Desperate Measures: Self-Mutiliation to Avoid Service

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

I have a theoretical question on the topic of draft dodging and self mutilation in order to avoid serving in the military.
Would those who are critical of men who declined to serve their country during war feel the same way toward a German who "cowardly" chose not to serve say in WWII as an example?
To put it another way
At what point does the individual citizen owe their nation an obligation to serve if they determine the war is unjust?

It seems like we may get down to the "Love it or Leave it" concept of one's country.

 

[damYankee]

It seems like we may get down to the "Love it or Leave it" concept of one's country.

There is that element to the question, what about when one nation that starts a war just to show nations with opposing world views and ambitions that it is willing to sacrifice flesh and wealth with no political will to achieve victory?

 

[Paul Goodman]

I recently finished 'Tis Not Our War: avoiding military service in the Civil War North by Paul Taylor - Stackpole Press, 2024. It was an enlightening book, to say the least. In the North it was not always bunting, bands and "Bravo boys!" when it came time to volunteer or respond to the draft. A fair number of eligible men went out of their way, by various means, to avoid service when their names were drawn while many simply declined to volunteer.

One fellow presented himself and "made a subtle threat claiming he should not be drafted at all since he was laboring with an eye impediment that 'might make me shoot the captain as easy as not!'" (p 139). No further information was provided about his fate. This comes from a subchapter entitled "Maiming Oneself"(pp 138-142).

 

[damYankee]

I recently finished 'Tis Not Our War: avoiding military service in the Civil War North by Paul Taylor - Stackpole Press, 2024. It was an enlightening book, to say the least. In the North it was not always bunting, bands and "Bravo boys!" when it came time to volunteer or respond to the draft. A fair number of eligible men went out of their way, by various means, to avoid service when their names were drawn while many simply declined to volunteer.

One fellow presented himself and "made a subtle threat claiming he should not be drafted at all since he was laboring with an eye impediment that 'might make me shoot the captain as easy as not!'" (p 139). No further information was provided about his fate. This comes from a subchapter entitled "Maiming Oneself"(pp 138-142).

Thanks' for the tip, it's only fair if we focus on the Civil War, that those with means could pay those with little means to serve in their absence, and in the South if you owned 20 slaves.
It's par for course that the elites always have an edge.

 

[bayonet]

who did & did not

Interesting as some of us know folks like this too. What I find distasteful is clowns like Sylvester Stallone that did not go but made a profit off movies like Rambo making it look like he went. I know other clowns that did not go & trash the military but get dressed up in military gear for events.

 

[Paul Goodman]

Thanks' for the tip, it's only fair if we focus on the Civil War, that those with means could pay those with little means to serve in their absence, and in the South if you owned 20 slaves.
It's par for course that the elites always have an edge.

There was also the $300 commutation fee a draftee could pay to avoid having to serve in the Union army, courtesy of the Enrollment Act of 1863. However, that $300 was only good for that particular draft lottery. Later, if your name was drawn during another draft lottery, you'd have to cough up another $300 to avoid serving.

According to an online source, factoring in inflation, $300 in 1863 would today be worth around $7,950. Rich man's war, poor man's fight, indeed.

 

[Rhea Cole]

There was also the $300 commutation fee a draftee could pay to avoid having to serve in the Union army, courtesy of the Enrollment Act of 1863. However, that $300 was only good for that particular draft lottery. Later, if your name was drawn during another draft lottery, you'd have to cough up another $300 to avoid serving.

According to an online source, factoring in inflation, $300 in 1863 would today be worth around $7,950. Rich man's war, poor man's fight, indeed.

Green Back Dollar, 1862

A dollars & cents set of comparisons.

A good paying job was $25.00 / month X 12 = $300.00 annual gross income X 50 = $15,000 in 2026 dollars.

By way of a perspective, the Union Army paid (+/-) $150.00 for a horse.

At $13.00 / month a Union private was paid $156.00 / year.

For a listing of the pay scale for Union & Confederate officers & men, read more here.

Link

Military Pay during the Civil War

Civil War History and Statistics, Military Pay Figures

www.battlefields.org

 

[bayonet]

There was also the $300 commutation fee a draftee could pay to avoid having to serve in the Union army, courtesy of the Enrollment Act of 1863. However, that $300 was only good for that particular draft lottery. Later, if your name was drawn during another draft lottery, you'd have to cough up another $300 to avoid serving.

According to an online source, factoring in inflation, $300 in 1863 would today be worth around $7,950. Rich man's war, poor man's fight, indeed.

Heard of some going to one State enlisting and getting the $100 bounty then deserting. Then going to another State and enlisting for another $100, and so on. Wonder if they did that for the $300 too?

 

[Peace Society]

Interesting as some of us know folks like this too. What I find distasteful is clowns like Sylvester Stallone that did not go but made a profit off movies like Rambo making it look like he went. I know other clowns that did not go & trash the military but get dressed up in military gear for events.

My friend Paul (USAF, ret.) ran into one at WM, dressed in military gear. They were talking about service and the fellow says, I did just as little as possible. Paul replies, Yes, we had people like that in the AF too. That ended the conversation really quickly.

 

[Peace Society]

Heard of some going to one State enlisting and getting the $100 bounty then deserting. Then going to another State and enlisting for another $100, and so on. Wonder if they did that for the $300 too?

Some of them got caught, and executed.

 

[Peace Society]

The odd thing about bonuses is they seem to have been spent really fast - easy come, easy go. Surely, some used it to support their families during the remaining years of the war.

 

[Peace Society]

There are many ways to serve one's nation and when I read a discussion like this it reminds me of Americans like Desmond Doss. He was awarded the Medal of Honor as a Combat Medic and refused to carry a weapon.

Desmond Doss - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I served in an all volunteer military and there were individuals who were not suited for combat.

Two other Medal of Honor recipients served in Vietnam — Thomas Bennett and Joseph LaPointe. Both were Army medics. Neither carried a weapon.

 

[Peace Society]

For a good book on Desmond Doss see Hero of Hacksaw Ridge. There's also a couple others on his life. It's interesting that the entire war effort on that island paused until he finished his Sabbath school lesson that Saturday.