Short service 1862

Joined
Jun 28, 2015
So here's a daft question from a newbie to the forum. Why would someone sign up for just three months and then resign/come home again?
This was in Sept 1862 in New York and he was back home by Dec of that year from Centreville Va.
 
So here's a daft question from a newbie to the forum. Why would someone sign up for just three months and then resign/come home again?
This was in Sept 1862 in New York and he was back home by Dec of that year from Centreville Va.
There were a lot of short term signups of soldiers in September of 1862 due to the Confederate invasion into Maryland. Pennsylvania was on alert status along with other states. Possibly this was New York's contribution to the cause.
 
If I recall, at the very start of the war, enlistments were limited to 90 days. I don't know when the enlistment period was lengthened. Perhaps one of the members can give more detail on this.

- Alan

This is exactly correct. Most of the early Union Volunteers enlisted for 90 days only. Some of those regiments and some of the soldiers continued further, but after those 90 days they were home-free (and because they already served, they could not be drafted in '63 after Lincoln established the conscription)
 
Hello and welcome from 35 miles north of Gettysburg! To what unit/regiment was he assigned? Some Union enlistments were ninety day duration. Not sure about Confederate...

He joined Company G, New York 119th Infantry Regiment - what sort of payment could he have received (he left a wife and 7 children to "fend for themselves" )
 
He joined Company G, New York 119th Infantry Regiment - what sort of payment could he have received (he left a wife and 7 children to "fend for themselves" )
Have you researched this individual's name in the Civil War Pension files??? The viewpoint of the day was simply "This minor difference is bound to fade-out, and nothing will become of it. Ninety days is sufficient to quiet things down." Hindsight shows that was some wishful thinking, but under-estimated!!
 
He joined Company G, New York 119th Infantry Regiment - what sort of payment could he have received (he left a wife and 7 children to "fend for themselves" )

This makes this not that simple. 119th NY was a 3 year regiment not a 3 month regiment. Mustered in on September 4, 1862 and mustered out on June 7, 1865. Company G was a NYC company. After September the regiment was attached to the 2nd Brigade, 3rd (Schurz) Division, 11th Corps (Howard) and wintered around Stafford, VA, probably close to what is today the Quantico USMC Reservation. That's close to Centreville, VA mentioned.

I would guess that he got sick and discharged. As far as wages go, a private in 1862 would make $13 a month.

Need a name to figure out more :smile:
 
Combined Federal, state, and local bounties for a 3-year enlistment could also have amounted to several hundreds of dollars, which he would have received even if invalided out after only 3 months. Many soldiers arranged to have part of their pay sent home. Every northern state, I believe, also had some sort of "Family Aid" program, which provided payments to needy families of serving soldiers. It wasn't very much, but could make a huge difference. Families were rarely left to entirely " fend for themselves."

Unless he was a commissioned officer, he could not have "resigned," but must have been discharged for some reason: wound, illness, accident, or some other disability. If he went right home, he was likely seriously enough disabled not to be transferred to a Veterans Reserve Corps unit, but perhaps not enough to require long hospitalization.

Again, if you can provide a name, we can very likely find out much more.

jno
 
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If I recall, at the very start of the war, enlistments were limited to 90 days. I don't know when the enlistment period was lengthened. Perhaps one of the members can give more detail on this.

- Alan

Lincoln's initial call was for three months because that was the longest the Militia Act allowed the President to call up troops for on his own authority. It was intended to allow a quick response to a crisis, particularly one arising while Congress was not in session, which was most of the year back then. Three months would allow Congress to reassemble and authorize further callups or other necessary action.

There was also a strong tradition of only calling up and maintaining troops for as long as they were needed to deal with a situation, dating back to colonial times, a preference for minutemen and militias over large standing armies. As others have mentioned, there were short-terms calls for troops in response to Confederate incursions into the north in 1862 and 1863, though the value of hastily assembled units against Lee's veterans is highly questionable.
 
His name was Franz Frielingsdorf and I've checked his details on ancestry.
I'm looking at the info on ancestry... Have you contacted any of the other descendants? This is a very well researched tree and it's possible someone may have more specific information.

The existence of a pension for his widow Anna indicates that he left the army in good standing.

By the way, the pension record lists company "I", not G.
 
Here he is in the official roster record (NY has all their rosters on line, here, a great resource.)

FRIELINGSDORF, FRANZ.—Age, 40 years. Enlisted, August 22, 1862, at New York city, to serve three years; mustered in as private, Co. G, September 5, 1862; discharged, December 2, 1862, at Centerville, Va.

Does not shed much more light than already known, other than the fact that he enlisted for 3 years and was discharged early. Because of his age, he could have been moved to reserves, but that would be on his record. His regiment did not see action until 1863, so his discharge was likely due to illness/accident/disability. Interestingly several age 39+ people from his regiment were discharged in Centerville from late November to early January.
 
To add to the varying amount of enlistment times, some Indiana regiments had enlistments for one-year. I know the 134th was in service from May to Sept. 1864.
 
In 1864 there were 100 day regiments. Iowa had 3, 100 day regiments. I don't have where the other 2 were sent, but the 46th was sent to Memphis to guard the railroads, and free up the older regiments to go on the Atlanta campaign.
I would expect other northern states would also have had 100 day regiments, for similar duty.
 
I have a direct ancestor that volunteered at age 18, on Oct 1, 1864, in J.C. Jackson's Co, Tennessee Cavalry, CSA. Went in to the Battles of Franklin, on Nov 30, 1864, and Nashville, on Dec 15, 1864. Listed as missing Dec 20, 1864, and took the oath of allegiance at Nashville, on Jan 21, 1865. He became a preacher after the war. I believe it may have been the roughest 3 months and three weeks of his life.
 
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