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King and Case
example, officers who traveled more than ten miles from their home were paid ten cents per mile
travel allowance (Regulations, 165). An additional control required that the mileage be calculated
by the shortest mail route as found in the “General Post-Office” book. This process reduced the
opportunity for fraud in the payment of travel expenses of officers.
Since the use of “adequate documents and records” was an important internal control for the
army, it was logical that special reports would be required for all types of property. For example,
quartermasters prepared reports for the requisition of forage for all the animals. The ration was
fourteen pounds of hay and twelve pounds of oats, corn, or barley for each horse (Regulations,
166). Mules were allowed the same amount of hay per day but only nine pounds of grain. In
addition to being harder workers, mules survived on significantly less food per day. This was the
reason that most military units employed more mules than horses. Special reports for the use of
straw also provided controls over the use of this product. For example, twelve pounds of straw
per month was allowed for bedding for all non-commission officers, musicians, and privates
(Ibid.). The standard allowance of straw for bedding for each horse was one hundred pounds per
month. These pound limit controls ensured that forage and straw were not wasted.
Another important resource of the accounting clerks and quartermasters was the stationery they
required to provide the necessary documents and records. Significant internal controls were
employed in this area to eliminate the opportunity for theft and sale of these items. Stationery was
issued on a quarterly basis. The amount and type of stationery issued depended on the size of the
military unit. For example, an officer commanding a regiment with at least five companies was
allowed ten quires (about 25 pages) of writing paper, one quire of envelope paper, 40 quill pens,
six ounces of sealing wax, and two rolls (pieces) of office tape (Regulations, 167). These
limitations were strictly enforced in an effort to control the amount of office products used. A
typical accounting clerk or quartermaster’s office was allowed one inkstand, one stamp, one
paper-folder, and as many lead pencils as required, not to exceed four per year (Ibid.). Stringent
limits like four pencils per year certainly aided the army in safeguarding its assets.
Controls were also in place to limit the amount of food available for the soldier’s meals.
Company and regimental officers provided ¾ pound of pork or bacon per day to each soldier
(Kautz, Clerk, 97). In addition, one pound of hard bread or 18 ounces of soft bread was allowed
on a daily basis. In addition, “extra issues” of food and drink was permissible. For example,
whiskey was provided (one gill daily – ¼ pint) to each soldier in case of “excessive fatigue or
exposure” (Kautz, Clerk, 98). It was not surprising that many soldiers reported fatigue on a
regular basis in order to receive this extra issue of spirits.
Finally, clothing was another asset that required strong internal controls to protect and safeguard.
Regulations allowed a very conservative number of clothing articles per year for each soldier. As
mentioned earlier in the discussion of the company accounting clerk’s clothing book, any clothing
requested by the soldier that exceeded the annual allocation was billed to the soldier.
Quartermasters were allowed to provide soldiers with four pairs of stocking and three flannel
shirts per year (Regulations, 170). For a five year enlistment period, one blanket was allocated the
first year and one was allowed the third year. Two blankets for a five year period was certainly a
very conservative allocation of assets.
The following section of this paper reviews a number of actual Civil War reports that clearly
show the amount of internal controls employed. The army realized the importance of segregation
of incompatible duties so efforts were made to separate custody, authorization, and
recordkeeping. Quartermasters normally performed the custody function and managed the
warehousing of all forms of tangible personal property. Accounting clerks were assigned the
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