Besides being released from the service, mustering out also involved returning equipment, arms and anything else belonging to the government. The process would have involved settling all pay issues. That being the man would have been paid off and any monies owed the government would have been collected from their pay. Say for example the man had been wounded and sent to a hospital say in Washington D.C, they man had to remit to the government the cost for the transportation to and from the hospital. This could involve several months pay and often men owed the government money. Officers were expected to pay for any weapons or equipment their men lost or abandoned on the field. If your men were killed or captured and you did not recover their arms and equipment you might have to pay for them.
There was usually an attempt to muster the men out where they mustered in. There were some examples of men mustering out far from home and not having enough money to pay for transportation home. Imagine being a thousand miles form home without any money for transportation home, food or lodging. I know that the army want $375,000 for some buses they said I lost. They told me one day they gave me 150 buses. I never had the buses and never saw the buses. I assured them that I only had 3 soldiers licensed to drive buses and would remembered having to find another 147 soldier to drive the rest of the buses. I was told I probably forgot doing so and they would investigate it. I never did end up paying the &375,000.
Major Bill