This series consists of reports, legislative case files, correspondence, and petitions and memorials created by or referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Claims.
The committee reports and papers, 1837-1847, consist largely of original and printed committee reports on bills, petitions, and memorials referred to the committee, but also contain some documents supporting claims. The legislative case files, 1853-1897, with gaps, consist of a small number of legislative case files from fewer than one-third of the Congresses between 1853 and 1897. The petitions and memorials, 1832-1897, include supporting documentation.
The supporting documentation for claims includes a number of documents dating from the Revolutionary War period, 1774-1781, and other evidentiary documents that predate by dozens of years the petition or bill concerning the claim. The Revolutionary War documents include such military records as muster rolls, commission certificates, letters from superior or fellow officers supporting claims by verifying service, and more personal documents such as letters from family members and, in at least one instance, a will. A few claims concern prominent military and political figures, either directly and indirectly. For example, claims of the widows or other legal heirs of John Laurens (SEN23A-G16), Alexander Hamilton (SEN25A-D17), Silas Deane (SEN26A-D16), Baron Johann deKalb (SEN26A-G18), Nathanael Greene (SEN33A-H21), and Ethan Allen (SEN34A-H21) are documented, at least in part, by these records. Among the records of claims of lesser figures are documents written by Revolutionary leaders. For example, the claim of the heirs of Major Tarlton Woodson (SEN25A-D17) for commutation pay includes items signed by Patrick Henry, Alexander Hamilton, John Laurens, and John Randolph. A sampling of memorials and their accompanying Revolutionary War-era documents found in the records of the committee reveals the memorial of representatives of John Brooks, a captain in the Continental Army, which is accompanied by the letter from General Horatio Gates appointing Brooks "town major" of York, Pennsylvania, (SEN29A-G21); the memorial of Burnett W. Dole, son of Enoch Dole, an Army surgeon from Massachusetts, accompanied by papers dated 1776 (SEN36A-H17); and the memorial of the heirs of John Arndt of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, which includes his officer's commission and original receipts for money advanced to his men (SEN43A-H25).
In addition to pensions and commutation pay, some claimants sought compensation for nonmilitary services provided during the Revolution, and for damages to property as a result of military action. Claims for damages did not usually receive sympathetic hearing by the committee, but in the case of the claims for nonmilitary services, bills were sometimes reported favorably. The best documented of these claims was that of the heirs of Haym M. Salomon. Salomon served as paymaster to the French and handled the subsidies provided by the French and Dutch. The records supporting his claim include "statements of financial affairs of the United States, February 1781-September 1789," numerous letters and other accounts, and several printed items (SEN38A-E13, SEN41A-H23). Claims of Anna C. DeNeufville Evans, granddaughter of Amsterdam merchant and war financier John (Jean) DeNeufville (SEN32A-H21) and legal representative of James Bell of Canada (SEN36A-H17) also concern financing the war.
