Payroll Account of Private William Rose, 1758

An accountant at the War Office in Westminster, London, was ultimately responsible for the tracking of hundreds of millions of pounds being spent on funding British armies on multiple fronts around the world. At the regimental level, paymasters were charged with accounting for the income and expenses of every soldier, ensuring assets were properly tracked down to the very last pence. (Jeffrey Campbell, Accountability, 2024. Artist's rendition created with Perchance AI Image Generator)

Payroll Account of Private William Rose, 1758

Much like today, accounting books were used in the eighteenth century for documenting military pay and other related expenses accrued over periods of time. The payroll account of Private William Rose 78th Regiment, covers the period of July 5, 1757, through April 24, 1758.

Note: Category headers and bracketed script have been added for clarification and do not appear in the original document. Additionally, it would not be uncommon to discover accounting errors as these were gentlemen who created inaccuracies the same as you and I.

[Page 1]

Income

To 2 Weeks arrears due in Ireland : £0. 0. 10

     

To 9 Weeks Pay & arrears Due in y'e passage from y'e 5th July 1757 to y'e 5th Sept. 1757 : £1. 10. 9

     

To 5 Weeks arrears of Pay due from y'e 5th Sept. to y'e 10th Oct. D'o. : £0. 8. 4

To 1 Weeks arrears from 10th Oct. to the 17th. : £0. 0. 5

    

To 6 Weeks Pay & arrears Due from y'e 17th Oct. to the 28th Novr. 1757 : £1. 0. 6

To 21 Weeks arrears Due from y'e 28th Novr. 1757 to y'e 24th Aprl. 1758 : £1. 15. 0 

[Total]  £4. 15. 10

[Page 2]

Expenses

To 1 Pair Shoes & 1 Napsack : £0. 6. 6

    

To 2 Haversacks & 1 Cocade : £0. 2. 0

To 1 Pair garters & 1 Sett buckles : £0. 1. 4

    

To 1 Turn Key 1 Screw 1 Kilt Belt : £0. 1. 4

     

To Provisions at Glasgow &c. :  £0. 4. 8

   

To Spruce Beer at Halifax : £0. 2. 8

To 2 Cheq'd Shirts : £0. 7. 0

To 10 Months Stopp.s for y'e Paymsr. Serjt @ 1d p Month : £0. 0. 10

To 7 Months Stoppages for y'e barber @ 2p m : £0. 1. 2

To y'e Proportion of a Cook Frock : £0. 0. 8

To Cash giv.n at Fairf.d &p. Adve : £0. 10. 8

To 4 Weeks Pay Adve in the Hospl at Halifax : £0. 12. 0

[Total]  £2. 19. 9

To Cash Paid him as Ball.ce of ye. above acct. : £1. 16. 1

  [Total]  £4. 15. 10

Halifax 3d. May 1758. Recd the above ball'ce. in full of my Pay & arrears of Pay Due from y'e Date of my attestation to y'e 24th Apr. last last as witness of my hand.

        his

Wm. [?] Rose

        mark

Source:

Major James Clephane, "Payroll account of Private William Rose, 1758." Military Account Book at Halifax, NAS GD125-34-5, pp. 32-3.

©  Jeffrey Campbell, Fraser's 78th Regiment of Foot, 2024.