Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: CivilWarguy
The mistake was mine, I should have said one quarter to one third rather than the higher figures. However, since in April 1862 the confederate government also forcibly extended the enlistments of all the current soldiers for the duration of the war one could say that a much higher percentage of the confederate army than that were there because they had to be.

By way of comparison, Union conscription provided only 6 to 8 percent of all Union soldiers and the North never resorted to extending enlistments. The Union army could have faded away almost completely in the summer of 1864 when the 3 year enlistments ran out, and the fact that it didn't is a testament to the dedication of the Union soldier.

165 posted on 10/04/2007 6:41:31 AM PDT by Non-Sequitur (Save Fredericksburg. Support CVBT.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 164 | View Replies ]


To: Non-Sequitur

The Confederate draft didn’t bring a lot of draftees into the army. However, what the draft law DID do was stimulate volunteering. Many draft age southerners, faced with the draft, chose instead to volunteer. By volunteering, the men could choose their unit (usually a locally-raised one) and their branch of service (infantry, cavalry, artillery). Many regiments were raised in early 1862 of these late-coming volunteers.

The Union draft law operated somewhat the same way, with one twist. Many poor men who couldn’t afford the $300 to purchase an exemption formed what were essentially draft insurance pools, whereby 30 men would contribute $10 apiece to a pool so that if any of them was drafted, the pool could pay the $300 for the exemption. The government took the $300, and with the money raised could afford to pay those high enlistment bonuses that drew recruits.


201 posted on 10/05/2007 12:53:57 PM PDT by CivilWarguy (CivilWarGuy)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 165 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson