Conscription Civil War

Civil War Conscription Act

On March 3, 1863, the Union Congress passed the Civil War Conscription Act. Americans had been instructed to join a local militia before, in 1792. This time was different, however, as stiff penalties awaited those who did not comply with the draft. The last time, there had been no actual enforcement of the proclamation.

Details of the Civil War Conscription Act

• All men aged 20 to 45 years old must register for the draft
• Not just US citizens but immigrants seeking citizenship must also register
• The deadline to register was April 1, 1863
• For a fee of $300, one could avoid the draft
• If one could find a substitute to serve in their stead when called, they could also avoid the draft.

Administration of the Civil War Conscription Act

Administering the act fell upon a man named James Barnet Fry. Fry was appointed to the newly created position of Provost Marshal General. He then, in turn, named State Provost Marshal Generals to each state. Under these state-level representatives, local enrollment boards processed individuals into the conscription system.

Civil War Conscription Substitutes

They were allowing some Americans not to be a part of the conscription lottery for economic reasons. The New York Times may have editorialized that the draft was a necessary precondition to victory over the Confederacy, but many of the people of New York felt quite differently. The social class came into sharp focus for many Americans during the Civil War.

Jumpers

Jumpers were grifters who took advantage of the substitution system to make fast money. To get a substitute, a family generally had to pay a substantial fee to the individual to take the place of their loved one in the Union army. Some replacements would show up to a unit, take the money, and disappear before seeing combat. Some performed this scam over and over in a cycle.

Commutation

Commutation was the term for paying the $300 to avoid conscription. Congress attempted to explain the option as allowing the government to raise badly needed funds from those who would not have been helpful in combat. Additionally, the argument was made that the $300 price tag kept the market price for substitutes down, making avoiding service more economical. The price was too high for the working poor who could not afford the fee.

Opposition

Opposition to the draft most famously occurred among the Irish immigrants and White working poor in New York City. They had two main grievances with the draft. The first was that they were the ones who would be sent off to a deadly war, while the wealthy could buy their way the safety. The other issue was their concern that the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans would result in a glut in the labor market, reducing their wages. It was framed that the war amounted to the wealthy telling them to go off and die in a war for the benefit of the people who would soon be taking their jobs and lessening the value of their labor.

Fig.2 - 1863 New York Draft Riot

Between July 13 and July 16, White working-class Americans launched the deadliest riots in the United States. As many as 1,200 people were killed as rioters targeted government and military buildings, Black areas of the city, abolitionists, and even White-owned businesses that were known to hire Black Americans. Ironically it took 4,000 federal troops to stop people opposed from fighting in the war.

Conscription Civil War Confederate

The Confederate States of America passed a conscription law even earlier than the Union on April 16, 1862. The law allowed substitutes like the one in the north, but certain occupations like ministers were exempt from service. Exemptions were also made for plantation owners who held more than 20 Black Americans in enslavement. Initially, the law covered men aged 18 to 35, requiring three years of military service from those called up. By 1864, this had expanded to unlimited service for men aged 17 to 50.

Fig.3 - Confederate Resistance to Conscription

The entire confederacy had been founded on the idea that a strong central government had little authority to dictate the affairs of local and state governments. As such, there was swift opposition, with some states even passing laws banning the draft in their state. The class perceptions that came with those who held humans in enslavement being exempt from the draft undermined support for the Southern cause among poor whites. Desertion became widespread by the war's end, with some units losing 10% of their troops to desertion.