Chattooga County is located in northwest Georgia and was named for the river that flows through it, a word derived from the Cherokee who once inhabited the area. The county was created by the Georgia Legislature in 1838. In less than a decade, one of the county's first textile mills started production and remains a major employer. Chattooga County voted against secession from the Union but endured General Sherman and thousands of his Union troops and, later, the Reconstruction years following the Civil War. Its numerous hills and wide valleys made the county a natural resource for farmers, from cotton fields to peach orchards. Its agricultural roots and rural heritage are still evident. Several professional ballplayers, a world-renowned folk artist, and a nationally known defense attorney have all called Chattooga County home.

The Southern Claims Commission was the agency established to process more than 20,000 claims by pro-Union Southerners for reimbursement of their losses during the Civil War. The present work is a "master index" to the case files of the Commission. The index gives, in tabular form, the name of the claimant, his county and state, the Commission number, office number and report number, and the year and the status of the claim.