On 1862 Oct. 31, Governor John G. Shorter approved Act No. 22 which authorized the impressment of slaves and equipment "to provide for the public safety by quelling insurrection, [and] preventing or repelling invasion . . . ." The labor and supplies impressed were used primarily to build or maintain fortifications. This series consists of affidavits for the impressment of slaves or supplies such as mules, wagons, or tools used to work on fortifications, primarily on the Alabama River near Mobile. The series also consists of numbered payroll sheets that tell how much was paid by Alabama Quartermaster, Captain J. A. Pickens, to various individuals for provisions such as food and tools. In addition to the amount paid, the payroll supplies the name of the individual, his signature, the date of impressment, and the articles impressed. The affidavits provide the name of the individual whose property was impressed, what was impressed (if a slave was impressed, his name is sometimes given), the date the slave or supplies were impressed, the county in which the owner lived, the purpose for the impressment (usually to work on fortifications), the number of days worked, and the date of the affidavit. The series also contains an abstract of expenditures for tools and provisions. It is a numerical list of the payroll sheets that designates the sheet number, the county in which payment was made, for what payment was supplied, and how much was paid. The series covers impressments that occurred between 1863 Aug. and 1864 Jan. 18.
