The Business of Recruiting an Army
Even before the antidraft riots in New York City in July 1863, Union governments used monetary bonuses to induce men to join the army, and the payments increased as the war continued. George Law’s painting shows a New York recruiting post in 1864. To meet the state’s quota of 30,000 men, the county and state governments offered volunteers bounties of $300 and $75 — on top of a U.S. government bounty of $302. The total — some $677 — was serious money at a time when the average worker earned $1.70 for a ten-hour day. Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library.