Enlistment terms for the Union

[NH Civil War Gal]

Why so confusing?

They had three-month enlistments, nine-month enlistments, one-, two-, and three-year enlistments.

How did either the state militias or the War Department come up with 5 different enlistment terms?

And that had to be hard on keeping men in the army too for future battle planning.

 

[captaindrew]

That's a great question, always confused the heck out of me too.

 

[jgoodguy]

Politics, especially State politics IMHO. Most of the Union manpower came from State regiments.

 

[leftyhunter]

Why so confusing?

They had three-month enlistments, nine-month enlistments, one-, two-, and three-year enlistments.

How did either the state militias or the War Department come up with 5 different enlistment terms?

And that had to be hard on keeping men in the army too for future battle planning.

The,3 and 9 month enlistments are more common early in the war. The exception to the rule is emergency 3 month Union milita enlistments i.e. Prices raid on Missouri.
Leftyhunter

 

[BrianB]

3 month enlistments - early in the war - not anticipated that the war would last too long

9 month enlistments - generally in late 1862

100 day enlistments - spring 1864 - to fill draft quotas. By this time, the thought was that enough of the volunteers joining 100 day regiments would have previous military experience that the regiment would be able to function pretty well, even if it has only been together a short time.

1 year enlistments - mostly late 1864. Again, the idea was that a short enlistment might entice previously discharged veterans to re-enlist, but they would bring experience with them which would allow even a "short time" regiment to function well.

 

[captaindrew]

Thanks @BrianB I had some relatives in some of those regiments and always wondered how that worked. Glad @NH Civil War Gal asked.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Thank you @BrianB too. The terms of enlistment had been driving me crazy!

 

[thomas aagaard]

3 month enlistments - early in the war - not anticipated that the war would last too long

That is not why.
Lincoln's authority to raise troops in the first place comes from the Militia act.
(He can't just create an army with out congress saying it is OK)
But the militia act specifically state that they can only serve for 3 month each year.

It was a show of force and to defend Washington... Had the professionals in army gotten their way, they would never have seen any serious action.

The regular army was enlarged and 3 year volunteers was called for as soon as it became clear that this would end in a serious war.
This was actually also done by Lincoln, with out congress in session, but he trusted that Congress would accept it when they did come into session in July.

 

[rpkennedy]

Before Lincoln's call for 3-year volunteers, the length of enlistment terms were generally left up to the states. New York and Maine opted for 2-years, Pennsylvania started with 3-month troops before moving to 3-year terms, etc.

Later on, there were 9-month units that were raised in the fall of 1862 on an emergency basis, principally in Pennsylvania with Vermont offering some units as well.

Ryan

 

[hoosier]

The entire Second Vermont Brigade (12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th regiments) consisted of 9-month units, mustered in during October 1862.

The problem with 9-month units was that by the time they were sufficiently well trained to be considered battle-ready, their terms of service were about over.

However, the Second Vermont Brigade did make itself useful in its one and only battle, at Gettysburg, during the final month of its service.

 

[Mark Roth]

As others have said, the Militia Act allowed for only 90 day enlistments. A close reading of the Act could allow the federal government to order a state to rotate regiments in and out of service for 90 day periods indefinitely. I am not sure how that could have worked in states with less than a 4 regiment quota. Even in the absence of other factors, that alone could have spurred for longer term enlistments.

In the Mexican War volunteers were called for one year terms. Many professional officers were less than thrilled when the one year regiments wanted to leave on time. More fodder for asking for for longer terms.

However, as others have stated, it was the states that organized regiments. They could do whatever they wanted. For example, Massachusetts chose to have foresight in their preparations and they were able to have troops in Maryland a week after Fort Sumter, only five days after being asked to provide them. Pennsylvania took the step of organizing divisions and appointing generals as the Militia Act required. The state was able to mobilize far more than its quota in 1861, the nucleus of the future Pennsylvania Reserve Division.