Foto Friday -- Payday

[Blessmag]

Oh the wait. Many sent money home. Few gambled or drank it away. But all looked forward to that day.

 

[Norm53]

Can't easily send money home while you are in the field, can you? Did the gov'ts deduct an amount from the paycheck and send it home beforehand? I would like to know in detail how the system worked, if possible.

 

[Gary Morgan]

In the case of CW sailor Frederic Augustus James, he would wait until he got paid, then would go to the nearest Adams Express office and give them the money, which I gather they would then either telegraph or forward to his wife back in Boston. There is a note on Wikipedia that says Adams Express served as paymaster for both the North and the South.

In the case of the soldiers captured at Plymouth, NC, they had just gotten paid and had cash in hand when they were captured, and one of the terms of surrender was that they could keep all of their belongings, and so they took the money with them to Andersonville.

 

[Norm53]

In the case of CW sailor Frederic Augustus James, he would wait until he got paid, then would go to the nearest Adams Express office and give them the money, which I gather they would then either telegraph or forward to his wife back in Boston. There is a note on Wikipedia that says Adams Express served as paymaster for both the North and the South.

In the case of the soldiers captured at Plymouth, NC, they had just gotten paid and had cash in hand when they were captured, and one of the terms of surrender was that they could keep all of their belongings, and so they took the money with them to Andersonville.

So back home, his family could be starving while he gambled it away. Not a desirable system, in my estimation, but no one asked me.

 

[Mrs. V]

It is quite common for soldiers who are mrried to send home wages. Now, my FIL was a merchant marine, and he sent home part of his pay to keep his mother and his siblings out of poverty. His father had premature senility, so not much wage earning there. His Mom took in wash, and I am thining cleaned businesses?? I'll have to check. He grew up poor and hungry. When he enlisted, they told him they would fatten him up and he'd grow...he did. His comment on the food? "I can have seconds??" Yeah. To give you an idea..when my son was in 2nd grade, he wore his Grandfathers dress coat..like a shell jacket..and it wasn't all that big on him!

 

[Norm53]

It is quite common for soldiers who are married to send home wages.

I'm not convinced of that w/o some verification. Your FIL might have been an exception.