Description
Benjamin Winns enlisted at Fort Scott, Kansas on July 31, 1863, and was mustered as a Private into the 83rd USCT Infantry, Company D. On November 23, James Winn of Clinton County, Missouri, signed claim for compensation #473 for enlisted slave Benjamin Winns and swore an oath of allegiance before Clinton County Notary Public James M. Riley.
James Winn claimed he had acquired title to Benjamin Winns by “…I bought the said Benjamin from Theodore Fitzgerald of Platte County MO in the year 1850."
James M. Clay and William Dunagan of Clinton County swore under oath that James Winn had owned Benjamin Winns for “many years" and also swore oath that James Winn was loyal to the U.S. Government and had defended it against the Confederate States of America. Clinton County Notary Public James M. Riley certified that Winn, Clay, and Dunagan had personally appeared before him and swore an oath to the truth of the claim. (Researcher's note: On the 1850 Platte County Census, Theodrick Fitzgerald was listed as a blacksmith in Preston Township, Platte County.)Date(s) of Creation
11/23/1866
