Selling Forage to the Confederacy

[lukegilly13]

Decided to add some information to bump up the discussion and see if I can get some responses:
Taken from http://humanscience.wikia.com

"George Buckland writing of the Kent chalklands in 1845 noted ‘rents for arable farms from 30 shillings to 45 shillings; and 2 shillings 6d to 4 shilling for marsh land per acre. The rent for pasture land is much higher."

This was a study was based on England in 1845, but it's intersting to compare the two data sets.

Could this low of a price be the simple result of supply and demand...yes the military functions throughout the country were vast and demanding of the territories on which they took place....but:
1860 population of the US: 31,443,321 (I do not believe this includes slaves)
Farm Population of the US: 15,150,000 (rough estimate from census data)
There were around 2,044,000 farms in the United States in 1860. Granted, most of these farms were not where the army needed forage...but what about the homefront war effort? Was it common practice for farmers to donate/ship crops and goods to the military?
If so, could it be that in 1861, on the eve of the great war, that the forage seemed bottomless...creating a major imbalance with supply and demand?

[lukegilly13]

Selling Forage to the Confederacy

While searching some archives at the local national park, one of the rangers overturned this receipt for "forage". I have a couple of questions as my research has turned up nothing to satisfy me. First, here is the information on the document:
Taken from Account Book of M.B.D. Lane, Q.M. Department CSA

1861, Oct 21. Isa Gilly
Paid for pasture forage $1.00

Further this was again registered on the following:

CUGA file - Receipts & Invoices Issued by C.S.A. at Cumb Gap, 1861-1863
"M.B.D. Lane, agent for expenditures made in the purchase of supplies for troops in Lee & Wise Counties by the order of Brig Genl. F Zollicoffer."
entry "1861 Oct 22 Isa Gilly for Pasture & forage 1 00"

Question 1: There is no "Isa Gilly" on the 1860 census records. However, there is an Issac (of my relation) in the area of Wise and Lee County. Is it common to shorten names, and/or is this a common shortening of Issaac or Isaac? Could this be a "mishearing" by the scribe?

Question 2: $1.00...this hardly seems right. Granted that the Zollicoffer was not in charge of a massive force (such as the ANV), but $1.00 seems a little short...even for a dedicated confederate. In the second listing above there is no period....is $100 more likely? To add to this question, was it common to list prices in some other monetary notation such as the british pound as the second listing also had no dollar sign?

Any advice/help/comments are welcome!

[lukegilly13]

Re: Selling Forage to the Confederacy

I wanted to edit and add this to my other post but for some reason it will not let me:

The credit system was ended by the Homestead Act of 1820, which
reduced the minimum price per acre to $L25 and the minimum
purchase per tract to 80 acres. Following this legislative change, both
acreage and revenues greatly increased, The average annual acreage
sold from 1820 to 1862 was about 3.3 million acres compared to an
average of only 649,983 acres sold per year from 1800 to 1820. The
average receipts after 1820 were nearly $3.6 million per year, a 273
percent increase over the average annual revenues of the preceding
period (see Donaldson 1884, pp. 196—208, and Hibbard 1924, pp.
100, 103, 106).
Taken from: "The Public Domain and 19th Century Transfer Policy" by Gary Anderson and Delores Martin (page 907).

[Hank Trent]

Re: Selling Forage to the Confederacy

Question 1: There is no "Isa Gilly" on the 1860 census records. However, there is an Issac (of my relation) in the area of Wise and Lee County. Is it common to shorten names, and/or is this a common shortening of Issaac or Isaac? Could this be a "mishearing" by the scribe?

I'd say it sure could be. When you say "Isaac Gilly" out loud, the "c" runs into the "g," and it sounds just like "Isa Gilly."

Question 2: $1.00...this hardly seems right. Granted that the Zollicoffer was not in charge of a massive force (such as the ANV), but $1.00 seems a little short...even for a dedicated confederate.

I'm going to feel really dumb when you point it out to me, but I can't see where any quantity is listed. How are you estimating the amount that Gilly provided? A dollar could be generous for that one day the colonel turned his horse out in Gilly's field and took a scoop of corn, or stingy for the six months that Gilly pastured 500 mules.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[lukegilly13]

Re: Selling Forage to the Confederacy

Thanks for the response...you'r right, after all that posting I did not post the amount of land available...
We do not know the amount of forage...but we do know that it was a 60 acre farm.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Selling Forage to the Confederacy

Thanks for the response...you'r right, after all that posting I did not post the amount of land available...
We do not know the amount of forage...but we do know that it was a 60 acre farm.

I don't think one can assume that all the forage or pasturage produced by a 60-acre farm was purchased. In fact, probably just the opposite. Given the small payment of $1, there's more reason to assume that only $1 worth of forage was purchased, unless there's something else I'm not aware of. What makes the amount seem not right?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[lukegilly13]

Re: Selling Forage to the Confederacy

What makes the amount seem not right?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

I guess I had pictured in my mind a moderate sized army marching up on a small 60 acre farm....but only stopping for $1.00's worth of forage. I guess they took what they could get when they could get it but it just seemed odd to me that they would go through the process and paperwork for $1.00 at a time. But again, I guess it isn't so strange if that's all he could spare and wanted to give it.

[fedcampaigner]

Re: Selling Forage to the Confederacy

Being in today's Ag industry I wish we could buy feed for $1. A dollar streched alot further back then.

[MickCole]

Re: Selling Forage to the Confederacy

Luke,
According to Edward Guerrant's diary it was common practice for officers in the SW VA area to leave their horse or horses with a local farmer for anywhere from a day to several months. It seems fairly likely that the forage receipt at issue was one officer's horse for perhaps a few days.
Mick Cole
37th VA Co E