A bounty was a sum of money paid by the government to stimulate enlistment during the Civil War. The front of these certificates of receipt of bounty includes the soldier's date of enlistment, rank, regiment, and signature. The back of the certificate includes the soldier's age, height, color of eyes and hair, and complexion. In some cases the writing on the back of the document is faded and difficult to read. These documents include most, but not all, of the men in the 40th and 41st Missouri Infantry regiments (Union). One document is for a soldier in the 1st Missouri Cavalry. In many cases the soldier's signature and/or the clerk's writing of the soldier's name were difficult to decipher. In such cases, the online Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System and the Missouri State Archives' "Soldiers' Records" database were consulted in an effort to determine the spelling of the name.
Location: Dexter P. Tiffany Collection, Archives
Categories: Government Records, Military