Confederate papers relating to citizens or business firms

Nota

This series of papers "consists of more than 650,000 vouchers and other related documents filed in over 350,000 alphabetically arranged jackets. The papers are primarily original records, most of which date from 1861 to 1865, pertaining to goods furnished or services rendered the Confederate government by private individuals or business firms"--Introd.

"Most of the papers reproduced in this microfilm publication were created or received by the Confederate War and Treasury Departments. After the Civil War the records were among those of the late Confederate government that came into the custody of the U.S. War Department. A number of years later, the present 'Citizens File' was assembled by the Confederate Archives Division of the Adjutant General's Office"--Introd.

"The 'Citizens file' consists primarily of the alphabetized vouchers assembled by the War Department from 1891 to 1892. The voucher was a record that served to document an account, in this case between the Confederate government and private citizens or businesses. Vouchers were often, although not always, prepared on printed forms in accordance with a format prescribed in the 'Regulations for the Army of the Confederate States for the Quartermaster's Department'. The regulations also specified that vouchers be made out in full for transactions involving public money or property. Accordingly, the voucher usually listed the goods supplied or services rendered and the cost, and specified the location where compensation was received by the payee. The contracting government officer signed the voucher, thus certifying the correctness of the account as did the individual furnishing the goods or service when payment was received. Often, vouchers were notorized as a further testimonial to their accuracy"--Introd.

"In addition to the vouchers that form the bulk of the 'Citizens file,' other types of documents are also to be found. These papers, most of which also pertain to business transactions from 1861 to 1865, include original correspondence or copies thereof, telegrams, receipts, statements of accounts, requisitions, contracts, payrolls, bills of lading, abstracts of expenditures, invoices, passes, lists of company employees or stockholders, accounts of Confederate court proceedings, and reports of Confederate Treasury Department auditors pertaining to claims. Occasional documents predate 1861 or postdate 1865, the latter frequently relating to claims actions instituted after the Civil War. Many, if not most, of the documents other than vouchers were evidently added to the 'Citizens file' subsequent to its creation. Items were most likely added because they served to further document instances of disloyalty or, perhaps, because no more convenient file repository was readily at hand"--Introd.

"The 'Citizens File' relates generally to domestic business transactions with the Confederate government. Many of the individual files within it pertain to persons who furnished forage, food, slaves for labor, horses, wagons, building supplies, and various types of equipment, or who rendered services such as hauling supplies or provisions, transporting prisoners, building or repairing equipment and grazing livestock. Other files pertain to various businesses that dealt with the Confederacy, including railroads, ironworks, leadworks, iron mining companies, newspapers, merchants, banks, stagelines, steamship companies, telegraph companies, and tanneries. Papers pertaining to Confederate transactions with foreign businesses are not easily located in the 'Citizens File' and were generally not filed under the name of the foreign enterprise in question. Papers pertaining to foreign firms are sometimes found filed with those of Confederate businesses that dealt with them directly"--Introd.

"There are other files for military officers, civilian government employees and officials, and organizations or offices of the Confederate government. Files for detectives, hospital matrons, clerks, depot laborers, messengers, and purchasing agents generally consist of vouchers relating to their pay or to expenses encountered in the course of their work. Files pertaining to government officials generally relate more to administrative aspects of the offices than to business transactions. They are likely to contain such documents as copies or drafts of letters, endorsements or memorandums, letters of recommendation, copies of regulations, copies of printed government documents, and worksheets. Still other files relate to claims against the Confederate government for alleged property losses or for goods or services furnished"--Introd.

"Most of the individual files are small and consist of one or a few vouchers. There are, however, larger consolidations, many of which pertain to government officials and large businesses"--Introd.

"In addition to the original documents, many of the files also include information recorded by the War Department. Cross-references in to other related files in the same series are often found on the jackets or on cards within the files. References to related materials among other Confederate records, now in Record Group 109, are also found on cards within the files. The sources cited include chaptered and numbered book records; letters received by the Confederate Secretary of War, Adjutant and Inspector General, and Quartermaster General; military inspection reports; payrolls for civilian and slave labor; 'vessel papers'; sequestration papers; muster rolls; and compiled military service records"--Introd.

"The 'Citizens File' is arranged in rough alphabetical order by the surname of individuals or by the names of businesses. Where a business title consists of more than one name, the papers will usually be filed under the first name. In addition, such papers are often filed ahead of those pertaining to individuals of the same name. Papers pertaining to the firms of Noble & Bell, Noble & Brothers, and Noble Brothers & Co., for example, have been filed ahead of those for A. Noble and A.J. Noble. There appears to be no particular arrangement of documents within files. For some of the larger consolidations, documents appear to have been numbered consecutively by the War Department. Even in these instances, however, no pattern or order is discernable in the internal arrangement"--Introd.

"Because of certain irregularities in the arrangment of the 'Citizens File,' a user may need to bring considerable ingenuity and knowledge to bear in order to locate desired information. Ocasionally, files have been established under unusual or unlikely headings; for example, one for 'Register,' which contains papers pertaining to Robert Tyler, register in the Treasury Department. War Department clerks were sometimes inconsistent in choosing file headings, as some papers are found filed under the names of businesses or firms while others are filed under the names of individuals in those organizations. Papers relating to the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, for example, are filed under Joseph R. Anderson, the president of the firm. Similarly papers pertaining to the South Western and Southern Telegraph Cos. and the Southern Express Co. are filed under the names of company officials, employees, or agents. Occasionally, files contain papers for more than one individual or firm. In some instances this may have resulted from a desire to conserve jackets when relatively few papers could be filed together. In these cases, the names of the different individuals or firms may be listed on the jackets. In other cases, however, it may not have been possible for the clerks arranging the 'Citizens File' to.

distinguish one individual from another with the same name on the basis of information available from the papers. Thus, a file apparently pertaining to one person may in fact pertain to several. In addition, papers pertaining to a particular individual or firm are frequently found in more than one file. Inconsistencies in the spelling or wording of names or business titles on documents, changes in business titles, and inconsistent filing procedures evidently resulted in the creation of multiple file headings"--Introd.

Microfilm of original records in The National Archives in Washington, District of Columbia.

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