The Retired Army Finance Organization "Keeping the Finance Family Together"
Posted as: History
Did you know…
in 1853, the Army assigned only four Paymasters to pay all Federal troops stationed in Texas; at the this time, approximately one-third of the entire Army? The Paymasters given this daunting and unenviable task were Majors Jeremiah Y. Dashiell, George C. Hutter, Henry Hill and Albert S. Johnston.
Annually, a heavily laden wagon train from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the nearest Army cash reserve, brought coins to Texas to help the Paymasters with their monthly payrolls. The wagon train brought roughly $500,000 and generally consisted of 8 – 10 wagons, teamsters and 20-armed guards; it made the 1200-mile journey in about 1-month.
NOTE: All four Texas Paymasters joined the Confederacy in 1861.
NOTE: Congressional law in 1853 limited the regular Army to 10,248 Soldiers.
Here are a few examples of coins a Paymaster could have used to pay Soldiers in the mid-1850s. At the time, the US minted 13 different denomination (coins), ranging from ½ cent to $20.00. The $20.00 “Double Eagle” is the largest coin denominated and circulated by the United States.
If you have questions about this trivial piece of information, if you would like to pass along a little known fact about the Finance Corps, or if you would like to contact the Museum Curator, call Mr. Henry Howe at (803) 751-3771 (DSN 734-3771) or send an email to henry.howe@conus.army.mil