Civil War Army Paymaster Typical Procedures

[Arizona Bob]

I am working a couple of civil war era "legends". I have searched the net (including this site) to no avail. I would like to understand how a
"typical" Union Army payroll was distributed to forces (in garrison) west of the Mississippi. Having served in the military, I understand that
not much happens without a "regulation".

It would be nice to be able to put together the "typical" steps, such as:

1. Ordering gold (etc) from US Mint (or closest branch office).
2. Transport gold (etc) from Finance Corps Office to Paymaster.
3. Paymaster transports gold (etc) to Forts within his district.

Since most legends involve at least a 4th step, I'll include it for grins:

4. Blab all payroll transport details, such as date/time/route/etc to partners to ensure a successful robbery!

Any enlightenment would be appreciated!

Seriously though, I mostly seek understanding of the general process of Union Army payroll distribution west of the Mississippi. (But I'll take any assistance I can get.)

 

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[Arizona Bob]

Okay, maybe I should start at the top. Does anyone know what process (budget, simple request, etc) was used when the Union Army of 1860-65 needed money? Annual budget? As Requested?

By what means was the money transferred from the Treasury to the Union Army? I wonder where the documentation for these transfers/requests might be located today.... (I already checked the online National Archives- couldn't find it.)

 

[Arizona Bob]

Okay, let's start at the bottom:

Let's just go right to where the gold coins are and dig them up! What do you say? Sound like a plan?

 

[Arizona Bob]

Thanks for your offer, beale. I won't PM you now, since you haven't located the papers. However, if you do locate the papers, PM me & let me know. I certainly need more "procedure" knowledge.

 

[ivan salis]

you are right most us army payroll robberies were inside jobs-----with a inside man in on the deal normally to leak the "details"--- he was to be "cut in" later----if he did not get his share ---it was often sent or mailed to a wife or or "trusted person" the inside man knew ---he could always "rat" them out stating that he had seen one of somewhere before and put the law after em---Ivan

 

[Arizona Bob]

Found a repro strongbox. I would expect the actual Paymasters box to vary slightly from this one:

 

[Arizona Bob]

Is it plausible to distribute payroll during combat and/or in a combat zone? I thought pay script was held outside of the combat zone, so that the soldiers family would benefit from the pay should the ultimate sacrifice be made.

Heh! You sense my desperation, too, SWR? Right about now, combat pay details would be great- although I originally sought for in-garrison pay details (which usually means they are not actively engaged in combat).

 

[DCMatt]

http://www.archive.org/details/manualforpaydepa00unitrich

Manual for the Pay department, revised to include August 15, 1910.

220 pages or so of Army regulations regarding pay from the turn of the 20th century. Click your choice of format on the left side of the page.

More interesting info: http://users.aol.com/CintiCWRT/soldier_pay.html

Enjoy,

DCMatt

 

[Arizona Bob]

Thanx DCMatt. Those links answer a lot of questions. It looks like checks and vouchers were the primary payment instruments for 1910.

I wonder why the 1860's+ Army transferred gold and silver coins between forts on a regular basis? (Or are all those purported robberies involving Army gold & silver coins just a bunch of BS?)