Commissioners were appointed in each county to impress supplies and non-military services (such as driving cattle or wagons) for the war effort. Officials provided certificates or receipts so that individual suppliers could be reimbursed by the state government. Beginning in 1782, claims for reimbursement could be submitted to county courts. These “publick claims,” known as court booklets and lists, exist for almost all Virginia counties. Commissioner’s Books also document these claims.
All of these Public Service Claims records are available on microfilm and are indexed at the following link:
The court booklets and lists are transcribed in:
- Abercrombie, Janice L. and Richard L. Slatten. Virginia Revolutionary Publick Claims. Athens: Iberian Printing Co., 1992, 3 vols.
