JF Ptak Science Books Post 2735
Here's an interesting list of prices, outfitting U.S. Army personnel stem to stern so to speak. The major thing here that I do not know is who it was paying these prices--was this the cost to the government in supplying these goods to soldiers? Or are these the prices that soldiers paid for replacement goods? Or did new recruits pay for their uniforms with the costs deducted from future pay? My suspicion is that these are the costs to the government in outfitting the army, plus arms and munitions and food and all of the rest. Interesting numbers, if you can use them.
There were a number of things here that cost only a penny, like the eagle emblem for a private's uniform hat, while the most expensive items listed here for soldier accoutrement were the cavalryman's greatcoat ($6.49) and the musician's uniform (at $5.89).
Some other interesting bits:
- Underwear, 67 cents
- Mess can, 22 cents
- Standard tent, $17.11
- Sash, $1.21
- Shovel, 59 cents
- Sergeant's trousers, $2.32 (for the corporal, $2.17, and the private, $2.10)
- Stockings, 21 cents
- Hospital tent, complete (though without medical equipment) $106
- Garrison flag, $48
What does it mean for the average person to spend 5 bucks in 1870? How does that translate to current currency? There's a ton of difficulty in doing that, but one simple way that gives at least some clue to understand the value of those dollars is to put it into the context of how much of a weekly salary something might absorb for a worker at that time. For example, here are some weekly salaries for a few professions:
- rag cutters at a paper mill, $7.45 (male) and $4.00 (female)
- blacksmith at iron works, %15
- "forger of nuts" in carriage works, $20
- forgers of lightning rods, $10
- coopers in lime works, $12
- sail makers $10
- laborer in a varnish works, $11
- shoemaker, $14
These are average weeklies, and would varying according to location (with high and sometimes substantially so being paid in the West and unusual destination points). So in general, a $2 expense is about a day's labor for a 6-day/10-12 hour week, which means it is not like buying a cup of coffee. This is simplistic, but useful.
[Source for the data above: the very interesting and exhaustively-titled Special report on immigration : accompanying information for immigrants relative to the prices and rentals of land, the staple products, facilities of access to market, cost of farm stock, kind of labor in demand in the western and southern states, etc., etc., to which are appended tables showing the average weekly wages paid in the several states and sections for factory, mechanical, and farm labor, the cost of provisions, groceries, dry goods, and house rent in the various manufacturing districts of the country, in the year 1869-'70, by Edward Young, chief of the Bureau of Statistics. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044024335481;view=1up;seq=248
And the army? Here are some figures I found for Union pay during the Civil War, per month:
- Private and Corporal, $13
- 1st sergeant, $20
- 1st Lieutenant, $105.50
- Captain, $115.50
- Major $169
- Lt Colonel, $181.
- Colonel $212, Brigadier General, $315
[Source: Civil War Trust https://www.civilwar.org/learn/articles/military-pay]
(Click for a larger, readable image.)
(Click for a larger, readable image.)
[Source: General Orders, U.S. War Department, 1870]
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