Northumberland County (Va.) Account of Expenses in Conveying British Prisoners to Richmond, 1814

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Northumberland County (Va.) Account of Expenses in Conveying British Prisoners to Richmond, 1814. Local government records collection, Northumberland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Northumberland County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Northumberland County (Va.) Account of Expenses in Conveying British Prisoners to Richmond, 1814. Local government records collection, Northumberland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Northumberland County (Va.) Account of Expenses in Conveying British Prisoners to Richmond, 1814, consists of receipts and a report, which detail the costs incurred while transporting British prisoners of war from Northumberland County to the city of Richmond.

Biographical / historical:

On April 13, 1813, Lieutenant Richard Claughton and two other members of the 37th regiment, Virginia militia began a journey from Northumberland County in order to deliver two British prisoners of war to General Andrew Moore in the city of Richmond. The prisoners, James Lucas and William Jones were sailors from HMS Saint Domingo, which only ten days earlier had taken part in a naval battle between British and American forces in the Chesapeake Bay.

The four day, round-trip journey from their base in Northumberland County to Richmond and back again to Northumberland County was recorded in the receipts and expense report submitted by Lt. Claughton. These receipts chronicle the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Claughton as well as what ferry crossings the party used, where they lodged, and what provisions they purchased and who they bought them from. In all, Claughton paid $31.69 for the men's food, horse fodder, sleeping quarters, and whisky rations.

Although the military refused to compensate Claughton, the Northumberland County government eventually reimbursed him 11 months later.

Northumberland County probably was named for the English county. It was formed about 1645 from the district of Chickacoan, the early-seventeenth-century name for the region between the Potomac and the Rappahannock rivers.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Northumberland County under the accession number 43283.
Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
0.1 cu. ft.