Estimating military costs

[Gwyneth Turner]

I am currently in the process of creating a Civil War/Union government simulation for my eighth-grade history students. As part of this, I need to come up with rough cost estimates for basic military stuff, like paying and equipping a regiment for a year, purchasing a ship and equipping it for war, and building a warship from scratch. I thought this would be a good place to ask for help, as military knowledge is not my strong suit. Thank you in advance, wonderfully knowledgeable Civil War folks!

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

There isn't a quick answer to your question. Early in the War the regiments were equipped by the individual state's. There will be a difference between an Infantry Regiment, Cavalry Regiment and Artillery Battery. In the Confederate Army Cavalrymen supplied their own mounts.

@Gwyneth Turner you might find these of interest.

NYS DMNA Press Release: NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARD CONTRASTS CIVIL WAR SOLDIER WITH MODERN SOLDIER TO MARK 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF BATTLE OF BULL RUN

New York National Guard and DMNA Press Releases

dmna.ny.gov

Cost of an infantry regiment compared to a cavalry regiment. | Civil War Potpourri

Cavalry regiments had to have horses, saddles, and other items that infantry regiments did not require. So how much more did it cost to raise and outfit a cavalry regiment? There also was an extra cost to maintain cavalry regiment.

civilwartalk.com

This should get you started and I will post additional information later.

 

[RedRover]

I will have to look up more about the cost of actually raising and equipping a unit. But maintaining one At the close of the War with Mexico in 1848 it had been calculated roughly:

-

During the War of 1861-65:

Here's an estimate from 1866 that by that time the annual cost to maintain a regiment of infantry was:

The original USS Monitor in 1862:

USS Monitor...

The USS New Ironsides:

 

[Gwyneth Turner]

I will have to look up more about the cost of actually raising and equipping a unit. But maintaining one At the close of the War with Mexico in 1848 it had been calculated roughly:
View attachment 480866-

During the War of 1861-65:

Here's an estimate from 1866 that by that time the annual cost to maintain a regiment of infantry was:
View attachment 480882


The original USS Monitor in 1862:

View attachment 480880
View attachment 480885
USS Monitor...

The USS New Ironsides:
View attachment 480881

View attachment 480886

This is brilliantly helpful! Thanks so much!!

 

[Gwyneth Turner]

There isn't a quick answer to your question. Early in the War the regiments were equipped by the individual state's. There will be a difference between an Infantry Regiment, Cavalry Regiment and Artillery Battery. In the Confederate Army Cavalrymen supplied their own mounts.

@Gwyneth Turner you might find these of interest.

NYS DMNA Press Release: NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARD CONTRASTS CIVIL WAR SOLDIER WITH MODERN SOLDIER TO MARK 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF BATTLE OF BULL RUN

New York National Guard and DMNA Press Releases

dmna.ny.gov

Cost of an infantry regiment compared to a cavalry regiment. | Civil War Potpourri

Cavalry regiments had to have horses, saddles, and other items that infantry regiments did not require. So how much more did it cost to raise and outfit a cavalry regiment? There also was an extra cost to maintain cavalry regiment.

civilwartalk.com

This should get you started and I will post additional information later.

Thank you for this! I should have been more specific in my original post, but I am mostly just thinking about your standard infantry regiment rather than cavalry or artillery, though I would be interested to know those figures too if available.

 

[RedRover]

Also potentially valuable is a historic inflation calculator to compare the value of modern dollars to those of the past.

Here's a typical one:

InflationCalculator1800 to 2023

There are several online.

For example, a US privates early war pay of $13.00 a month would equal about 395 bucks today.

The Monitor's cost of a quarter million in 1860s bucks would be about 8.3 million in current dollars.

 

[DixieRifles]

There isn't a quick answer to your question. Early in the War the regiments were equipped by the individual state's. There will be a difference between an Infantry Regiment, Cavalry Regiment and Artillery Battery. In the Confederate Army Cavalrymen supplied their own mounts.

Also, early in the war, there were women who formed together to make uniforms in the Confederate states. They also used prison labor to make uniforms and leather goods, probably at very reduced prices.

I obtained a set of 6 Osprey booklets on the early uniforms of the Confederate States and how they were made. So I'm still learning about arming and equipping the soldiers. I know very little about cost of ships and cannon and heavy equipment.
What did the cost include for these large pieces of equipment? I know you want to bare bones cost for equipping one soldier. How do you breakdown the cost of a cannon or a ship?
When people ask why does an F-22 fighter jet cost so much, I have to explain it isn't as simply as going out and kicking the tires and buying a car. The Gov't issues a contract that covers a lot more than that piece of equipment. The contract includes drawings, manuals, spares, training and a lot of other things such as technical support. I wouldn't expect to find that in a contract for an ironclad. But a contract for weapons would likely include ammunition and spare parts and tools.