Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Virginia Adjutant General, John Brown's Raid Commissary accounts, 1859. Accession 39025, State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

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Biographical/Historical Information

On the night of 16 October 1859, John Brown led a group of radical abolitionists against the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry in Jefferson County, Virginia, with the purpose of arming and inciting a slave rebellion. Brown and many of his conspirators were captured and some killed when U.S. Marines under Col. Robert E. Lee surrounded and stormed the engine house where Brown's men had been trapped. John Brown and his men were taken to Charlestown where they were tried and later hanged on 2 December 1859. In order to guard against threats of invasion, Governor Wise called up a number of militia units to protect Charlestown before and after the execution. General William Booth Taliaferro commanded the 4th Division Virginia Militia stationed in Charlestown, Virginia. Taliaferro named Maj. George W.T. Kearlsey Acting Commissary of Subsistence by General Order No. 3 on November 24, 1859.

Scope and Content Information

This series contains board accounts, provision returns, receipts, and requisitions submitted by militia units to Maj. George W.T. Kearsley, Acting Commissary of Subsistence. The board accounts document expenses incurred by the militia stationed at Charlestown and Harper's Ferry in November and December 1859. This file also includes consolidated accounts, a list of debts due the state to individuals who boarded soldiers, and a list of accounts due the commissary from persons who boarded soldiers but who refuse to put in any claims. The provision returns were completed by company commanders and enumerate the number of men in the unit, the number of days, and the amount of specific rations (e.g. beef, pork, flour) consumed during that time period. There is a separate file for provision returns issued prior to December 8, 1859. The remaining provision returns are arranged alphabetically by unit name and include receipts. Lastly, there are requisitions by unit commanders including vouchers and receipts for provisions.