Classes listed are sponsored or co-sponsored by St. Louis Public Library, and are free and open to the public. Please note that locations for classes vary.
NOTE: This list supersedes any previous class list you may have received.
Thurs August 26 -- 10 a.m.-Noon. Killed by the Cure: Civil War Medicine. Join us as we discuss the injuries and diseases that plagued Civil War soldiers, and the (sometimes fatal) methods Civil War doctors used to try and heal them. Buder Branch. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.
Thurs October 14 -- 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Greatest Generation: Researching WWII Ancestors. Join us as we discuss various ways that genealogists can find books, microfilms, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, and Internet sites that offer information about WWII ancestors. Belleville Public Library, 121 E. Washington, Belleville, IL 62220. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.
Weds October 20 -- 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Hoe! Hoe! Hoe! Researching Farmers & Other Rural Ancestors. Join us as we discuss various ways that genealogists can find books, microfilms, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, and Internet sites that offer information about ancestors who owned / worked farms or other agricultural ventures. Hayner Public Library, 326 Belle Street, Alton, IL 62002. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.
Sat October 30 -- 10 a.m.-Noon. The Witches of Salem Village. Join us as we discuss witchcraft and witch trials in Europe and North America; the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692; and ways to research ancestors who were accused as witches. Buder Branch. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.
Weds November 3 -- 7 p.m.-7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Research at the Illinois State Archives. Join us at this monthly meeting of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War as we discuss the wealth of resources for the genealogist and military historian available at this Springfield, Illinois institution. PSOP Bldg, 201 N. Church Street, Belleville, IL 62220. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.
Weds November 4 -- 7:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Thirteen Dollars a Month: Recruiting, Enlistment, Conscription, & Desertion in the American Civil War. Join us at this monthly meeting of the St. Clair County Genealogical Society as we discuss how they joined the army during the Civil War; what they got paid for doing so; and how some of them took the money and ran. St. Luke’s Parish Hall, 301 N. Church Street, Belleville, IL 62220. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.
Thurs November 18 -- 10 a.m.-Noon. Research at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Join us as we discuss the wealth of resources for the genealogist and historian available at this Springfield, Illinois institution. Buder Branch. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.
Sat November 20 -- Meeting starts 10 a.m.; talk at 10:30 a.m. Hoe! Hoe! Hoe! Researching Farmers & Other Rural Ancestors. Join us at this monthly meeting of the St. Louis Genealogical Society as we discuss various ways that genealogists can find books, microfilms, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, and Internet sites that offer information about ancestors who owned / worked farms or other agricultural ventures. St. Louis County Library, 1640 S. Lindbergh, St. Louis, MO 63131. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.
Sat December 18 -- 10 a.m.-Noon. He’s a Rebel: Researching Confederate Ancestors. Join us as we discuss various ways that genealogists can find books, microfilms, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, and Internet sites that offer information about Confederate soldier ancestors. Buder Branch. To register or for more information, email me at tpearson@slpl.org.
Buder Branch
4401 Hampton Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63109
Pre-registration is recommended. To register or for more information, contact tpearson@slpl.org. Parking on the Buder Branch lot is always free.
It’s easy to add you to my programs notification list. Just email me at tpearson@slpl.org and use NOTIFY in the subject line- that’s all you need to do!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, PART VI
Copyright © 2006 by St. Louis Public Library. All rights reserved.
VIII. Size of the Civil War Armies
Union Army------------- Total-------Present-----Absent
January 1, 1862---------575,917-----527,204-----48,713
January 1, 1863---------918,191-----698,802-----219,389
January 1, 1864---------860,737-----611,250-----249,487
January 1, 1865---------959,460-----620,924-----338,536
Confederate Army--------Total------Present------Absent
December 31, 1861------326,768-----258,680-----68,088
December 31, 1862------449,439-----304,015-----145,424
December 31, 1863------464,646-----277,970-----186,676
December 31, 1864------400,787-----196,016-----204,771
March 30, 1865---------358,692-----160,198-----198,494
IX. Wartime and Post-War Costs of the Civil War:
Wartime Cost of the Civil War (estimates)
North: $6,190,000,000
South: $2,099,808,707
Total: $8,289,808,707
Post-War Costs of the Civil War (estimates)
By 1906, $3,000,000,000 had been spent on pensions and other benefits for former Union Army and Navy soldiers and sailors. By the time the last payment to a Civil War veteran was made in 1959, cost of Union Army and Navy pensions exceeded the total cost of the war. The pension figures do not include state benefit payments to former Confederate veterans. The total cost of the war can be said to have amounted to at least $17,000,000,000, a figure that includes wartime expenses, loan and interest costs, and postwar benefit payments to Union and Confederate veterans.
Costs of Compensated Emancipation
If, by contrast, a payment of $500 per slave had been made in 1861 to the holders of the 3,950,511 slaves then living in the United States to buy the freedom of those slaves, the cost would have been $1,975,255,500. A additional payment of $500 to each former slave to give him or her a start in life would have brought the total cost for compensated emancipation to $3,950,511,000- which would have been at least $4,300,000,000 less than the combined wartime expenses (1861-1865) of North and South.
[Sources of statistics and bibliography included in last installment of this article.]
Thomas A. Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department
St. Louis Public Library
VIII. Size of the Civil War Armies
Union Army------------- Total-------Present-----Absent
January 1, 1862---------575,917-----527,204-----48,713
January 1, 1863---------918,191-----698,802-----219,389
January 1, 1864---------860,737-----611,250-----249,487
January 1, 1865---------959,460-----620,924-----338,536
Confederate Army--------Total------Present------Absent
December 31, 1861------326,768-----258,680-----68,088
December 31, 1862------449,439-----304,015-----145,424
December 31, 1863------464,646-----277,970-----186,676
December 31, 1864------400,787-----196,016-----204,771
March 30, 1865---------358,692-----160,198-----198,494
IX. Wartime and Post-War Costs of the Civil War:
Wartime Cost of the Civil War (estimates)
North: $6,190,000,000
South: $2,099,808,707
Total: $8,289,808,707
Post-War Costs of the Civil War (estimates)
By 1906, $3,000,000,000 had been spent on pensions and other benefits for former Union Army and Navy soldiers and sailors. By the time the last payment to a Civil War veteran was made in 1959, cost of Union Army and Navy pensions exceeded the total cost of the war. The pension figures do not include state benefit payments to former Confederate veterans. The total cost of the war can be said to have amounted to at least $17,000,000,000, a figure that includes wartime expenses, loan and interest costs, and postwar benefit payments to Union and Confederate veterans.
Costs of Compensated Emancipation
If, by contrast, a payment of $500 per slave had been made in 1861 to the holders of the 3,950,511 slaves then living in the United States to buy the freedom of those slaves, the cost would have been $1,975,255,500. A additional payment of $500 to each former slave to give him or her a start in life would have brought the total cost for compensated emancipation to $3,950,511,000- which would have been at least $4,300,000,000 less than the combined wartime expenses (1861-1865) of North and South.
[Sources of statistics and bibliography included in last installment of this article.]
Thomas A. Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department
St. Louis Public Library
Friday, June 18, 2010
LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, PART V
Copyright © 2006 by St. Louis Public Library. All rights reserved.
VII. The Quartermaster Bureau During the Civil War
Union Army logistical support was assigned to four departments:
Quartermaster General: clothing, equipment, animals, forage, transportation, and housing;
Commissary General: rations;
Chief of Ordnance: weapons, ammunition, and related equipment; and
Surgeon General: medical supplies, evacuation, treatment, and hospitalization.
Union Army major supply depots were located in Boston; New York City; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Washington, DC; Cincinnati; Louisville; St. Louis; Chicago; New Orleans; and San Francisco. The Confederate Army had major supply depots at Richmond; Raleigh; Atlanta; Little Rock; San Antonio; Staunton, VA; Columbus, GA; Huntsville, AL; Montgomery, AL; Jackson, MS; and Alexandria, LA. Supply depots procured supplies from commercial vendors and then repacked or assembled them to make them ready for shipment to advance and temporary supply bases. Advance and temporary supply bases could be established as needed to support operations in the field. Supply depots and advance and temporary supply bases were commanded by members of the Quartermaster Bureau, usually captains in rank but sometimes men of higher rank or even non-commissioned officers could be assigned the job in an emergency.
Non-perishable goods and commodities were procured from responsible low bidders by supply depots. Perishable goods and commodities were procured where the troops were operating when possible. Armies in the field were accompanied when practicable by herds of cattle that were slaughtered and distributed to the men as needed.
Each regiment in the field had a regimental quartermaster, regimental commissary officer, and a regimental ordnance officer. Each of those men was responsible for submitting requisitions for his supplies and transport of those supplies, for issuing his supplies, and for managing the transport of his supplies. These officers were usually men selected from the regiment's officers, and had no special training or expertise in logistics or transportation. On-the-job training was definitely the order of the day!
Transportation problems faced by quartermasters included:
1. Unconnected railroads that often used tracks of different gauges;
2. Bad roads made worse by heavy rain;
3. Rivers that could be too shallow to navigate at certain times of year, and too high to ford safely at others;
4. Disruption by rebel armies, cavalry, and guerrillas of lines of supply and communications; and
5. Competition for goods and cargo space with commercial vendors.
Labor problems faced by quartermasters included:
1. Quartermaster's duties were mentally complex and physically demanding, yet quartermasters learned their duties on the job, were burdened with onerous paperwork requirements, were frequently transferred, and were rarely promoted;
2. War effort's voracious appetite for manpower made it difficult to procure the services of experienced civilian clerks and white laborers, so free blacks were routinely employed as laborers and teamsters, and slaves were sometimes pressed into service in those same capacities;
3. Civilian and military personnel were often laid low by debilitating diseases like malaria that were endemic to many of the Southern states; and
4. A parsimonious Congress that made no effort to make available on a timely basis funds for payment of civilian suppliers and employees.
Amounts of supplies & equipment handled by quartermasters:
1. A quartermaster at the Pittsburg Landing supply depot in Tennessee in 1862 received almost eighteen million pounds of forage in a twenty-nine-day period.
2. A quartermaster's replacement at the supply depot at Eastport, Mississippi signed receipts for stores on hand that included 2.8 million pounds of corn, 1.9 million pounds of oats, 1.3 million pounds of hay, and 59,000 pounds of straw. 3. During a three-month period at the Nashville supply depot in 1863, a quartermaster dispensed nearly 3.5 million dollars to the holders of 9,000 overdue vouchers. Yet most quartermasters held the relatively lowly rank of captain during their entire time in service.
Paperwork requirements of Union Army quartermasters:
1. Nine monthly reports, each of which had to include nine different lengthy forms;
2. Three quarterly reports, each of which had to include three mandatory and two optional returns (quartermasters at major depots filled out an additional mandatory return);
3. All returns had to be documented with abstracts and vouchers, and vouchers accounting for lost, stolen, or destroyed property had to be sworn before a justice of the peace or designated military officer;
4. Additionally, the 1862 effort to root out corruption in the Quartermaster Bureau resulted in a requirement that quartermasters make three copies of their reports--one to be sent directly to the Treasury Department, one for Quartermaster General Meig's office, and one for the quartermaster to keep for his own protection in case of subsequent inquiries by the Army or the Treasury Department; and
5. Quartermasters had to account for lost, stolen, and destroyed property both during and after the war. In 1869, as the result of a Treasury Department audit of his wartime accounts, one former Union Army quartermaster received a bill for items unaccounted for. The amount that Treasury claimed he owed was $297,926.18, a truly jaw-dropping amount in those days. Luckily, he was able to resolve part of the amount owed with a notarized statement of his recollection of the final disposition of certain materials, but erasing the rest of the amount due required the calling in of a few political favors.
A six-months' supply of forms for one regiment consisted of:
1 Guard Report Book
1 Consolidated Morning Report Book
10 Company Morning Report Books
100 Consolidated Morning Reports
2 lists of Rolls, Returns, etc. to be made out by Company Commander
6 Field and Staff Muster Rolls
6 Muster Rolls of Hospital
18 Muster and Payrolls, Hospital
60 Company Muster Rolls
180 Company Muster and Payrolls
12 Regimental Returns
60 Company Monthly Returns
20 Returns of Men Joined Company
6 Quarterly Regimental Returns of Deceased Soldiers
30 Quarterly Company Returns of Deceased Soldiers
2 Annual Returns of Casualties
40 Descriptive Lists
100 Non-Commissioned Officer's Warrants
[Sources of statistics and bibliography included in last installment of this article.]
Thomas A. Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department
St. Louis Public Library
VII. The Quartermaster Bureau During the Civil War
Union Army logistical support was assigned to four departments:
Quartermaster General: clothing, equipment, animals, forage, transportation, and housing;
Commissary General: rations;
Chief of Ordnance: weapons, ammunition, and related equipment; and
Surgeon General: medical supplies, evacuation, treatment, and hospitalization.
Union Army major supply depots were located in Boston; New York City; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Washington, DC; Cincinnati; Louisville; St. Louis; Chicago; New Orleans; and San Francisco. The Confederate Army had major supply depots at Richmond; Raleigh; Atlanta; Little Rock; San Antonio; Staunton, VA; Columbus, GA; Huntsville, AL; Montgomery, AL; Jackson, MS; and Alexandria, LA. Supply depots procured supplies from commercial vendors and then repacked or assembled them to make them ready for shipment to advance and temporary supply bases. Advance and temporary supply bases could be established as needed to support operations in the field. Supply depots and advance and temporary supply bases were commanded by members of the Quartermaster Bureau, usually captains in rank but sometimes men of higher rank or even non-commissioned officers could be assigned the job in an emergency.
Non-perishable goods and commodities were procured from responsible low bidders by supply depots. Perishable goods and commodities were procured where the troops were operating when possible. Armies in the field were accompanied when practicable by herds of cattle that were slaughtered and distributed to the men as needed.
Each regiment in the field had a regimental quartermaster, regimental commissary officer, and a regimental ordnance officer. Each of those men was responsible for submitting requisitions for his supplies and transport of those supplies, for issuing his supplies, and for managing the transport of his supplies. These officers were usually men selected from the regiment's officers, and had no special training or expertise in logistics or transportation. On-the-job training was definitely the order of the day!
Transportation problems faced by quartermasters included:
1. Unconnected railroads that often used tracks of different gauges;
2. Bad roads made worse by heavy rain;
3. Rivers that could be too shallow to navigate at certain times of year, and too high to ford safely at others;
4. Disruption by rebel armies, cavalry, and guerrillas of lines of supply and communications; and
5. Competition for goods and cargo space with commercial vendors.
Labor problems faced by quartermasters included:
1. Quartermaster's duties were mentally complex and physically demanding, yet quartermasters learned their duties on the job, were burdened with onerous paperwork requirements, were frequently transferred, and were rarely promoted;
2. War effort's voracious appetite for manpower made it difficult to procure the services of experienced civilian clerks and white laborers, so free blacks were routinely employed as laborers and teamsters, and slaves were sometimes pressed into service in those same capacities;
3. Civilian and military personnel were often laid low by debilitating diseases like malaria that were endemic to many of the Southern states; and
4. A parsimonious Congress that made no effort to make available on a timely basis funds for payment of civilian suppliers and employees.
Amounts of supplies & equipment handled by quartermasters:
1. A quartermaster at the Pittsburg Landing supply depot in Tennessee in 1862 received almost eighteen million pounds of forage in a twenty-nine-day period.
2. A quartermaster's replacement at the supply depot at Eastport, Mississippi signed receipts for stores on hand that included 2.8 million pounds of corn, 1.9 million pounds of oats, 1.3 million pounds of hay, and 59,000 pounds of straw. 3. During a three-month period at the Nashville supply depot in 1863, a quartermaster dispensed nearly 3.5 million dollars to the holders of 9,000 overdue vouchers. Yet most quartermasters held the relatively lowly rank of captain during their entire time in service.
Paperwork requirements of Union Army quartermasters:
1. Nine monthly reports, each of which had to include nine different lengthy forms;
2. Three quarterly reports, each of which had to include three mandatory and two optional returns (quartermasters at major depots filled out an additional mandatory return);
3. All returns had to be documented with abstracts and vouchers, and vouchers accounting for lost, stolen, or destroyed property had to be sworn before a justice of the peace or designated military officer;
4. Additionally, the 1862 effort to root out corruption in the Quartermaster Bureau resulted in a requirement that quartermasters make three copies of their reports--one to be sent directly to the Treasury Department, one for Quartermaster General Meig's office, and one for the quartermaster to keep for his own protection in case of subsequent inquiries by the Army or the Treasury Department; and
5. Quartermasters had to account for lost, stolen, and destroyed property both during and after the war. In 1869, as the result of a Treasury Department audit of his wartime accounts, one former Union Army quartermaster received a bill for items unaccounted for. The amount that Treasury claimed he owed was $297,926.18, a truly jaw-dropping amount in those days. Luckily, he was able to resolve part of the amount owed with a notarized statement of his recollection of the final disposition of certain materials, but erasing the rest of the amount due required the calling in of a few political favors.
A six-months' supply of forms for one regiment consisted of:
1 Guard Report Book
1 Consolidated Morning Report Book
10 Company Morning Report Books
100 Consolidated Morning Reports
2 lists of Rolls, Returns, etc. to be made out by Company Commander
6 Field and Staff Muster Rolls
6 Muster Rolls of Hospital
18 Muster and Payrolls, Hospital
60 Company Muster Rolls
180 Company Muster and Payrolls
12 Regimental Returns
60 Company Monthly Returns
20 Returns of Men Joined Company
6 Quarterly Regimental Returns of Deceased Soldiers
30 Quarterly Company Returns of Deceased Soldiers
2 Annual Returns of Casualties
40 Descriptive Lists
100 Non-Commissioned Officer's Warrants
[Sources of statistics and bibliography included in last installment of this article.]
Thomas A. Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department
St. Louis Public Library
Friday, June 11, 2010
LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, PART IV
Copyright © 2006 by St. Louis Public Library. All rights reserved.
VI. Civil War Era Water Transportation
Canal mileage in the US:
3,700 miles, mostly in the northeastern states
North: 3,182 (86%)
South: 518 (14%)
Exports:
North: $222,199,477
South: $27,145,466 (returns from AR, TN, and MS incomplete)
Imports:
North: $320,996,024
South: $14,654,129 (of that, $11,960,869 passed through New Orleans, revenue lost to the South during most of the war)
American vessels leaving US ports:
North: 10,260
South: 819
Foreign vessels leaving US ports:
North: 10,336
South: 220
Total tonnage, imports & exports:
North: 13,654,925
South: 737,901
Canals and steamboats were important modes of transport of persons and goods prior to 1850, but the explosive growth of railroads in the 1850s (from 9,000 miles of track to 30,000 miles in ten years) greatly lessened the importance of both those modes of transport. Rail transport was somewhat more expensive than those modes of transport, but was also both faster and more reliable than canal or river transport.
During 1865, the Quartermaster General of the Union Army owned or chartered 719 transport vessels for use on oceans or the Great Lakes. The Inland Transportation Division owned or chartered 352 barges, 91 steamers, and 139 boats for use on inland rivers. Enforcing the blockade of Southern ports required 600 naval vessels and 70,000 naval personnel.
Blockade Running During the Civil War
Was blockade running profitable? Yes! How successful were blockade runners? Five out of six successfully evaded the blockade. Does this mean that the blockade was not effective? No-- bales of cotton exported from Southern states were reduced from 10,000,000 total in the three years preceding the Civil War to 500,000 total from April 1861 to April 1865.
Blockade runners usually carried cotton on the outward voyage, exchanging it in Nassau, Bermuda, or Havana for weapons, goods, medicines, and foodstuffs, which were then sold on return to a Confederate port. Blockade running ships were usually painted dark gray or black, to help them blend into their surroundings at night and on overcast days.
The steamer Bermuda in late 1861 made a run from Savannah, Georgia, to Liverpool, England. It carried back 22 cannon of various bores with ammunition, 6,500 Enfield rifles, 200,000 Enfield cartridges, 6,000 pairs of army boots, 20,000 army blankets, 180 barrels of gunpowder, and large quantities of morphine, quinine, and other medicines. The cargo was purchased by the Confederate government for $1,000,000.
A blockade runner taking a steamer to England with 800 bales of cotton in 1864 could exchange the cotton for militarily useful items, sell those items back in the Confederacy, and earn $400,000 or more for his trouble. It was said that a runner who made two successful trips could pay for his steamer, material costs, and crew expenses, and still have enough left over to live a comfortable life for many years thereafter.
A blockade runner in 1864 bought $6,000 worth of foodstuffs in Nassau and then sold them to the Confederate Commissariat in Richmond for $27,000- a 450% return on investment.
A bag of salt selling for $1.25 in the North by mid-1864 could be sold for $60 in the South, a 5,000% return on investment.
[Sources of statistics and bibliography included in last installment of this article.]
Thomas A. Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department
St. Louis Public Library
VI. Civil War Era Water Transportation
Canal mileage in the US:
3,700 miles, mostly in the northeastern states
North: 3,182 (86%)
South: 518 (14%)
Exports:
North: $222,199,477
South: $27,145,466 (returns from AR, TN, and MS incomplete)
Imports:
North: $320,996,024
South: $14,654,129 (of that, $11,960,869 passed through New Orleans, revenue lost to the South during most of the war)
American vessels leaving US ports:
North: 10,260
South: 819
Foreign vessels leaving US ports:
North: 10,336
South: 220
Total tonnage, imports & exports:
North: 13,654,925
South: 737,901
Canals and steamboats were important modes of transport of persons and goods prior to 1850, but the explosive growth of railroads in the 1850s (from 9,000 miles of track to 30,000 miles in ten years) greatly lessened the importance of both those modes of transport. Rail transport was somewhat more expensive than those modes of transport, but was also both faster and more reliable than canal or river transport.
During 1865, the Quartermaster General of the Union Army owned or chartered 719 transport vessels for use on oceans or the Great Lakes. The Inland Transportation Division owned or chartered 352 barges, 91 steamers, and 139 boats for use on inland rivers. Enforcing the blockade of Southern ports required 600 naval vessels and 70,000 naval personnel.
Blockade Running During the Civil War
Was blockade running profitable? Yes! How successful were blockade runners? Five out of six successfully evaded the blockade. Does this mean that the blockade was not effective? No-- bales of cotton exported from Southern states were reduced from 10,000,000 total in the three years preceding the Civil War to 500,000 total from April 1861 to April 1865.
Blockade runners usually carried cotton on the outward voyage, exchanging it in Nassau, Bermuda, or Havana for weapons, goods, medicines, and foodstuffs, which were then sold on return to a Confederate port. Blockade running ships were usually painted dark gray or black, to help them blend into their surroundings at night and on overcast days.
The steamer Bermuda in late 1861 made a run from Savannah, Georgia, to Liverpool, England. It carried back 22 cannon of various bores with ammunition, 6,500 Enfield rifles, 200,000 Enfield cartridges, 6,000 pairs of army boots, 20,000 army blankets, 180 barrels of gunpowder, and large quantities of morphine, quinine, and other medicines. The cargo was purchased by the Confederate government for $1,000,000.
A blockade runner taking a steamer to England with 800 bales of cotton in 1864 could exchange the cotton for militarily useful items, sell those items back in the Confederacy, and earn $400,000 or more for his trouble. It was said that a runner who made two successful trips could pay for his steamer, material costs, and crew expenses, and still have enough left over to live a comfortable life for many years thereafter.
A blockade runner in 1864 bought $6,000 worth of foodstuffs in Nassau and then sold them to the Confederate Commissariat in Richmond for $27,000- a 450% return on investment.
A bag of salt selling for $1.25 in the North by mid-1864 could be sold for $60 in the South, a 5,000% return on investment.
[Sources of statistics and bibliography included in last installment of this article.]
Thomas A. Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department
St. Louis Public Library
Friday, June 4, 2010
LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, PART III
Copyright © 2006 by St. Louis Public Library. All rights reserved.
V. ANIMAL & PEOPLE POWER
Animals
Horses in the US:
North: 4,417,130
South: 1,698,328
Mules in the US:
North: 328,890
South: 800,663
Oxen in the US:
North: 1,383,430
South: 856,645
Animals (horses, oxen, & mules) killed at Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863):
North: 881
South: 619
Total: 1,500
Artillery horses according to regulations were to receive 14 pounds of hay and 12 pounds of grain per day, or 80 pounds of pasturage if dried foods were not available. Since an artillery regiment by regulations had 90 horses, it would have required 2,340 pounds of hay and grain per day to feed its horses (16,380 per week, or 70,200 pounds per month). When hay and grain were not available, an artillery regiment would have required 7,200 pounds of pasturage per day (50,400 per week, or 216,000 per month).
An average horse could on hard-paved fairly level roads pull 3,000 pounds 20-23 miles per day. That was reduced to 1,900 pounds on a macadamized road, and 1,100 pounds on a rough road. These figures were maximum possible loads: horses working in teams of four to six generally were pulling 1,500-2,000 pounds of supplies and equipment each. This meant that a wagon pulled by six horses could pull an average load weighing 9,000-12,000 pounds, but that total would need to be reduced accordingly if the animals were hauling their own hay and grain.
By mid-1863, the US Army required 500 new horses per day to replenish losses due to overwork, injury, or death. If that rate of loss had held steady through four years of war, the Union Army would have lost 730,000 horses to death, injury, or overwork. It seems safe to assume that the Confederate Army lost horses at somewhat more than about half the rate of the Union Army. This figure relates closely to those generated by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, which estimates that at least one million horses died during the Civil War. The average Union Army cavalry horse served for four months before being rendered useless to the army. Supply and demand coupled with inflationary pressures increased the price of a good horse from $125 in 1861 to $185 in 1865. Losses of oxen and mules would have been substantially less than those of horses, partly because of the fewer overall numbers of such animals in service, and partly because such animals were not used for cavalry duties (usually, anyway-- mules were on occasion utilized temporarily as mounts for mounted infantry soldiers).
Shank's Mare
Soldiers on the march usually carried a load weighing about 45 pounds, although in a pinch they were expected to carry even more. Since the average Civil War soldier weighed 140 pounds, he was routinely expected to carry 1/3 his body weight while on the march. Items carried included musket, bayonet, and weapons cleaning equipment, 40 rounds of ammunition, 3 or 4 days rations, canteen, blanket or overcoat; shelter-tent half (another man carried the other half), ground sheet, and mess gear, plus any personal items like Bibles, playing cards, dice, etc.
[Sources of statistics and bibliography included in last installment of this article.]
Thomas A. Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department
St. Louis Public Library
V. ANIMAL & PEOPLE POWER
Animals
Horses in the US:
North: 4,417,130
South: 1,698,328
Mules in the US:
North: 328,890
South: 800,663
Oxen in the US:
North: 1,383,430
South: 856,645
Animals (horses, oxen, & mules) killed at Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863):
North: 881
South: 619
Total: 1,500
Artillery horses according to regulations were to receive 14 pounds of hay and 12 pounds of grain per day, or 80 pounds of pasturage if dried foods were not available. Since an artillery regiment by regulations had 90 horses, it would have required 2,340 pounds of hay and grain per day to feed its horses (16,380 per week, or 70,200 pounds per month). When hay and grain were not available, an artillery regiment would have required 7,200 pounds of pasturage per day (50,400 per week, or 216,000 per month).
An average horse could on hard-paved fairly level roads pull 3,000 pounds 20-23 miles per day. That was reduced to 1,900 pounds on a macadamized road, and 1,100 pounds on a rough road. These figures were maximum possible loads: horses working in teams of four to six generally were pulling 1,500-2,000 pounds of supplies and equipment each. This meant that a wagon pulled by six horses could pull an average load weighing 9,000-12,000 pounds, but that total would need to be reduced accordingly if the animals were hauling their own hay and grain.
By mid-1863, the US Army required 500 new horses per day to replenish losses due to overwork, injury, or death. If that rate of loss had held steady through four years of war, the Union Army would have lost 730,000 horses to death, injury, or overwork. It seems safe to assume that the Confederate Army lost horses at somewhat more than about half the rate of the Union Army. This figure relates closely to those generated by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, which estimates that at least one million horses died during the Civil War. The average Union Army cavalry horse served for four months before being rendered useless to the army. Supply and demand coupled with inflationary pressures increased the price of a good horse from $125 in 1861 to $185 in 1865. Losses of oxen and mules would have been substantially less than those of horses, partly because of the fewer overall numbers of such animals in service, and partly because such animals were not used for cavalry duties (usually, anyway-- mules were on occasion utilized temporarily as mounts for mounted infantry soldiers).
Shank's Mare
Soldiers on the march usually carried a load weighing about 45 pounds, although in a pinch they were expected to carry even more. Since the average Civil War soldier weighed 140 pounds, he was routinely expected to carry 1/3 his body weight while on the march. Items carried included musket, bayonet, and weapons cleaning equipment, 40 rounds of ammunition, 3 or 4 days rations, canteen, blanket or overcoat; shelter-tent half (another man carried the other half), ground sheet, and mess gear, plus any personal items like Bibles, playing cards, dice, etc.
[Sources of statistics and bibliography included in last installment of this article.]
Thomas A. Pearson, Reference Librarian
Special Collections Department
St. Louis Public Library
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