The Union Army had 200,000 recruits.
To meet the needs of feeding the rapidly-expanding Union Army, Congress authorized a CS with the rank of captain to be assigned to each brigade in July 1861, and in August 1861 the department was expanded with twelve additional officers, four majors and eight captains
In 1861 and 1862, the war was going badly for the Union Army and there were, by some counts, 180,000 desertions

