“These troops called themselves ‘dime-a-day men,’ referring to the miserable pay they received as privates in the regular army – thirty dollars per month. “
From “That Dark and Bloody River” by Allan W. Eckert. New York: Bantam Books, 1996.
“From the close of the close of the Revolutionary War to September, 1789, there was practically no United States Army. A regiment of infantry and a battalion of artillery, in all about 700 officers and men, were retained at the close of the war to guard public stores and property and to occupy posts vacated by the British on the northwest boundaries of the United States. By act of Congress of June 3, 1784, it was resolved, ‘As it appears absolutely necessary to have 700 non-commissioned officers and men properly officered, it is recommended to the following States as most convenient to the posts shortly to be vacated by the British to furnish from their militia: Connecticut, 165; New York 165; New Jersey, 110; Pennsylvania, 260, to serve 12 months, unless sooner discharged.’
The troops this provided for were formed into a regiment, consisting of 8 companies of infantry and 2 companies of artillery, under the command of Lieut. Col. Josiah Harmar.
By subsequent legislation, slight changes were made in the number and organization of the troops, and the re-enlistment of the 700 men engaged under the resolution of April 12, 1785, was authorized by Congress October 3, 1787. This force, then consisting of a battalion (4 companies) of artillery and a regiment (8 companies) of infantry, was, by the act of September 29, 1789, ‘recognized to be the establishment for the troops in the service of the United States’.”
From: Historical Register of the United States Army, From Its Organization, September 29, 1789 to September 29, 1889 by F. B. Heitman.