Tag Archives: soldiers’ pay

The greenbacks are coming!

Posted on April 17, 2013 by SUMPTER

Last year I wondered how a local newspaper could know very accurately how much money was being sent home by Union volunteers. Apparently much of the money was funneled through a soldier’s captain, and the captain told the press. From … Continue reading →

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Death of an Irish woman

Posted on February 7, 2013 by SUMPTER

I’m not sure how much of a mystery the death turned out to be, but this story would seem to indicate that Union troops were finally getting paid and sending remittances back to their loved ones. From a Seneca County, … Continue reading →

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Fiat: we’ll pay the troops

Posted on January 17, 2013 by SUMPTER

President Lincoln agreed with Congress that Union soldiers and sailors had to be paid, even if that required printing up to $100 million in new currency. From THE PAPERS AND WRITINGS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN (VOLUME SIX) : PRINTING MONEY MESSAGE … Continue reading →

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Debt for our debts

Posted on January 16, 2013 by SUMPTER

Apparently the strongly pro-Democrat newspaper in Seneca County wasn’t exaggerating too much when it complained that troops and their families were suffering because the federal government was way behind in paying its soldiers. From The New-York Times January 13, 1863: … Continue reading →

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“destitution, insult and wrong”

Posted on January 15, 2013 by SUMPTER

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in January 1863: Our Suffering Soldiers. It is a fact that can no longer be denied, that suffering of the most aggravated character exists among the soldiers, from the neglect of Government. In … Continue reading →

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the greenbacks are in the mail

Posted on November 28, 2012 by SUMPTER

What do you tell the “butcher and baker, and kerosene seller”? It is said that pay in the Union army was usually behind schedule. Here a soldier’s wife explains the issue on the home-front and shows that the army would … Continue reading →

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Government Stimulus

Posted on July 26, 2012 by SUMPTER

Talk about Big Sibling … here a newspaper seems to have a real good idea of exactly how much money is being sent home by local soldiers in the 33rd New York Volunteers. From a Seneca Falls, New York newspaper … Continue reading →

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