#196-CIVIL WAR SALE: SUTLER CHECK-LIKE DOCUMENT REQUESTING PAYMENT FOR A SALE "ON CREDIT"

This document is unusual in the sense that anyone can understand its purpose compared to many Civil War documents that tend to be convoluted.

This essentially is an invoice--for the regiment's paymaster to pay the sutler for item(s) a soldier or soldiers purchased from Mr. Hatch on credit. This was a common practice with many sutlers that made it much easier for soldiers to purchase and also created more revenue for the sutler via purchases that might not have occurred if soldiers couldn't buy until they had cash in hand.

For the document/paper collector....or one interested in this specific unit. The sutler had these printed and had his soldier-customers sign for purchases and then he would periodically give a paymaster a stack for reimbursement. I have no idea how the process worked from there, but I suspect the sutler had a long wait until cash was available to pay him. At least he knew the U.S. Army was good for the debt....