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The Online Catalog allows searching and browsing of information about the Florida State Archives’ holdings of over 48,000 cubic feet of state and local government records and historical manuscripts. The catalog provides descriptions of over 3,400 collections and lists the contents of containers and folders in many of those collections. For assistance with accessing and using State Archives collections, call our Reference Staff at 850.245.6719 or email us at archives@dos.myflorida.com.


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Record Group Number: 000100
Series/Collection Number: .S 162
Creator: Florida. Indian War Claims Commission.
Title, Dates: Records, 1849-1926.
Amount: 1.75 cubic ft.
2.00 microfilm reel 35 mm.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement: By record type.
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Biographical/Historical:     The Florida Legislature established the Indian War Claims Commission in 1879 (Chapter 3113, Laws of Florida). This act gave the Governor the power to establish a board of commissioners of three persons to examine and either reject or approve all warrants issued in 1861 by Comptroller R. C. Williams for services rendered in 1856 during the Seminole War. These warrants had been issued under authority of Chapter 1175 of the Laws of 1861. However, because of accusations that the warrants were tainted with fraud, forgery, and perjury, the Convention of 1862 suspended payments of all warrants issued in 1861 (Ordinance 60).

    The duty of the Indians War Claims Commission was to determine the validity of each claim upon which a warrant had been issued. The Commissioners first met in Tampa but adjourned to meet in Tallahassee in order to have access to documents (muster rolls, payrolls, correspondence, etc.) necessary to substantiate the claims.

    An added duty of the Commission was to make claim upon the Federal government for reimbursement to the State. Florida contended that it was the duty of the U.S. government to suppress Indian hostilities and that the Federal government was therefore responsible for Florida's expenditures for protection.
Summary:     The records of the Indian War Claims Commission consist primarily of administrative correspondence, 1878-1908, and claims on warrants, 1861-1926. The administrative correspondence deals with the attempts of Florida to settle with the Federal government for reimbursement. The correspondence is between the Commission and members of Florida's Congressional delegation, the U.S. Secretary of War, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and S. I. Wailes, agent for Florida. The claims contain the legally-required documentation to be presented to the Commission for consideration validity. The records for a claim may include letters of inquiry and complaint, sworn affidavits of service, and other supporting information.

    This series also includes muster rolls used to determine claim validity, a small selection of Commission reports and minutes, and informational publications describing in detail the background of the Indian War Claims controversy.
Finding Aids: Folder listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form: Scans of microfilm produced by FamilySearch available at the Archives.
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Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields: Seminole Indians Wars
Seminole War, 3rd, 1855-1858.
Muster rolls. aat
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