Civil War annual reports of the Engineer in Charge, Bureau of Construction (1861), and of the Supervising Architect (1862-65), appended to those of the Secretary of the Treasury on The State of the Finances; R. H. Thayer, History, Organization, Record Group 121. --The wartime general correspondence of the Office comprises fair copies of letters sent by the Secretary of the Treasury, Mar. 1851-Feb. 1863 (13 vols.), concerning the acquisition of building sites and the construction, repair, and maintenance of public buildings, with some duplicate press copies (12 vols.) and a partial register (1 vol.) of the letters concerning customhouses and other buildings; fair copies of letters sent by the Engineer in Charge and the Supervising Architect, Sept. 1852Aug. 1862 (4 vols.), concerning the selection and acquisition of building sites and the construction and repair of buildings (also with some duplicate press copies and partial registers extending beyond the Civil War period); fair copies (May 1855-Feb. 1863) and press copies (May 1856-Mar. 1863) of letters sent concerning the Treasury Extension (4 vols. ); and one long series of letters received, 1843-1910, arranged alphabetically by name of city or other geographic location, concerning site acquisition or building construction, leasing, alteration, maintenance, or repair, with registers, 1857-1901. There are some original building plans, architects' sketches, and construction specifications, dating from 1840, and some glass plate negatives, dating from 1857, of Federal buildings and other structures in Washington and other cities; for the negatives there are numerical, subject, and place indexes prepared in the 1930's by the Works Progress Administration. The fragmentary fiscal records that span the Civil War period consist of combined appropriation ledgers and daybooks, 1816-1906 (3 vols.), concerning funds for site purchase and the construction of public buildings; and accounting ledgers and journals, 1855-71 (6 vols.), related to the Treasury Extension. A register of leases, bonds, contracts, and agreements, ca. 1846-89, contains chronological entries under each of those headings, related generally to sites and construction. National Archives, Preliminary Inventory [ No. 110] of the Records of the Public Buildings Service, comp. by W. Lane Van Neste and Virgil E. Baugh (Washington, 1958). U. S. MINT AND BRANCH MINTS The Mint of the United States was founded in Philadelphia in 1792. During the Civil War--and until the creation of the Bureau of the Mint in 1873-the branch mints and the assay office at New York were supervised by the Director of the Mint. At the war's outbreak three branch mints, established by Congress in 1835 (4 Stat. 774; 5 Stat. 147, 602), were in Confederate territory--at New Orleans, La., Charlotte, N. C., and Dahlonega, Ga. A fourth branch, authorized in 1852 (10 Stat. 11), was at San Francisco. The mint at Philadelphia and the branch mint at New Orleans had been made public depositories or subtreasuries by an act of Aug. 6, 1846 (9 Stat. 59). During the war Congress authorized branch mints at Denver (12 Stat. 382) and Carson City, Nev. (12 Stat. 770), but the Carson City mint did not open until 1870. The Director of the Mint at Philadelphia received no reports from the branch mints at New Orleans, Dahlonega, and Charlotte after Jan. 31, Feb. 28, and Mar. 31, 1861, respectively; but the coinage for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1861, was greater than that of any former year. The branches at Dahlonega and Charlotte--both seized by Southern forces--were not reopened after the war, and the branch at New Orleans was not reopened until 1879, for reasons given by the Director of the Mint in his 1862 report: Although New Orleans is now, and has been for some months, in the possession of the Union forces, yet the operations at the branch mint in that city have not been resumed, nor is it expedient or necessary that they should be. After the suppression of the rebellion, and the pacification of the country, the branch located there might again be successfully and usefully operated; till then it should remain closed. No consideration, of public or private interest, would . . . justify the reopening of the branches at Dahlonega or Charlotte. They ought not to have been established; and, having been the source of useless expenditure, they should not. be again employed for minting purposes. When, on Feb. 18, 1861, the Director of the U. S. Mint was informed that the required weekly returns were not being submitted by the New Orleans Branch Mint, he became concerned about the legality of the New Orleans coinage, since it could not be subjected to the required tests. He took the position that coins struck in New Orleans after Jan. 31, 1861, would be illegal; but since these coins could not be distinguished from the ones coined in January, all the New Orleans coinage of the year 1861, he believed, should be discredited by the Government. At this time the coins stamped at New Orleans were designated by the letter O on the reverse of each piece; S designated San Francisco; D, Dahlonega; and C, Charlotte. The coinage of the mint at Philadelphia was known by the absence of any mint mark. Coinage dies were prepared at the Philadelphia Mint for the use of the branches. In 1864 substitution of a bronze alloy for the nickel mixture previously used for minor coinage was highly successful, and the demand for 1- and 2-cent pieces was "unprecedented." In fiscal year 1864 "some interesting experiments were made with aluminum as an alloy for coins; not with a view to displace the bronze coinage, but to propose a system of tokens for five and ten cents." The motto "In God We Trust" was first put on U. S. coins during the war. James Pollock, former Governor of Pennsylvania, was Director of the Mint from 1861 to 1866. Civil War annual reports of the Director of the Mint, appended to those of the Secretary of the Treas ury on The State of the Finances; Jesse P. Watson, The Bureau of the Mint... (Baltimore, 1926). Record Group 104. --The subjects of particular interest in the extant records are the loss of the branch mints at Dahlonega, Charlotte, and New Orleans; the low minor-coin production during the war due to the lack of silver; the production of military medals; and the taking of loyalty oaths in 1861 by U. S. Mint employees. These matters are documented in the general correspondence of the U. S. Mint at Philadelphia, now in a chronological series combining letters received and copies of those sent, 1792-1899, covered partly by registers. The Civil War correspondence of the U. S. Mint with branch mints and assay offices (letters received and drafts or press copies of replies) includes that with officials of the Denver Branch Mint (from 1862); the New York Assay Office (to 1864); and the San Francisco Branch Mint. There is some correspondence (to 1864) concerning the establishment of a branch mint at Carson City, Nev. Also spanning the Civil War period are copies of letters sent by the Treasurer of the Mint; some records concerning assays of coins, of metals destined for coinage, and of ore samples deposited; records relating to the maintenance of the bullion fund (copper, gold, and silver) and to gold and silver deposits and purchases; records of the manufacture of coins and of related coinage activities (including a register of coins received for exchange at the Mint, 1861-64, from banks, firms, or individuals); and records of the weighing of copper and silver. Although the statutory authority for making medals dates from 1873, there is a medal fund account book, 1861-68. Chronological statistics on U. S. coinage, 1794-1888, are in a 1-volume history. Other records of the war period include weekly accounts of the amount and value of silver and gold used at the Mint; the Director's orders; visitors' registers; the Treasurer's auditing books, from 1864; registers of warrants for ordinary expenses and for the payment of deposits; a record of the sale of "sweeps" (i. e. metal sweepings) at the San Francisco Branch Mint, 1857-65; financial statements of the treasurers of branch mints in account with the Director of the Philadelphia Mint, 1855-72 (3 vols.), in which are some certificates of deposit, 1860-65; and an order book, 1853-81, relating to materials or supplies for the Mint furnished by private firms or persons. Among personnel and related records are a register of employees, 1849-84, and an appointment register, 1865. Among records of the Branch Mint at Charlotte, N. C., are the following series that begin as Federal records but continue from Apr. 1861 as Confederate records: a register of gold bullion received and coins paid, to May 1861; a journal of bullion deposits, to Oct. 1861; a gold bullion weigh book, to May 1861; a journal and ledger of ordinary accounts, to Mar. 1862; and a daybook, to Mar. 1862. Records of the Denver Branch Mint (in the Federal Records Center at Denver) include copies of letters sent by its superintendent, Dec. 1862July 1874 (2 vols.), among which are a report of the robbery of the mint in 1863 and an appeal to the Territorial Governor for ammunition to supplement the mint arsenal in the event of any Indian attack "instigated by Rebel sympathizers." Other extant wartime records of the Denver Mint are depositors' signatures and references, ledger and journal of bullion deposits, daybooks, registers of warrants for payment of deposits, and the assayer's register of gold and silver bullion--all from 1863. The San Francisco Branch Mint's Civil War records (in the Federal Records Center at San Francisco) relate chiefly to deliveries, deposits, and assays of gold and silver bullion; there are also copies of correspondence with the Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, a visitors' register, and some accounting records. The records of the U. S. Mint and the branch mints should be used in relation to those of the Secretary of the Treasury on mint matters, to 1873. The latter, also in this record group, include correspondence about the motto "In God We Trust!' National Archives, Preliminary Inventory [No. 40] of the Records of the United States Mint at Philadelphia, comp. by Lyle J. Holverstott and Jean McNiece (Washington, 1952). CUSTOMS SERVICE The Customs Service, created by an act of July 31, 1789 (1 Stat. 29), became part of the Department of the Treasury when the Department was established a few weeks later. The organic act specified the customs districts and ports of entry and provided for the appointment of customs officers and the collection of duties. Collectors of customs were made responsible for administering the regulations governing the registry and clearing of vessels (act of Sept. 1, 1789; 1 Stat. 55); for collecting, from ships arriving from foreign ports, hospital dues for the relief of sick and disabled seamen (act of July 16, 1798; 1 Stat. 605); for receiving crew lists from masters of vessels bound for foreign ports (act of Feb. 28, 1803; 2 Stat. 203); for receiving passenger manifests from the masters of vessels arriving from foreign ports (act of Mar. 2, 1819; 3 Stat. 488); for collecting statistics of exports, imports, and tonnage (act of Feb. 10, 1820; 3 Stat. 543); for recording all papers affecting titles to vessels (act of July 29, 1850; 9 Stat. 440); and for participating in the selection of local steamboat inspectors and enforcing safety regulations for arriving or departing steamers (act of Aug. 30, 1852; 10 Stat. 61). These, at the beginning of the Civil War, were the manifold responsibilities of the Customs Service. Each customs district was provided with a collector and a surveyor; in some districts there was a naval officer also; and in a few there were more than one surveyor. Although the statutory responsibilities of the Service were not appreciably affected by the war, there were indirect effects resulting from the new internal revenue laws. The report of the House Committee on Expenditures of its investigation of frauds alleged in connection with the New York Customhouse (H. Rept. 30, 39 Cong., 2 sess., Serial 1305) throws considerable light on the operations, responsibilities, and prerogatives of collectors of customs during the war. In the New York Customhouse the activities of the "seizure bureau" had been greatly enlarged and stimulated by an act of Mar. 3, 1863 ("to prevent and punish frauds upon the revenue, and to provide for the more certain collection of claims . . ."). In 1864 (see H. Rept. 111, 38 Cong., 1 sess., Serial 1206) the duties of the New York Customhouse were distributed among 10 divisions. The secession of Southern States in 1860 and 1861 was accompanied by the seizure of many customhouses, and even before the outbreak of hostilities secession affected U. S. commerce. The seizure of the customhouse at New Orleans, for instance, prevented the delivery of imported goods consigned to Louisville, Ky., a port of delivery with entry at New Orleans. The 20 interior ports of delivery above New Orleans, in fact, included not only Louisville but Memphis, Tenn.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Evansville, Ind.; St. Louis, Mo.; Wheeling, Va.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Cairo and Alton, Ill. During the war almost all the customhouses in the South ceased to operate for the United States, and many became agencies of the Confederacy. Even in ports taken over and operated by U. S. forces the customhouses were often employed for other purposes; the New Orleans Customhouse, after being used as a Confederate factory for gun carriages, was used by U. S. military authorities as a prison. The Confederate operation of U. S. customhouses resulted, of course, in the creation of Confederate rather than U. S. records, and these, if extant, are described in the accompanying Guide to the Archives of the Government of the Confederate States of America. Among the first Southern ports to be reopened for U. S. customs after the war were Apalachicola, Charleston, Galveston, Mobile, New Bern, Norfolk, Pensacola, Plymouth, Richmond, Savannah, and Wilmington. Civil War annual reports of the Secretary of the Treasury on The State of the Finances, cited above; Laurence F. Schmeckebier, The Customs Service . . . (Baltimore, Record Groups 36, 41. --The Office of the Secretary of the Treasury administered the Customs Service until the establishment of the Bureau of Customs in 1927; soon after the Civil War a Division of Customs was created in the Secretary's Office. The functions of the Office relating to customs had no connection with those of the Commissioner of Customs, who from 1849 to 1894 performed the duties of a comptroller--see the separate discussion of the Commissioner's Office. The Civil War records of the Secretary's Office relating to the Customs Service are mentioned under the Office of the Secretary. Those kept at customhouses by collectors and other officials during the Civil War, described here, are generally extant, but the original records of each customhouse are now divided between Record Group 36 (Records of the Bureau of Customs) and Record Group 41 (Records of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation). This division is indicated below. In Record Group 36 are Civil War crew lists and shipping articles; passenger lists of vessels entering U. S. ports; records of the entrance and clearance of vessels; daybooks, waste books, cash books, blotters, abstracts of moneys received, and quarterly returns; impost books; cargo manifests; records relating to revenue cutters, marine hospitals, lighthouses, and internal revenue or direct taxation; and correspondence of collectors with persons and officials outside the Customs Service or the Treasury Department. These records for the Civil War period document the importation, exportation, and appraisal of merchandise; the activity of revenue cutters assigned to ports; and their maintenance of the blockade and protection of the "cotton fleet." A sampling, not necessarily indicative, shows the availability of the following: Baltimore, Md., Customhouse-Revenue-Cutter Service shipping articles, 1863-64; list of permits granted for shipment of powder, shot, guns, etc., to Southern States, 1865-66. Georgetown, D. C., Customhouse--authorizations to clear merchandise being shipped by sutlers, 1862-65, with a few bonds given as surety against transfer or sale to insurgents, and records pertaining to the revenue steamers Tiger and Northerner, stationed on the Potomac, 1862-65. New York Customhouse--letters from the Secretary of the Treasury to George Denison, naval officer at the port, June 1861-Aug. 1865; other letters to Denison, 1861-65, concerning "contraband of war," seizures of merchandise on ships bound for Nassau and Havana, and investigations of these seizures; letters to the collector concerning appointments or containing criticism of employees, with several endorsements by Horace Greeley, 1861-62; letters from customs officers in Baltimore, Md., and Charleston, S. C., to the special deputy naval officer at New York, seeking information on seizures, etc., 1863-70; other letters from foreign firms and individuals abroad dealing with invoices, bills of lading, and accounts, 1855-67; the diary of S. H. Browne, Nov. 1863, written aboard the blockade runner C. S. S. Dee, Nassau, Bahama Islands, to Wilmington, N. C., and return; and a few inbound |