Slaves in Virginia could be hired for $30.00 a month in 1863, yet the pay of an Army private was $11.00 per month. Confederate pay rose to $18.00 per month the next year.
Union privates drew only $16.00, but the gold value of their pay was more then seven times greater than that of Confederates.
John M. Ozanne, a French sharpshooter in the Southern Army, became a true hero to those in gray by resigning his lieutenant’s commission in protest, saying that he could not buy food and clothing on his small pay. The resulting change in the law provided supplies for officers.
