protracted. “It is really longer “It is amazing what than 47. When I was 16, I was th people can collect.” fill-in janitor for the company, he said. American Southern is a The walls in Scott Thompson’s “small specialty company,” Scott office are decorated with explained, focusing on motor an assemblage of Civil War trucking and commercial auto memorabilia, scores of items insurance. “About 80% of our that Scott has acquired since he business has got wheels on it.” started his collection in the 1980s. Scott developed an interest i A visitor giving the framed pieces the Civil War many years ago. a brief perusal will see the faces He viewed ads in Civil War of some famous generals, note magazines, looked at dealers’
belong to an earlier time, and He began to “pick up some admire some renderings of battle stuff.” The stuff grew into the scenes on land and sea. A more fine collection that now adorns careful examination will reveal his office and spills over into that the collection has an unusual some other areas in American theme connected to the industry Southern’s headquarters. in which this avid collector has Scott is aware of only one ot labored for many years. Scott is person who focuses on Civil War the president of the American items with an insurance angle. Southern Insurance Company. There is not a huge supply of Nearly all the items relate, in one such material but neither are way or another, to insurance. there many collectors driving up Scott is a native of West demand. “So it doesn’t get terri Virginia and has lived in Atlanta expensive,” Scott explained. since the 1950s. After high school In addition to insuring all t he furthered his education at Yale things with wheels, American and at the Harvard Business Southern also has a program to School, then served in the Navy, insure collectibles. “It is amaz where he was a Supply Corps what people can collect,” Scott Officer in the Philippines. Scott said. Indeed. worked four years at C&S Bank, As we began the tour, Scott then 47 years ago he moved to the showed me a letter signed by company which he has headed for Maj. Gen. G.W. Smith in 1868, the past 15. If you count another framed along with the general’s way, Scott’s tenure is more picture and a brief synopsis of
In Honor of a Fallen Nation Gould B. Hagler, Jr.
This unique work contains a complete photographic record of Georgia’s memorials to the Confederacy, a full transcription of the words engraved upon them, and carefully-researched information about the monuments and the organizations which built them. These works of art and their eloquent inscriptions express a nation’s profound grief, praise the soldiers’ bravery and patriotism, and pay homage to the cause for which
of Northern Virginia for about a day,” Scott chuckled. Smith took over when Gen. Joseph Johnston was wounded at Seven Pines. Pres. Jefferson Davis put Robert E. Lee in command the very next day. The insurance connection? Smith returned to his native Kentucky after the war and served as the Commonwealth’s insurance commissioner until 1876. Of course, Gen. Johnston has an honored place in the collectio as well. Near Smith’s letter is a framed picture of Johnston with a letter signed by him in 1878. The letterhead reads “J.E. Johnston & Co., Managers, Home Insurance Company of New York, Southern Department.” Scott said that the former general was “trying to get a claim settled.” These items relate to the firs two commanders of the Army of Northern Virginia. Scott’s wall also has a place for the third. A letter signed “R.E. Lee” is set in a large frame with a photograph of Lee, one of the famous series taken in Richmond by Mathew Brady seven days after Appomattox. Lee wrote this letter well before the war. “One with a war date is worth a whole lot more; if it said ‘Robert E. L Commanding,’ it would be worth five times as much,” Scott said. Do Lee’s photo and letter fit with the insurance theme? In a way, yes. In 1865 Lee was offered a lucrative position with an insurance company. The offer was for the use of his name, as h would be only the titular head an would have no other duties. He declined, saying “I cannot consen
to receive pay for services I do not render.” Scott has this lette with Lee’s autograph, but in 1885 a man seeking something signed
by Lee was not so fortunate. The collection contains a lett written by Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee
to a Mr. Lansing. This gentleman had written to this General Lee seeking an autograph of the more famous Confederate general. Fitz first set the record straigh he was R.E. Lee’s nephew, not
his son, as Mr. Lansing thought. Furthermore, he wrote, he had no more autographs to give away. He referred Mr. Lansing to R.E. Lee’s son, Gen. G.W.C. Lee, then president of Washington College, who, Fitz wrote, might be able to help. Whether he did we don’t know, but at least Mr. Lansing got Fitz’s autograph; now Scott Thompson has it. Next came the money. “Back
in the good old days insurance companies could issue money,” Scott said. On his wall are several notes issued by insurance companies during the period, mostly in Confederate dollars. One fine specimen was issued by the East Alabama Insurance Co. in July 1862. The note states that the bearer is due “one dollar in Confederate Treasury Notes, when presented in sums of five dollars or its multiples.” Uberrima fides, as they say in the insurance biz. Scott also displays a government-issued note, for 50 cents, issued in 1864. Another notable find is a lette written to policy holders by the
Charlotte Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Scott explained that this company was an assessable mutual. “Back in the day a mutual insurance company could have an assessable feature, which means if they got into trouble they coul make you pay more premium.” On April 1, 1863, Charlotte Mutual sent a letter telling polic holders that they had to pay an additional 10 percent, or else. If policy holder didn’t pay he would soon get another letter cancelling his policy. Fire insurance policies have a war exclusion, so if the Federals had torched the Queen City there would be no coverage at all. Scott’s collection also contains a document from another fire insurance company. In Atlanta, the Confederate Fire and Marine Insurance Company issued a policy in September 1862 to a Mr.
by fire; unless, of course, the fi was caused by an invading army. Another interesting item in the collection is an 1867 letter from the Equitable Life Insurance Society of the United States to Brig. Gen. Horace Porter, a member of Gen. Grant’s staff. The letter authorized Porter to travel to the Southern states, provided he was there pursuant to Grant’s orders. Scott speculates that the policy had a territorial exclusion and Gen. Porter wanted to make sure the former Confederate states were not encompassed by the exclusion. The Civil War was fought
on sea as well as land. Scott’s collection contains some relics of that part of the conflict. In keeping with his insurance theme Scott displays a letter written 1862 by one Richard Nichols to a William Hathaway. Hathaway had apparently inquired about obtaining insurance. “I can obtain the war risk here, but I do not believe that any risk can attach to the Virginia after she
has crossed the line,” the lette states. The whaler Virginia sail from New Bedford on August 26. She was captured and burned by the CSS Alabama in the North Atlantic 20 days after she set s This whaler was one of the first captures scored by the Alabama after she was commissioned on August 24. Another piece of Civil War nautical history is a policy written on the USS Paul Jones. The policy covered the ship while it was under construction in Baltimore in 1862. The Paul Jones was commissioned in July of that year and served in the South Atlantic Blockading
Squadron. The insurance field was a popular choice of postwar careers for many Confederates. Scott speculated on the reasons. “Insurance was a fairly easy way to leverage on name recognition. Plus, insurance is “something you can get into without a whole lot of money,” which would be the situation of many former Confederates. Maj. Gen. George Pickett was an insurance agent after the war, in Norfolk, Scott thinks. “I have never been able find anything with his signature on it.” For a time, Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon was head of a life insurance company. Scott’s collection contains a policy issued in 1869 by the Southern Life Insurance Company bearing the signature of this Georgian who commanded Lee’s Second Corps from October 1864 until the surrender at Appomattox. The insurance company went under, and Gordon went on to other things: governor of Georgia, U.S Senator, and commander of the United Confederate Veterans. Other Confederate generals got into the insurance game,
and so did their commander-inchief. “Jefferson Davis after th war worked for a life insurance company for a brief period of time,” Scott said. Scott once ha an opportunity to get a signatur of Davis on a life insurance policy but somebody else bought it before he could. When Scott retires, he, like many other people, will have to decide what to do with all the
things in his office. I asked hi to name some favorite items he will keep if he finds himself short of space. He mentioned the letters written by Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston, and the document related to the USS Paul Jones, which was a very meaningful gift. However, it was clear he doesn’t really want to part with any items, a sentiment that any collector will certainl understand.
Gould Hagler is a retired lobbyi living in Dunwoody, Ga. He is a past president of the Atlanta Civil War Round Table and the author of Georgia’s Confederate
Monuments: In Honor of a Fallen Nation, published by Mercer University Press in 2014. Hagler speaks frequently on this topic and others related to different aspects of the Civil War and has been a regular contributor to CWN since 2016. Email him at
