In October, 1863, flour was quoted at from $60 to $65
per barrel; in November, the price ranged from $90 to $100,
while corn meal sold at $15 per bushel. ¹ General Grierson
says salt was in demand at $30 per bushel in that part of the
state through which he passed in 1863. ² President Goodman
of the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern railroad
says there were locomotives in use on his line in July, 1863,
that were worth $900,000 apiece (Confederate notes). ³

In February, 1864, men's boots were selling for $200 per
pair at Natchez, and coats were quoted at $350 each. ⁴ The
adoption of the practice of the state government in impress-
ing private property made it necessary to fix a schedule of
prices to be paid for property thus taken. For this pur-
pose two commissioners were appointed, and they divided the
state into four "price" districts which corresponded roughly
with east Mississippi, north Mississippi, central Mississippi,
and south Mississippi; the western part of the state being
largely in the possession of the enemy. The following was
the schedule adopted in April, 1864, for the more important
articles: bacon, $1.40 to $1.50 per pound; coffee, $5 per
pound; corn, $1.75 to $3.10 per bushel; corn meal, $2.25 to
$3 per bushel; flour, extra, $50 per barrel; horses, first class,
$700; good jeans, $8 per yard; molasses, $7 per gallon;
salt, $15 per bushel; army shoes, $10 per pair; soap, 75
cents per pound; woollen socks, $2 per pair; sugar, $2 per
pound; green tea, $10 per pound; vinegar, $3 per gallon,
and wool $5 per pound. ⁵ The prices were the same in all
the districts, except in the case of bacon, corn, and corn meal,
the price of which was considerably higher in the southern
district. The price of cotton steadily increased during the
war. At the time the blockade was proclaimed it was worth
about 10 cents per pound. In December, 1862, it was worth
68 cents per pound; in December, 1863, the price had risen
to 84 cents, and by December 1, 1865, it had reached $1.20. ⁶
The price of service and labor increased quite as much as the
price of commodities. In 1864, a Jackson paper complained
that the postage on a letter from Brandon to the trans-
Mississippi department was 40 cents. ⁷

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