New York State Board of Commissioners Constituted by Chapter 421, Laws of 1862 Affidavits of Claimants for Clothing and…

Numeric by regiment number and therein by company letter.

Legislation of 1862 designated the Comptroller, Treasurer, Quartermaster General, and Inspector General as commissioners of a board required "to receive proof, ascertain and determine the sums due to regiments or members of the militia...for clothing and equipments...lost or destroyed in the service of the United States" since April 16, 1861.

Claims were to be paid only if receipt of written proof was submitted to the commissioners before July 1, 1862 and provided that neither the individual, nor his regiment or company, received payment or compensation from any city or county for the items claimed, which had to be originally provided for at his own expense.

This series consists mainly of affidavits submitted by individuals to a Board of Commissioners created by the legislature in 1862. However, the series also contains a few unit rolls and company rosters submitted by commanding officers to the board.

The bulk of the affidavits are printed forms which contain the claimant's name, regiment and company, itemized list of clothing and equipment lost, amount claimed, and signatures of claimant and notary public. Some forms contain spaces where commanding officers signed their names. The company rosters and unit rolls contain essentially the same information.

The series does not pertain to all state militia units, but rather only to those units which were temporarily mustered into federal service (usually for 90 days) at the beginning of the Civil War. Moreover, the series is incomplete since there are no affidavits for regiments such as the 12th New York State Militia which were mustered into federal service at the start of the war.

A4162Series A4162, Minutes of Board of Commissioners Constituted to Examine Militia Claims for Clothing Lost or Destroyed While in the Service of the United States since April 16, 1861 and

A4163Series A4163, Minutes of the Board of Commissioners Constituted to Examine Claims for Uniforms Lost or Destroyed by Militia or National Guard Units While in the Service of the United States since April 16, 1861, contain additional records regarding Civil War claims.

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