How Did Draft Age Eligible Men Avoid Service?

[BryanJ]

Several of my ancestors from Alabama, Texas and Louisiana fought during the war, with one being wounded at Shiloh and then again at Sharpsburg, one died at Malvern Hill, and my Great Grandfather made it through the war and returned to Alabama. My question is this, how frequent did age eligible men avoid service from both the North and South? Did it impact one side more so than the other? How did they avoid service? What repercussions were there for draft age eligible men, who for no legitimate reason, just refused to serve? Comments?

 

[Fairfield]

In Maine they fled into Aroostook County with some going on into Canada. They were called "skeddadlers" (which is a term used elsewhere too). Our town had a few men who were drafted but didn't want to go: they hired substitutes.

 

[neyankee61]

A long time ago I worked at the Shaker Village in Canterbury NH. The Shakers like the Quakers were pacifists. When the first draft was announced each state was given a quota. In order to meet this NH notified men that if drafted they were to report to the State House for enrollment. Two men from the Village were notified. They duly reported as order and passed the physical. They were told to go back to the Village and wait. They would be told when to report back. They were never told yet on the official tally given by the State to the Fed. Gov't their names appear!
The town I used to live in in NH was given a quota of one. They paid a painter from Connecticut to meet this requirement!

 

[Library Lady]

Here is a gent from my home county who, along with his neighbors, didn't serve. They raised serious money to avoid service. This caused no loss of political (Republican) cred.

Norman Lemuel Cottrell (1828-1902) - Find a Grave...

True Republican, 5 February 1902 Norman Lemuel Cottrell died at his home on South California street in this city on Saturday night last. He had been ill for only five days and his sudden end came as a great shock to the community. His death was caused by pleurisy and heart failure. Norman...

www.findagrave.com

The paragraph of most interest follows:

During the Civil war many of the inhabitants of Pierce township were not enthusiastic in favor of the war, but when a draft was made $10,000 was promptly raised to fill their quota, $4,600 being contributed by subscriptions, to which Mr. Cottrell was one of the contributors, and one of the most energetic in raising the money. He was elected supervisor of Pierce in 1864 and also served as justice of the peace. After removing to Sycamore Mr. Cottrell served thrice as assessor. He was a strong Republican and was always active and prominent in his support of that party's principles. The martyred McKinley had no stronger admirer.

Here is another gent who was quite successful politically despite not having served.

William Moffit Byers (1821-1908) - Find a Grave...

Adee Family History Mary Ann Adee, also known as Anna, was the 4th child of Jonathan Adee and Jane Thompson; she was William M Byer's first wife. the Adee and Byers families had lived near each other in Delaware County, NY and had adjacent farms in South Grove, so there were many opportunities...

www.findagrave.com

You have to love this comment:

He was adored by his daughter Anna. Gilbert H Denton, who was Anna's husband and who was distressed by being compared to such a superman, pointed out that he paid a fine to avoid the civil was, but this was not considered dishonorable then.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

In the upper south, men favoring the Union cause made their way across the mountains from East Tennessee, Western NC. and Southwest Va, to the Union Army in Kentucky. Those trying to avoid both sides hid out in the mountains. On both sides, those with sufficient funds were able to pay substitutes to go in their place.

 

[uaskme]

Deserters were shot on both sides. That was 1 consequence. The rate af desertion was comparable. Federal vs Confederate.

Excellent book on Conscription: Conscription and Conflict in the Confederacy by Moore. There were many exemptions. Those were abused. The number of Teachers, Pharmacist and Preachers exploded in the South during this period. At some point, if someone decided they were not going to serve, they were less than useless anyway. Tied up the courts or continued to desert. Thru much of the war deserters were viewed harshly. So, being outcast was a repercussion.

In the North. Estimated 43% of the Army were immigrants or sons of immigrants. So, if you were middle class, you could pay $300 and get out of it. Even tho the North had a 2 1/2 advantage of white population, if not for Southern Whites and Blacks they would of ran out of troops. Estimated 1/2 of the Blacks that served were forced. 45% of the South's White population were in MO, KY and MD. Other southern Unionists contributed. So, a large portion of Native Yankees got out of it.

 

[Story]

You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free​

Clemens left the military and never looked back. In the summer of 1861, President Lincoln appointed Orion Clemens secretary of Nevada Territory. Orion appointed Sam, his younger brother, as his secretary. Sam became a reporter for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, and by 1863 he began signing his articles Mark Twain.

Samuel Clemens goes to war, bails on the whole affair

In face of danger, half the Rangers including Clemens fade into the night

www.greatfallstribune.com

See also

The Private History of a Campaign That Failed - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[19thGeorgia]

North - pay 300

 

[bdtex]

I have read a few books about the Civil War in Florida. It was a sparsely populated state to begin with. Deserters and some who didn't want to serve simply melted into the woods of the Florida panhandle and lived off the land and/or bushwhacked lone travellers or isolated farms. Bushwhacking alerted authorities, Confederate and Federal, of their presence though.

 

[John Winn]

If one was truly adventurous one could get on a boat and move to California (or travel over the mountains from San Francisco to Oregon). No draft in California or Oregon. I know some did, although I suspect there were multiple motivations for coming west but we got a very large number from Missouri during and just after the war so I do think avoiding service was a factor for many of those guys.

 

[lupaglupa]

The differences between the North, where you could pay to get out of serving, and the South, where conscription was almost universal, are vast. In the South it was very, very hard to avoid service. One of my ancestors tried (he opposed slavery and didn't support the War) and found a group of neighbors on his doorstep who were, shall we say, insistent. Even then, he basically dodged any real fighting by joining a unit of local partisan rangers. That gave him official cover as a soldier while letting him stay at home.

 

[Woods-walker]

I have read a few books about the Civil War in Florida. It was a sparsely populated state to begin with. Deserters and some who didn't want to serve simply melted into the woods of the Florida panhandle and lived off the land and/or bushwhacked lone travellers or isolated farms. Bushwhacking alerted authorities, Confederate and Federal, of their presence though.

That's the route my gguncle used. He left home and lived in the woods for the duration. He returned home occasionally ( usually after dark and when both armies were out of the area. But it was an infrequent return)

 

[Bruce Vail]

We've had a lot of discussion of draft avoidance (legal) and draft evasion (illegal) on this forum. It's been especially interesting to me because one of great great grandfathers in NY was drafted in 1863, but never served. He apparently obtained a legal exemption, although I haven't located any "official" documentation of the circumstances surrounding the exemption.

 

[BryanJ]

I started this thread after watching the first season of "Outlander" on Netflix. If I ever lean up against the wrong rock here in Tallahassee, and all of a sudden find myself back in time at Shiloh, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, etc., I want to know how and where to skedaddle.

 

[Library Lady]

@BryanJ, if you're at Shiloh, get yourself captured and sent to Camp Douglas in Chicago. When offered the opportunity to become a Galvanized Yankee, take it and join the army. When you get sent east, get sick and get sent to the hospital. You can catch up with your unit, or not, when you're well. If you're really enterprising, you could later join the Union navy, but take "French leave" from that organization, too. It worked for a gent named John Rowlands, aka William H. Stanley, aka Sir Henry Morton Stanley.

 

[John Hartwell]

In the first US draft (1863), of all the names drawn, 30% were found to be ineligible "on account of physical disability." Another 30% were found to be exempt for some other reason ("alienage, unsuitableness of age, non-residents, &c"). Of the remaining 40% "held to service," about half paid the $300 commutation; of the half remaining, "about one third have gone in person, and two-thirds have furnished substitutes." So, the number of those whose names were drawn who personally served was very small, indeed. In 1864, the $300 commutation was revoked. The army needed bodies, not money. Substitutes became harder to find, and much more expensive to hire.

The official report:

Results of the First Federal Draft, July 1863 | Civil War Potpourri

In October 1863, Provost-Marshall General James B.Fry sent to Secretary Stanton the following interesting analysis of the first round of Federal conscription:

civilwartalk.com

 

[Bruce Vail]

If one was truly adventurous one could get on a boat and move to California (or travel over the mountains from San Francisco to Oregon). No draft in California or Oregon. I know some did, although I suspect there were multiple motivations for coming west but we got a very large number from Missouri during and just after the war so I do think avoiding service was a factor for many of those guys.

Relocation, either temporary or permanent, was an option for many men who were draft eligible but unwilling to be forced into military service.

Mark Twain is a classic example, but it could also be done on a smaller scale. In the North, conscription was typically handled on a county-by-county basis. It was possible to avoid conscription, in many cases, by simply relocating from one county to another.

 

[BryanJ]

@BryanJ, if you're at Shiloh, get yourself captured and sent to Camp Douglas in Chicago. When offered the opportunity to become a Galvanized Yankee, take it and join the army. When you get sent east, get sick and get sent to the hospital. You can catch up with your unit, or not, when you're well. If you're really enterprising, you could later join the Union navy, but take "French leave" from that organization, too. It worked for a gent named John Rowlands, aka William H. Stanley, aka Sir Henry Morton Stanley.

Library Lady. Guess what, in one short paragraph, you've just written the synopsis for the next fantasy best seller. That was a pretty good response, I hope a Civil War novel follows.

 

[major bill]

In some areas of the North some counties had enough men join that there was no draft in those counties.

 

[Library Lady]

Library Lady. Guess what, in one short paragraph, you've just written the synopsis for the next fantasy best seller. That was a pretty good response, I hope a Civil War novel follows.

Truth, as they say, is stranger than fiction, @BryanJ . I'm afraid that Lord and Lady Stanley have beaten me, and everyone else, to the punch.

The Autobiography of Sir Henry Morton Stanley... edited by his wife, Dorothy Stanley by Sir Henry Morton STANLEY on Donald A. Heald Rare Books

Publisher's green crushed morocco gilt, upper cover with gilt device of Africa and lettered Bula-Matari, spine lettered in gilt, top edge gilt, others uncut. Green cloth box, with morocco label titled in gilt. Deluxe issue of the first edition, limited to 250 copies signed by Dorothy Stanley...

www.donaldheald.com

If that particular edition is above your pay grade, you can read the book here for free if you are willing to deal with the less than appealing formatting.

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/g/genpub/AJL2858.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext