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State of the Army At the start of the war the Army consisted of two Major Generals and six Brigadiers. Winfield Scott called them officers that had sunk into sloth, ignorance, or habits of intemperate drinking. In 1813 Peter B. Porter reported: Our army is full of men, fresh from Lawyer shops and counting rooms. These men had little knowledge of military affairs and Porter complained to his superiors that they were malnourished and understrength for the required tasks. Enlisted men were inexperienced, moral in the ranks was low. Desertion was so common that President Madison issued a pardon to all deserters who returned to duty within four months. Enlistments were so down that congress raised the bounty for joining from $31 and 160 acres of land to $124 and 320 acres of land – probably the highest bounty ever paid by any army in the world . The cash bounty was more than a laborer would earn in a year – and even if you sold your land for only a $1 an acre that would be better than three years salary. So in current pay that would be $500,000 to join up. |
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