The Case of James Garnett, Trustee Of The Baptist Church of
Columbia, Ky., Against The United States.  December 12, 1904.

Contributed By: Sandi Gorin from the SCKY Mailing List

During the Civil War, it was not just citizens who suffered losses due to the troops destroying land,  fences, taking cattle, etc., but the churches suffered losses too. Many
churches were not able to meet during the war.

58th Congress, 3d Session, House of Representatives, Document No.
110. JAMES GARNETT, Trustee. Letter from the Assistant Clerk of the
Court of Claims Transmitting A Copy Of The Findings Filed By The
Court In The Case of James Garnett, Trustee Of The Baptist Church of
Columbia, Ky., Against The United States.  December 12, 1904. -
Referred to the Committee on War Claims and ordered to be printed.

"Court of Claims, Clerk's Office - Washington, December 10, 1904.
SIR: Pursuant to the order of the court I transmit herewith a
certified copy of the findings filed by the court in the aforesaid
cause, which case was referred to this court by the Committee on War
Claims, House of Representatives, under the act of March 3, 1883,
known as the Bowman Act. [Court of Claims. Congressional case No.
11282, James Garnett, trustee of the Baptist Church of Columbia, Ky.,
vs The United States]. Statement of case.

"The claim in the above-entitled case for the use and occupation of
real estate by the military forces of the United States, for their
use during the late war for the suppression of the rebellion, was
transmitted to the court by the Committee on War Claims, House of
Representatives, on the 26th day of January, 1904. The Case was
brought to a hearing on its merits on the 16th day of May, 1904,
WILLIAM E RICHARDSON, Esq., appeared for claimant, and the
Attorney-General, by GEORGE H. WALKER, Esq., his assistant, and under
his direction, appeared for the defense and protection of the
interests of the United States. The claimant in its petition makes
the following allegations:

"That it is a religious corporation and the owner of certain property
in Columbia, Adair County, Ky., which it uses for church purposes,
and was so using prior to and at the time of the civil war; during
said war the premises, with the building thereon, generally known as
the Baptist Church of Columbia, Ky., were occupied for a period of
thirty months in the years 1861, 1862, 1863, and 1864 by certain
commands of the United States Army then stationed in and about said
town of Columbia; said building and premises were occupied and used
for hospital purposes; the commands which can not be identified are
the Fifth Kentucky Cavalry, Third Kentucky Infantry, Ninth Kentucky
Infantry, Twenty-first Kentucky Infantry, First Kentucky Cavalry,
Nineteenth and Thirty-ninth Ohio, and One Hundredth Illinois; the
reasonable rental value of said premises during the time it was so
used was the sum of twenty dollars per month.

"During said occupancy and as a result of the extraordinary use to
which said premises were put, injuries were done to the building and
premises other than the reasonable wear and tear to which they would
have been subject, which injuries consisted of tearing from said
church building the boards, shutters, and benches, and other injuries
resulting from the use thereof by the Army for hospital purposes, and
in further injuries resulting from the occupation thereof by troops
and driving of wagons through the same, the said injuries being of
the nature of voluntary waste, for which the Government of the United
States was obligated to compensate under its implied agreement to
have said premises in the same condition in which they were received
from the owner, with the exception of reasonable wear and tear, the
amount of which injuries aggregate six hundred dollars.

"On December 29, 1879, A. J. JONES, then trustee of said church,
presented to the Quartermaster-General a claim for rent, amounting to
six hundred dollars, with a statement showing that said church was
severely used and damaged much during the occupation, without any
allegation of the amount of such damage, which said claim was never
allowed, for the reason that the Quartermaster-General decided that
he had no authority under the law to make compensation for claims for
rent; although demand has been made and the sums herein claimed are
long due, no payment has been made to the claimant or any person for
it or any part of said amount, and it is now the sole owner thereof
and justly entitled to receive the same. The court, upon the evidence
and after considering the briefs and arguments of counsel on both
sides, makes the follow FINDING OF FACT:

During the war for the suppression of the rebellion the military
forces of the United States, by proper authority, used and occupied
the Baptist Church at Columbia, Ky., for hospital purposes for a
period of about two years, the reasonable rental value during said
occupancy being the sum of four hundred and eighty ($480) dollars.
The military forces of the United States during such occupancy also
damaged said property beyond the ordinary wear and tear to the extent
of three hundred ($300) dollars, or, in all, the sum of seven hundred
and eighty ($780) dollars. No payment appears to have been made
therefor. BY THE COURT. Filed May 23, 1904. A true copy. Test, this
10th day of December, A.D. 1904. {seal}. /s/ JOHN RANDOLPH, Assistant
Clerk Court of Claims."