Tag Archives: Conscription Act of 1863

examining greenbacks?

Posted on October 9, 2013 by SUMPTER

From The New-York Times October 9, 1863: Arrests for Defrauding the Draft. ROCHESTER, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 8. PETER P. MURPHY, examining Surgeon of the Board of Enrollment at Lockport, has been held to bail in $5,000 for accepting money; and … Continue reading →

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Gorilla Gone from Gotham

Posted on August 20, 2013 by SUMPTER

150 years ago yesterday the draft resumed peaceably in New York City. Army, militia, and police forces were present in large if unostentatious numbers. A reorter found “no less than seven huge columbiads on trucks in the depot of the New-Jersey … Continue reading →

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No Scrooge

Posted on August 14, 2013 by SUMPTER

I know from the schedule that 150 years ago today draftees from the Town of Tyre in Seneca County, New York appeared in Auburn for their examinations. Here’s a comment from a Democrat newspaper from Seneca County in 1863: Mr. … Continue reading →

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Waterloo exemptions

Posted on August 12, 2013 by SUMPTER

According to James M. McPherson’s discussion of conscription in the North, “If a man’s name was drawn in this [draft] lottery, one of several things would happen to him next – the least likely of which was induction into the … Continue reading →

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The rides’s on US

Posted on August 10, 2013 by SUMPTER

In compliance with the 1863 Conscription Act men in Seneca County have been enrolled and drafted. The next step is for the drafted men to appear before the Board of Enrollment to be examined for their fitness to serve. Here … Continue reading →

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Stay of Draft Execution?

Posted on August 7, 2013 by SUMPTER

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in August 1863: The Draft at Home. During the past week efforts have been made to show by the official records at Albany that Seneca Falls has furnished, over and above the several … Continue reading →

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Counterpoint

Posted on August 5, 2013 by SUMPTER

There were riots in New York City. Democrats in the Finger Lakes were sceptical. But it was reported that New Yorkers conscripted on the shores of Lake Ontario were actually planning a parade to celebrate. From The New-York Times August … Continue reading →

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benign bureaucrats

Posted on July 27, 2013 by SUMPTER

Apparently some shrewd lawyers and agents were trying to make a buck by representing newly drafted men for exemption claims. Auburn, New York’s Provost Marshal said that representation was unnecessary – the conscripts can completely trust the Board of Enrollment. … Continue reading →

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If

Posted on July 25, 2013 by SUMPTER

Press scrutiny of the Conscription drawings A Democrat paper went to Auburn 150 years ago today to make sure the draft was carried out fairly. It reported that everything seemed fair – as long as the names in the box … Continue reading →

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“tax ourselves”

Posted on July 24, 2013 by SUMPTER

In reviewing the Conscription Act of 1863, James M. McPherson writes that “Substitution was hallowed by tradition … The Republican architects of the draft law inserted commutation as a means of putting a cap on the price of substitutes … … Continue reading →

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