From the Trading Post to Amazon · Episode 3 of 12 · 23 min
How the U.S. Army Invented the Membership Warehouse Club
The military built a store that sold at cost, admitted only members, and returned its profits to the people who shopped there. The episode traces Civil War sutlers, the post-trader scandal that ended a Secretary of War's career in 1876, General Orders No. 46 of 1895 creating post exchanges, today's AAFES and commissaries, and Sol Price's 1954 San Diego discount store for government employees.
Who's who
- William W. BelknapGrant's Secretary of War who resigned in 1876 over post-trader kickbacks
- John S. EvansFort Sill post trader in the Belknap kickback arrangement
- Caleb P. MarshNew York contractor in the Belknap kickback arrangement
- George A. CusterTestified in 1876 about post-trader gouging
- Henry A. MorrowColonel who opened the first Army canteen in 1880
- Sol Price+1 more episodeSan Diego lawyer who founded FedMart and Price Club
- Pete Hegseth+9 more episodesDefense official involved in the 2025 commissary privatization push
Where it happens
- Vancouver Barracks, Washington+1 more episodeSite of the first Army canteen, 1880
- San Diego, California+2 more episodesWhere Sol Price opened FedMart in 1954
- Fort Sill, OklahomaPost at the center of the Belknap scandal
Timeline
- July 1, 1867Sutler system abolished
- March 2, 1876Belknap resigns hours before House impeachment
- July 25, 1895General Orders No. 46 directs every post commander to open an exchange
- 1948Postal employees found Fedco in Los Angeles
- 1954Sol Price opens FedMart for government employees
- December 18, 2025Defense authorization bars privatizing the commissary system
Still debated
Sutler prices come from soldiers' anecdotes, not audits, so magnitudes are uncertain. It is also unproven that Sol Price consciously copied the Army exchange, and DeCA's claimed savings of 23.7 percent compare with a GAO finding nearer 17.7 percent.
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