MSS 1467 - Civil War Muster and Pay Roll Collection

              MSS 1467
Civil War Muster and Pay Roll Collection
Page 1
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Manuscripts/Audiovisual Collections
MSS 1467
Civil War Muster and Pay Roll Collection
1861-1865
OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION
Number:
MSS 1467
Title:
Civil War Muster and Pay Roll Collection
Creator:
United States Army Pay Dept.
Dates:
1861-1865
Media:
Paper records
Quantity:
25 cubic feet
Location:
Ohio Historical Center
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE COLLECTION
Between 1861 and 1865, Ohio supplied over 320,000 soldiers for the Union Army, a number which accounted for nearly 60 percent of Ohio’s male population between 18 and 45 years old. Ohio fielded over 200 infantry regiments, including 3 regiments belonging to West Virginia and Kentucky, over 40 batteries of artillery, over 15 cavalry units, including one West Virginia unit, and many miscellaneous units, including 10 companies of sharpshooters. Some of the units served only 30 days, while most served 3 years. Many of these were reenlisted in 1864, and served until the end of the war. Each soldier was paid, as a private, 13 dollars per month until the rate was raised to 16 dollars a month, in June of 1864. Of the over 320,000 that fought, approximately 35,000 were killed, whether in battle, or by disease or accident.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION
The collection contains 384 muster or pay rolls for Ohio military units and 150 muster or pay rolls for individual Ohio soldiers who served in the Civil War. They include muster and pay rolls for artillery, cavalry and infantry units; 3 month and 3 year units; and rolls for individual officers and soldiers. Almost every roll contains notations from the United States Army Paymaster's Department and the paymasters’ names. There are also signatures of individual officers and soldiers, as they were required to sign the roll in order to get paid.
The company rolls primarily represent infantry units with just 15 rolls for artillery units and 8 rolls for cavalry units. Sixty one of the rolls are muster in or out rolls; the majority are pay rolls. Each company roll usually lists about 100 names. In the Civil War a standard strength company was