Hi everyone,
I wrote to the Government of the United States for more answers about the
draft in the Civil War and I would like to share with you what they wrote
back:
At the Civil War's outbreak, the states had their militia and the Federal
government a standing army of 16,000 troops, mostly on the frontier.
Congress was not in session and was not convened for three months. The only
step taken toward mobilization in the North in that period was a call for
75,000 volunteers to serve for three months - not enough time to adequately
train these men and use them in the field. Both North and South turned to
conscription - the South in 1862 and the North the following year.
The story of the draft during the Civil War is a story of bungling,
mismanagement, corruption and bloodshed. Almost every kind of mistake was
made, beginning with control of the draft by the military. Federal enrolling
officers hunted down potential conscripts in house-to-house manhunts,
prompting riots and armed resistance. If a man did not want to serve, he
could buy his way out by hiring a substitute. Many men became professional
substitutes, deserting after they were paid and hiring themselves out again
in another location.
Both the North and South made serious mistakes in the way they conducted
their draft programs. Although these mistakes wee the direct and indirect
causes of much bloodshed and prolongation of the war, they pointed to
definite conclusions and priceless lessons to be learned.
In 1866, Brigadier General James Oakes, who as Assistant Provost Marshal of
Illinois had been responsible for the draft in that state, wrote a report
which outlined the mistakes and made recommendations for any future
conscription system. No action was taken at the time, but the report was
discovered many years later by Enoch H. Crowder, Judge Advocate General of
the Army. Oakes' recommendations formed the basis of the World War I draft
law and are still included in the draft law today:
* No Bounties for volunteering;
* No hired substitutes;
* Civilian rather than military control of the draft system;
* Local involvement in the process;
* Deferment for service made on an individual basis;
* Each man responsible for his own registration.
No serious consideration was given to the idea of a draft during the
spanish-American War. The first national conscription system came into being
in 1917 with the United States already involved in World War I.
I hope you all found this most interesting.
Sincerely,
Renee L. Waring
www.internationalcemeterymonth.org/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ICM-WGW
http://www.savinggraves.com/users/icm/
http://pluto.beseen.com/boardroom/q/52636/
http://mercury.beseen.com/chat/rooms/q/19806
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