The Bittersweet Arrival of Sherman’s Army in Liberty County
In December 1864, as the holiday season approached, the reality of the Civil War marched directly into Liberty County. General Sherman’s Army had arrived, and they were desperate. The soldiers were starving, their horses were spent, and they had the full might of the Union behind them to take whatever they needed to survive.
Foraging parties fanned out across the county, stripping the once-rich farms of provisions and livestock. For the people living there, the arrival of the “liberators” was a complicated blessing.
The Southern Claims Commission: Proving Loyalty
In 1871, the U.S. government established the Southern Claims Commission to compensate “loyal” Southerners for property seized by the military. However, “loyalty” was a high bar to clear. Claimants had to navigate a dense thicket of bureaucracy, providing witnesses and detailed testimony to prove they were faithful to the Union and that the property taken was truly theirs.
In Liberty County, over 145 claims were filed. Perhaps the most striking revelation of these records is that the majority of claimants were African Americans who had been enslaved at the time of the foraging.
How the Enslaved Owned Property
The Commissioners were often baffled: How could someone held in bondage own property? The answer lay in the “task system” common in Liberty County. Once an enslaved person finished their daily assigned tasks, they were often permitted to raise their own crops and livestock on the enslaver’s land. This wasn’t an act of generosity; it was a calculated move by enslavers to tie people to the land and reduce the likelihood of escape by providing a modicum of stability.
These claims prove that the community recognized these animals and crops as the personal property of the enslaved.
In Their Own Words: The Price of Liberty
The arrival of the Union Army brought a collision of emotions. The soldiers brought the news of freedom, but they often took every hard-earned possession the newly freed people owned. Their testimony reveals a heartbreaking resilience:
“I felt delighted in the prospect of having my freedom… I said to my colored friends all was in the hands of the Lord… and all would come out right.” — William McIver
“They left us in very bad condition… [but] I would not go back into slavery for twice the amount or any amount. I value freedom too much to sell it for anything or any price.” — William Gilmore
Others spoke of the grueling transition to “free” labor, where old masters often refused to pay or cheated them out of their first crops. Boson Johnson recalled that after working for two years following his emancipation, his former master turned him off with “less than I could hold in my hand.”
New Transcripts Now Available
The original claim documents are often faded and difficult to read. Dedicated volunteer transcriber Cathy Tarpley Dillon and I are bringing these voices back to light. We have now transcribed 89 claims in total.
In the last month, we have added 18 new claims from formerly enslaved people:
|
Name |
Claim Status |
|---|---|
|
Lydia Baker |
Allowed |
|
Pulaski Baker |
Allowed |
|
Scipio and Susan Bennett |
Allowed |
|
Frances Brown |
Allowed |
|
Daniel Bryant |
Allowed |
|
Samuel Gaulden, Jr. |
Disallowed |
|
Henry Harris |
Disallowed |
|
Booby Houston |
Disallowed |
|
Joseph James |
Allowed |
|
Boson Johnson (or Baggs) |
Allowed |
|
Saul Jones |
Disallowed |
|
Prince Maxwell |
Allowed |
|
William McIver |
Allowed |
|
Madison Smith |
Disallowed |
|
John Spencer |
Disallowed |
|
Prince Stevens |
Allowed |
|
Moses Stewart |
Disallowed |
|
John (Jack) Wilson |
Allowed |
Explore the Records
You can explore the full transcripts, see research on over 40 of these claimants, and find links to the original digitized records at our dedicated Southern Claims page: TheyHadNames.net/southern-claims-commission/.