Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Collection is closed for reformatting.

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.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Northumberland County under the accession number 43283.

Historical Information

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.

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.

Related Material

Additional Northumberland County Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Northumberland County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Prisoners of war--Virginia--Northumberland County
• Public records--Virginia--Northumberland County

Geographical Names:

• Northumberland County (Va.)--History--19th century
• Northumberland County (Va.)--History--War of 1812

Genre and Form Terms:

• Expense reports--Virginia--Northumberland County
• Local government records--Virginia--Northumberland County
• Receipts--Virginia--Northumberland County

Added Entry - Personal Name:

• Richard Claughton

Adjunct Descriptive Data