{"value"=>"<p>Registers provide the most comprehensive access to information concerning the processing of a particular claim. The bulk of the claim registers consist of registers created by ANCA from its establishment in the spring of 1864, marking a transition from the activities of its predecessor, the Pension Agency. Registers are distinguished by the type of claim processed: Invalid pensions, widows pensions (including other dependent relatives), naval pensions (invalid sailors and dependent relatives of deceased sailors), and arrears of pay and bounty (claims for back pay and bounty and other benefits due to dependent relatives of deceased soldiers and sailors).</p> <p>Also present are registers and record books created by ANCA in the fall of 1865 to handle new claim applications for types of claims generally handled by J.B. Abbott’s staff at the Special Relief Department in Washington: back pay and bounty claims for living soldiers, disabled or discharged; commutation of ration claims for former prisoners of war, or their relatives if deceased; and various types of naval claims (excluding pensions and arrears of pay and bounty), such as prize money. The Special Relief Department continued to process existing claims in its office until late January, 1866.</p> <p>Date spans for volumes reflect the bulk of the claim transaction dates within; due to the large amount of data presented, recordkeeping practices, and transactional remarks (particularly those recorded by the USSC in later years), the spans may not be comprehensive. They are provided to establish a general chronological sequence of their creation and use over time for research purposes. While most registers refer to claims for soldiers, claims for those in naval service are sometimes found listed within them, aside from registers devoted strictly to naval claims.</p> <p>References to volume and page numbers on claim jackets generally refer to these books, which can be identified by type of claim.</p>"}