether you saw any such property taken.
[No answer recorded]
79. Begin now with the first item of property you have just said you saw taken, and give the following information about it. 1st.. Describe its exact condition, as for instance, if corn, whether green or ripe, standing or harvested, in shuck, or husked, or shelled; if lumber, whether new or old, in buildings or piled; if grain, whether growing or cut. 2d. State where it was. 3d. What was the quantity; explain fully how you know the quantity, and if estimated, describe your method of making the estimate.4th. Describe the quality to your best judgment. 5th. State as nearly as you can the market value of such property at the time in United States money. 6th. Say when the property was taken. 7th. Give the name of the detachment, regiment, brigade, division, corps, or army, taking the property, and the names of any officers belonging to the command. 8th. Describe the precise manner in which the property was taken into possession by the troops, and the manner in which it was removed. 9th. State as closely as you can how many men, animals, wagons, or other means of transport, were engaged in the removal, how long they were occupied, and to what place they removed the property. 10th. State if any officers were present; how you knew them to be officers; what they said or did in relation to the property, and give the names of any, if you can. 11th. Give any reasons that you may have for believing that the taking of the property was authorized by the proper officers or that it was for the necessary use of the army.
The cows were milch cows Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Georgia 2 cows & calves worth $25.00 dollars December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks Army drove them off to camp 9 or 10 men 5 or 6 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers present knew by dress officer said he ordered them taken for the army
80. Now take the next item of property you saw taken and give the same information, and so proceed to the end of the list of items.
The hogs were stock hogs Mr. Walthours Plantation Liberty County 20 head counted them worth 5 dollars a head December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks Army killed them & carried them off in wagons 9 or 10 men 5 or 6 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp knew by dress officer said they had to have them for the army
The hives were full of honey Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga 10 hives counted them worth 2 or 3 dollars a piece December 20th 1864 Kilpatrick Army broke hives open & took honey out 9 or 10 men 5 or 6 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers present knew by dress officer said it was by his order
The rice was threshed Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga 20 bushels measured worth 2 dollars a bushel December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks Army put it [in] sacks & carried off in wagon 9 or 10 men 5 or 6 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers present knew by dress Officer ordered men to take it
The corn was shucked & in ear Mr. Walthours Plantation Liberty County Ga 25 bushels measured worth one dollar a bushel December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks Army sacked it & put in wagon about one hour to camp 9 or 10 men & 5 or 6 horses 4 wagons 2 officers present knew by dress officer ordered men to take it for horses
The clothing were quilts blankets beds etc Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga worth 50 dollars December 20th 1864 Kilpatrick Army rolled them up & took upon horses 9 or 10 men 5 or 6 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers present knew by dress officer ordered men to take it
The fowls were grown Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga 10 head counted them worth 25 cts a head December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks Army caught them & carried off 9 or 10 men 5 or 6 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers present knew by dress officer ordered men to take them
The ducks were grown Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga 4 head counted them worth 50 cts a head December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks Army killed them & carried off on horse 9 or 10 men 5 or 6 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers present knew by dress officer helped men catch them for army
Sworn to & subscribed before me this 2d Nov 1877
Henry Way Special Comr [Commissioner]
[signed] Samuel Maxwell [signed by mark]
Testimony of Witness (Jacob Dryer)
1. What is your name, your age, your residence, and how long has it been such, and your occupation?
Jacob Dryer 50 years Liberty County Ga all my life farmer
2. If you are not the claimant, in what manner, if any, are you related to the claimant or interested in the success of the claim?
Not related to claimant not interested in claim
52. In whose favor are you here to testify?
Saml [Samuel] Maxwell
53. How long have you known that person altogether, and what part of that time have you intimately known him?
All his life
54. Did you live near him during the war, and how far away?
On same place
55. Did you meet him often, and about how often, during the war?
Was with him every day
56. Did you converse with the claimant about the war, its causes, its progress, and its results? If so, try to remember the more important occasions on which you so conversed, beginning with the first occasion, and state, with respect to each, when it was, where it was, who were present, what caused the conversation, and what the claimant said in substance, if you cannot remember his words.
No
57. Do you know of anything done by the claimant that showed him to be loyal to the Union cause during the war? If you do, state what he did, when, where, and what was the particular cause or occasion of his doing it? Give the same information about each thing he did that showed him to be loyal.
No
58. Do you know of anything said or done by the claimant that was against the Union cause? If so, please state with respect to each thing said or done, what it was, when it was, where it was, and what particular compulsion or influence caused him to say or do it.
No
59. If you have heard of anything said or done by the claimant, either for the Union cause or against it, state from whom you heard it, when you heard it and what you heard.
Heard nothing
60. What was the public reputation of the claimant for loyalty or disloyalty to the United States during the war? If you profess to know his public reputation, explain fully how you know it, whom you heard speak of it, and give the names of other persons who were neighbors during the war that could testify to this public reputation.
All who knew him knew he was union I know by his life Jupiter James Toney Roberts
61. Who were the known and prominent Union people of the neighborhood during the war, and do you know that such persons could testify to the claimant’s loyalty?
Toney Golden Gus Law Will Bacon know they would
62. Were you, yourself, an adherent of the Union cause during the war? If so, did the claimant know you to be such, and how did he know it?
I was claimant knew it because he was with me all the time
63. Do you know of any threats, molestations, or injury inflicted upon the claimant, or his family, or his property, on account of his adherence to the Union cause? If so, give all the particulars.
No
64. Do you know of any act done or language used by the claimant that would have prevented him from establishing his loyalty to the Confederacy? If so, what act or what language?
No
65. Can you state any other facts within your own knowledge in proof of the claimant’s loyalty during the war? If so, state all the facts and give all the particulars.
No
The following questions concerning the ownership of property charged in claims will be put to all claimants, or the representatives of deceased claimants:
66. Who was the owner of the property charged in this claim when it was taken, and how did such person become owner?
Saml [Samuel] Maxwell his parents gave him some & he worked for it
67. If any of the property was taken from a farm or plantation, where was such farm or plantation situated, what was its size, how much was cultivated, how much was woodland, and how much was waste land?
From plantation Liberty County about 800 acres about 5 or 600 acres cultivated
68. Has the person who owned the property when taken since filed a petition in bankruptcy, or been declared a bankrupt?
No that I know of
72. Were you present when any of the property charged in this claim was taken? Did you actually see any taken? If so, specify what you saw taken.
I was I did 2 cows & calves 20 hogs 10 hives honey 20 bushels rice 25 bush[els] corn clothing & bedding 10 fowls 4 ducks
73. Was any of the property taken in the night time, or was any taken secretly, so that you did not know of it at the time?
In day time openly
74. Was any complaint made to any officer of the taking of any of the property? If so, give the name, rank and regiment of the officer, and state who made the complaint to him, what he said and did in consequence, and what was the result of the complaint.
Don’t know if complaint was made
75. Were any vouchers or receipts asked for or given? If given, where are the vouchers or receipts? If lost, state fully how lost. If asked and not given, by whom were they asked, who was asked to give them, and why were they refused or not given? State very fully in regard to the failure to ask or obtain receipts.
None that I know of
76. Has any payment ever been made for any property charged in this claim? Has any payment been made for any property taken at the same times as the property charged in this claim? Has any payment been made for any property taken from the same claimant during the war, and if so, when, by whom, for what property and to what amount? Has this property, or any part of it, been included in any claim heretofore presented to Congress, or any court, department or officer of the United States, or to any board of survey, military commission, State commission or officer, or any other authority? If so, when and to what tribunal or officers was the claim presented; was it larger or smaller in amount than this claim, and how is the difference explained, and what was the decision, if any, of the tribunal to which it was presented?
No no no no
77. Was the property charged in this claim taken by troops encamped in the vicinity, or were they on the march, or were they on a raid or expedition, or had there been any recent battle or skirmish?
Troops were in camp
78. You will please listen attentively while the list of items, but not the quantities, is read to you, and as each kind of property is called off, say whether you saw any such property taken.
[no answers recorded]
79. Begin now with the first item of property you have just said you saw taken, and give the following information about it. 1st.. Describe its exact condition, as for instance, if corn, whether green or ripe, standing or harvested, in shuck, or husked, or shelled; if lumber, whether new or old, in buildings or piled; if grain, whether growing or cut. 2d. State where it was. 3d. What was the quantity; explain fully how you know the quantity, and if estimated, describe your method of making the estimate.4th. Describe the quality to your best judgment. 5th. State as nearly as you can the market value of such property at the time in United States money. 6th. Say when the property was taken. 7th. Give the name of the detachment, regiment, brigade, division, corps, or army, taking the property, and the names of any officers belonging to the command. 8th. Describe the precise manner in which the property was taken into possession by the troops, and the manner in which it was removed. 9th. State as closely as you can how many men, animals, wagons, or other means of transport, were engaged in the removal, how long they were occupied, and to what place they removed the property. 10th. State if any officers were present; how you knew them to be officers; what they said or did in relation to the property, and give the names of any, if you can. 11th. Give any reasons that you may have for believing that the taking of the property was authorized by the proper officers or that it was for the necessary use of the army.
The cows were milch cows Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga worth about 25 or 30 dollars December 20th 1864 Kilpatrick Army drove them off to camp 10 or 12 men 6 or 7 horses 4 or 5 wagons about one or two hours to camp 2 officers present knew by dress I heard officer tell the men to drive them off
80. Now take the next item of property you saw taken and give the same information, and so proceed to the end of the list of items.
The hogs were stock hogs Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga 20 head counted them worth 5 or 6 dollars a head December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks Army killed them & carried them off in wagons 10 or 12 men 6 or 7 horses 4 or 5 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officer knew by dress I heard officer tell men to take them said they had to have them for army
The hives were full of honey Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga 10 hives worth 2 dollars a piece December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks Army broke open hives & took out honey 9 or 10 men 6 or 7 horses 4 or 5 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers present knew by dress I heard officer tell men to take them
The rice was threshed Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga 20 bushels saw it measured worth 2 dollars a bushel December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks Army fed some to horses & carried the rest off in sacks 10 or 12 men 6 or 7 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers knew by dress I heard officer tell men to take it for their stock
The corn was shucked & in ear Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga 25 bushels saw it measured worth one dollar a bushel December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks Army fed some to horses 7 carried rest off in wagon 9 or 10 men 5 or 6 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers present knew by dress I heard officer tell men to take it for their stock
The bedding & clothing were bed quilts blankets etc Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga worth 40 or 50 dollars December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks army rolled it up & took it on horses 10 or 12 men 6 or 7 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers present knew by dress I heard officer tell men to take it
The fowls were grown Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga 10 head counted them worth 25 cts a head December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks Army killed them on the place & carried them off on horse 10 or 12 men 6 or 7 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers present knew by dress I heard officers tell men to take them for use of army
The ducks were grown Mr. Walthours plantation Liberty County Ga 4 head worth 50 cts a head December 20th 1864 Kilpatricks army caught & killed them 9 or 10 men 6 or 7 horses 4 wagons about one hour to camp 2 officers present knew by dress heard officers tell men to take them for army
Sworn to & subscribed before me this 2d Nov 1877
Henry Way Special Comr [Commissioner]
[signed] Jacob Dryer [signed by mark]
Testimony of Witness (Russell Walthour)
[Testimony taken on March 6, 1878 at Walthourville]
1. What is your name, your age, your residence, and how long has it been such, and your occupation?
Russell Walthour aged 38 years Liberty County Ga all my life
2. If you are not the claimant, in what manner, if any, are you related to the claimant or interested in the success of the claim?
Not related not interested in claim
52. In whose favor are you here to testify?
Sam Maxwell
53. How long have you known that person altogether, and what part of that time have you intimately known him?
All my life
54. Did you live near him during the war, and how far away?
On my deceased father’s plantation
55. Did you meet him often, and about how often, during the war?
No I was in the Army
56. Did you converse with the claimant about the war, its causes, its progress, and its results? If so, try to remember the more important occasions on which you so conversed, beginning with the first occasion, and state, with respect to each, when it was, where it was, who were present, what caused the conversation, and what the claimant said in substance, if you cannot remember his words.
No
57. Do you know of anything done by the claimant that showed him to be loyal to the Union cause during the war? If you do, state what he did, when, where, and what was the particular cause or occasion of his doing it? Give the same information about each thing he did that showed him to be loyal.
No
58. Do you know of anything said or done by the claimant that was against the Union cause? If so, please state with respect to each thing said or done, what it was, when it was, where it was, and what particular compulsion or influence caused him to say or do it.
No
59. If you have heard of anything said or done by the claimant, either for the Union cause or against it, state from whom you heard it, when you heard it and what you heard.
Nothing
60. What was the public reputation of the claimant for loyalty or disloyalty to the United States during the war? If you profess to know his public reputation, explain fully how you know it, whom you heard speak of it, and give the names of other persons who were neighbors during the war that could testify to this public reputation.
Don’t know
61. Who were the known and prominent Union people of the neighborhood during the war, and do you know that such persons could testify to the claimant’s loyalty?
Don’t know
62. Were you, yourself, an adherent of the Union cause during the war? If so, did the claimant know you to be such, and how did he know it?
No
63. Do you know of any threats, molestations, or injury inflicted upon the claimant, or his family, or his property, on account of his adherence to the Union cause? If so, give all the particulars.
Don’t know
64. Do you know of any act done or language used by the claimant that would have prevented him from establishing his loyalty to the Confederacy? If so, what act or what language?
No
65. Can you state any other facts within your own knowledge in proof of the claimant’s loyalty during the war? If so, state all the facts and give all the particulars.
No
72. Were you present when any of the property charged in this claim was taken? Did you actually see any taken? If so, specify what you saw taken.
Was not present but know he was allowed to own & did own property by my father’s permission
Sworn to & subscribed before me this 7th March 1878
Henry Way Special Comr [Commissioner]
[signed] Russell Walthour
—————————
Respectfully forwarded from Milledgeville, Ga
July 25th, 1878
R.B. Avery Sp’l Agt [Special Agent]
Witness reliable in appearance
Testimony of Sam’l [Samuel] Maxwell, colored, taken under oath at X Road [Crossroads] Church, Liberty County, Ga June 8th 1878
Q: Please repeat this oath.
A: I Sam’l [Samuel] Maxwell do solemnly swear that I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, in regard to all matters whereof I may be questioned so help me God.
Q: Who made out your claim?
A: James Simms. Mr. Way took the testimony. I paid Mr. Way $1.50 I don’t owe him any more that I know of. Mr. Cassell is to get something when it do come, for his trouble.
Q: What kind of property did you have when the army came?
A: I had a cow. It was not mine but my wife’s. Her mother gave it to her before freedom. One cow and calf. The army took her and carried her off. I and my wife lived on the same place Walthourville or Westfield place.
Q: Did you have anything else?
A: Yes. Some hogs. I had one barrow in the pen. Two men could not pick him up and carry him. They killed it in the pen and carried it away. I had two sows with pretty shoats two litters.
Q: What else?
A: I made some corn, and with what they allow me for rations, it was tween ten bushels. You understand me and my wife together. They gave both of us rations.
Q: Anything else?
A: Yes. Rice. Well, my judgment was that we had about twenty bushels. I had no chance to measure them. Just took them and put them in the house.
Q: Anything else.
A: Yes, Bee hives. I believe about eight or nine of them. Then the [word] and all the bed things. I didn’t count them to know how much they is, and the clothes that they took from me, what the old boss used to give me.
Q: Is that all.
A: Yes, all but the peas. I can’t put no judgment on the peas.
Q: Well hear it read and tell me if it is correct.
A: That is all right.
Attest: R.B. Avery Sp’l Comr
[signed] Samuel Maxwell [signed by mark]
Testimony of Jacob Dryer, colored, taken at Walthourville, Ga June 4th, 1878
Q: Did you know Sam’l [Samuel] Maxwell during the war?
A: Yes, sir. We belonged to the same master and lived on the same place. My house was as far as that fence from his (fence about two hundred yards off). We lived in the same quarters, but not the same house.
Q: Did you know what property he had?
A: Yes, I saw his property. I remember a cow but I could not pronounce his property right now like him could. I can’t remember that he had more than one cow. I can’t say no, and I don’t want to say yes.
Q: Hogs?
A: I can’t remember right now. I can’t tell exactly what he had. They was only him and his wife in the family. Master let them have just as much land as he can work. He did all his slaves. Samuel can tell you better himself, right off what he had.
Attest: R.B. Avery Sp’l Comr
[signed] Jacob Dryer [signed by mark]
Claim of Sam’l [Samuel] Maxwell, col’d
Liberty County, Ga
I was not favorably impressed by the appearance of this claimant. I was afterwards at his house and found a small pony, worth perhaps $30, picketed out on the grass. He had an ox picketed out too. The horse he got on the death of his father in law, Joseph James. None of these Quarterman claimants make a bale of cotton to the family. Generally they sell their crop unginned. If they have it ginned, three or four splice. They live on a little better ground than the LeCount [LeConte] people, but are, otherwise, in no better condition. A few have a cow, and a few chickens. Invariably they possess two hungry, mangy dogs. I told them they could keep a pig on what one dog would eat. The answer was, “a pig won’t help us catch coons and rabbits.”
This claimant says they had but one cow and calf taken. He had one hog in the pen. The others were in the swamp, and he don’t know who took them. He had, “with what they allow me for rations ‘tween ten bushels” of corn. Rations of corn were given him for himself and wife. I think it more than probably they had a little rough rice, fit for no use but horse feed. The location is good for rice, as much of the land is too wet for anything else. W.A. Golding swears: “He had a horse and cows. I don’t know sure about the horse. I don’t remember enough to describe him.” I took the testimony of Jacob Dryer in this case. He would only swear to one cow, and would not say about anything else. His manner led me to believe he would swear he had nothing else if he swore at all about it. To the testimony I respectfully refer the Hon. Commrs [Commissioners] of Claims.
Very respectfully,
R.B. Avery
Sp’l Agent
[Recap of claim by Gilmore & Co, attorneys in Washington, D.C.]
[Warrant for claim no. 51868, sett. No. 4014, for $40 for Samuel Maxwell for “claims of loyal citizens for supplies furnished during the rebellion.” Reported March 22, 1879, returned April 3, 1879, Requisition No. 2345, dated April 13, 1879, transmitted for warrant April 17, 1879. ]
[Copy of draft for $40 for Samuel Maxwell made payable to Gilmore and Co, Washington, D.C., signed off on by Second Comptroller’s Office on April 3, 1879, by E.F. French, and Third Auditor’s Office, March 22, 1879, by H.M. Bennett]
[Statement by Gilmore & Co that they are the attorneys of record in the case, having received a power of attorney from J.M. Simms to Chipman, Hosmer & Co to prosecute all the claims in which he had a power of attorney. Decr 11/1879]
[Memorandum with heading “Office of the Commissioners of Claims, Washington, D.C., October 15, 187? Regarding claim of Samuel Maxwell, quoting “He had a horse and cows. Don’t know sure about the horse. Don’t remember enough to describe him. See depositions of W.A. Golding on private file.”]
[Unlabeled piece of paper with quotes from testimonies, all as given above.]
[Request from Third Auditor’s Office of the Treasury Department for the name of attorney in the Samuel Maxwell case.]