Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Suggested Note:

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction .

Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: George Mills / Albert Burch Certificate of Title, 1864, Ms2023-027, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The George Mills / Albert Burch Certificate of Title was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 2023.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the George Mills / Albert Burch Certificate of Title commenced and was completed in May, 2023.

Biographical / Historical

Although the soldier is identified in this document as "George Mills," he may in fact have been George Miles, a 29-year-old native of St. Mary's County, Maryland, who enlisted for three years' service in Company B, 38th United States Colored Troops (USCT) at Great Mills, Maryland, on February 14, 1864. (No service record for a George Mills could be found in the 38th USCT.) Miles appears to have been detached to service in the regiment's recruiting office in March, 1864; as assistant regimental teamster later that spring; with the acting regimental quartermaster in August; and as forage master that autumn. Beginning around January 1865, Miles was assigned to detached service in the 25th Army Corps headquarters. He appears to have remained in service at headquarters when the corps was transferred to duty in Texas, and he was mustered out with the company at Indianola, Texas, on January 25, 1867.

The 1870 federal census for Chesapeake (Elizabeth City County), Virginia, lists a 35-year-old day laborer named George Miles living with Joanna Miles, and two Miles children. The 1880 census shows George H. Miles, a 45-year-old coachman, living in Hampton (Elizabeth City County) with wife "Joana" and four Miles children. A register for the U. S. National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers at Hampton, Virginia, lists a 46-year-old coachman named George Miles among the home's patients. A veteran of Company B, 38th USCT, Miles suffered from rheumatism and was admitted to the hospital on Febrary 1, 1881. George Miles died at Hampton, Virginia, on December 29, 1902.

Records show that an Albert Burch was born in Maryland on September 2, 1809. He married Mary Amanda Turner, and the couple had nine children. Following his first wife's death, Burch married her cousin, Susanna Turner; they had five children. Albert Burch died on December 29, 1882, and was buried in All Saints Episcopal Church Cemetery in Oakley, St. Mary's County.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of a printed document bearing the title "Evidence of Title." Completed and signed by Albert Burch of St. Mary's County, Maryland, in 1864, the document was submitted by Burch in an attempt to obtain compensation for the military service of George Mills, an enslaved man who enlisted in Company B, 38th United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War. Burch attests that Mills "is my slave for life ... [and] that I have not purchased said slave from any person or persons disloyal to the Government of the United States, with the object of obtaining compensation for the same ..." Burch's affidavit was affirmed by the signatures of Oscar Miles and T. H. Miles; notarized by C. Camalier, justice of the peace; and countersigned by Jno. A. Camalier, clerk of the cicuit court.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• African Americans -- History
• Civil War

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the George Mills / Albert Burch Certificate of Title by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).