The C.S.S. Alabama Claims Cases, 1870-1876

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The C.S.S. Alabama Claims Cases, 1870-1876

The C.S.S. Alabama Claims Project features over 100 documents that explore the American Civil War's international legal dimensions. Boston attorney and future U.S. Congressman William W. Crapo corresponded with numerous fellow lawyers and clients between 1870 and 1876 to secure restitution from the British government over British-built Confederate ships that attacked United States commercial and naval vessels during the war. Crapo (pronounced "Cray-poe") worked on litigation concerning the C.S.S. Alabama. Constructed in England in 1862, the Alabama wrought havoc on Union shipping and supply lines before the U.S.S. Kearsarge sank her off the coast of France two years later. After the war the U.S. government held its British counterpart liable for damages caused by the Alabama and her sister ships. The 1871 Treaty of Washington between the two nations established an international arbitration process for resolving these disputes, a significant moment in the development of modern international law.

This joint project between the UVA Law Library and the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History asks the community to refine an existing transcription of these documents. The letters and telegrams record how lawyers lobbied Congress and President Ulysses S. Grant's administration on behalf of their clients. Crapo corresponded principally with attorneys Henry A. Barling and A.H. Davis. He also worked with bankers, insurance officials, and individual claimants.

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Prominent people who appear in this collection include:

  • Treasury Secretary George S. Boutwell
  • Ambassador Caleb Cushing
  • Assistant Secretary of State Bancroft Davis
  • Attorney General William M. Evarts
  • Secretary of State Hamilton Fish
  • President Ulysses Grant

Works

1870 Correspondence with Barling and Davis

1870 Correspondence with Barling and Davis

14 pages: 100% complete (100% transcribed)
1871 - 1873 Correspondence with Osborne

1871 - 1873 Correspondence with Osborne

5 pages: 100% complete (100% transcribed)
1871 Correspondence of Davis with Howland

1871 Correspondence of Davis with Howland

4 pages: 100% complete (100% transcribed)
1871 Correspondence of Gannett with Cobb

1871 Correspondence of Gannett with Cobb

8 pages: 100% complete (100% transcribed)
1871 Correspondence with Barling and Davis

1871 Correspondence with Barling and Davis

40 pages: 100% complete (100% transcribed)
1871 Correspondence with Davis

1871 Correspondence with Davis

4 pages: 100% complete (100% transcribed)
1871 Correspondence with Hall

1871 Correspondence with Hall

2 pages: 100% complete (100% transcribed)
1871 Correspondence with Haven and Company

1871 Correspondence with Haven and Company

7 pages: 100% complete (100% transcribed)
1871 Correspondence with Otis

1871 Correspondence with Otis

3 pages: 100% complete (100% transcribed)
1871 Correspondence with Page, Richardson, and Company

1871 Correspondence with Page, Richardson, and Company

4 pages: 100% complete (100% transcribed)
Displaying works 1 - 10 of 32 in total

Incomplete Works