Making War on the Draft

[Getty150]

Another in the Disunion series from the NYT:

"One summer night in 1863, an angry mob surrounded the house of James Sill, the draft enrollment officer for Marion township in Putnam County, Ind. Sill had a list of eligible men whom he intended to draft into the Army. The mob, dozens strong, was there to take it from him, by force if necessary.

"The Civil War was the first time in American history in which the government resorted to a draft. In the eyes of 19th-century Americans, drafts were incompatible with the liberties of a free people: European monarchs might conscript their armies, but Americans fought their wars with volunteers. Yet volunteering failed to keep pace with the two sides' manpower needs. The Confederacy instituted its draft in 1862. In July of that year, the Union passed a Militia Act, which contained a provision allowing the secretary of war to draft militiamen. Congress did not pass its first draft law, the Enrollment Act, until spring 1863.

"The Enrollment Act's primary goal was to stimulate volunteering. Each rural township or city ward had an enrolling officer responsible for compiling a list of men between the ages of 25 and 45. From those lists, the provost marshal's office would determine each district's quota. If a community could meet its quota through volunteers, no draft would be held. As a result, once the quotas were announced, townships or cities would try to stimulate volunteering, often offering bounties. When the deadline for meeting the quota arrived, according to the historian Eugene C. Murdock, 'the districts which had made their quota rejoiced in relief, while those that had failed stiffened themselves for a draft.'"

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/making-war-on-the-draft/?ref=opinion

 

[brass napoleon]

A shame that it had to come to that, but if your opponent resorts to conscription, you really have no choice. The worst part was that they allowed people to hire substitutes.

 

[Dave Wilma]

For those of us who graduated from high school in the 1960s the draft is still a sore topic. Rich boys to the right, poor boys to the left.

 

[leftyhunter]

My understanding is that only 5% or so of the Union forces were drafted. Does anyone know the actual figure?

Leftyhunter

 

[John Hartwell]

In the Civil War, the draft was utilized only once in Massachusetts, and then it wasn't really needed -- there were plenty of volunteers without resorting to conscription. It also helped that state and local bounties were not paid to draftees -- so volunteer enlistment could garner $300-500 more than waiting to be drafted.

During the Revolution there was a different form of draft. Militia membership was compulsory (with a lot of exempt categories). When recruits were needed for active duty (state or Continental), men were drafted from the militia. Thus militia enrollment was equivalent to draft registration. At least that's how it worked in the New England states -- there may well have been variants elsewhere.

jno

 

[leftyhunter]

In the Civil War, the draft was utilized only once in Massachusetts, and then it wasn't really needed -- there were plenty of volunteers without resorting to conscription. It also helped that state and local bounties were not paid to draftees -- so volunteer enlistment could garner $300-500 more than waiting to be drafted.

During the Revolution there was a different form of draft. Militia membership was compulsory (with a lot of exempt categories). When recruits were needed for active duty (state or Continental), men were drafted from the militia. Thus militia enrollment was equivalent to draft registration. At least that's how it worked in the New England states -- there may well have been variants elsewhere.

jno

Interesting. I thought there was a draft hence the NYC draft riots of 1863. I take it then the riots were successful in the sense that the draft was stopped due to the backlash of the draft?
Leftyhunter

 

[John Hartwell]

Interesting. I thought there was a draft hence the NYC draft riots of 1863. I take it then the riots were successful in the sense that the draft was stopped due to the backlash of the draft?
Leftyhunter

The draft, of was used widely, of course. But in Massachusetts it was really only applied once. The state AG said that it was not needed there at all, but the War Dept. insisted it be put into effect for the first round. Mass. exceeded its quota in every call with volunteers alone.

jno