If you think every single Northener Family back in the 1860s were Proud Fighters in the Civil War from the NORTH, you’d better think again!
The “Well-To-Do” paid their way out of fighting in the Civil War. They merely Paid $300 or found a Substitute And then they didn’t have to become Cannon Folly. You know, Buzzard Bait.
And here’s a Song about it-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/exhibits/show/why-they-fought/item/846
WANTED A SUBSTITUTE
This Civil War-era song refers to a provision in the Civil War Draft Laws passed by Congress in March of 1863 which allowed men to either pay $300 or provide a substitute to avoid serving in the Union Army.
This Provision was a source of resentment for many poor and working-class Northerners, some of whom felt the war had become “the rich man’s war and the poor man’s fight.” Thus the ironic tone of the song’s lyrics, heightened by the humorous illustration of the two figures on the song sheet’s cover: one man, disheveled in appearance and clearly disgruntled, grumbles “I’m drafted,” while his more aristocratic-looking counterpart proclaims “I ain’t.”
Sung to Tune of Uncle Sam’s Farm? I know, who the hell every sang that one to any of us? But damn you need to hear it sung. All of it. Go ahead and suffer thru it. Then, try singing “Wanted a Substitute” to the same Music Sound.
And you thought Northeners Proudly Volunteered to fight the Southern States? No, the Wealthy and “Well-To-Do” kept themselves and their Children out of the fighting as best they could by paying money or finding a Substitute to fight in their place. And it was all legal.
But the United States Draft didn’t jump off without a hitch. It was a Riotous affair in New York City where they sought to Kill and Maim every Black person they could find! They went in a Killing Spree of Black Folks. And if they found you and you were Black, you were Gone!
But this most Damnable Act of Criminal Damnation of the Civil War is convenientLY Overlooked in every History Class. In all that everyone was taught. How convenient to Selectively Pick out what you want others to remember or know from the Past.
Many, a great many Northeners vIewed the Civil War as the “Nigger War” and they wanted no part in it. They didn’t see it as a War to end Slavery as much as some have always publicized. No, many, many Wanted No Part in it. And it’s Obvious when you read the Newspaper Articles from back then as well.
Good wages were about $500 a year. So, for $300, you could Be a Civil War Draft Dodger legally.
In other words. If you, like Today, made $100,000 a year, you’d pay $75,000 and avoid the Civil War altogether. Or find another person to fight for you.
The Enrollment Act of 1863 (12 Stat.731, enacted March 3, 1863) also known as the Civil War Military Draft Act,[1] was an Act passed by the United States Congress during the American Civil War to provide fresh manpower for the Union Army. The Act was the first genuine national conscription law. The law required the enrollment of every male citizen and those immigrants (aliens) who had filed for citizenship, between 20 and 45 years of age, unless exempted by the Act. The Act replaced the Militia Act of 1862.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrollment_Act
CIVIL WAR YEARS?
April 12, 1861 – April 9, 1865
And by 1863, the North Had an Enlistment PROBLEM. A real Fighting Issue Problem of People NOT WANTING to or willing to fight in the Civil War. So, up out of the muck arose the United States Draft! Yes. It most certainly did and it did not come without many a Riot, many a fight, and many a Killing of Blacks even in the North. Not everyone was SOLD on ending this Slavery Thing. And to blindly say that the North Proudly Fought in the Civil War to End Slavery is a ruse. Many Hated the idea of fighting Cousins and Kinfolk from other States and refused to Enlist in the Battle Mentality, into the Yankee Military, in the Civil War.
So, that ugly monster called a Draft came about. And it continued to its Ugliness of Drafting People when the All Volunteer Military took over. You know, just after the End of the Vietnam War.
In March 1969 Nixon established the Commission on an All–Volunteer Force (also known as the Gates Commission), which released a report in February 1970 recommending an end to the draft. On July 1, 1973, the draft law expired in the United States when Congress refused to extend it. And I was already in the Military before it ended.
And after reading what took place during the Civil War Draft, I’m convinced it was HATED back then in 1863, maybe even more than it was during the Vietnam War. Back then. The Draft would FORCE you to fight some of your OWN kinfolk. Let that sink in.
You willing to kill part of your own family if you were Drafted? A whole nother CAN of ugly worms to swallow. Isn’t it?
https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Battle_of_Fort_Fizzle
Many people in the Union strenuously objected to the Conscription Act. Draft riots occurred in both New York City, New York and Boston, Massachusetts. Some Ohioans also opposed the draft. These Ohioans encouraged men to resist the draft or to desert once they were drafted. In Holmes County, approximately nine hundred men created a makeshift fort to defend themselves from federal officials sent to enforce the Conscription Act. This became known as the “Battle of Fort Fizzle”.
Northern States unable to meet their Northern War Enlistments during the Civil War was the excuse that Congress used to keep the War Machine going by creating The Draft. Some back then even Called the Civil War the “Forced Family War” after Conscription started or the Draft Started. Forcing Families to Fight Each Other thru the Draft or Conscription.
But when you look at the Entire picture of the Civil War, there wasn’t nothing Pretty about it. It was an Ugly War And It got much Uglier with deepening Hatreds after the Draft became involved. And there was enough HATE to go around. Maybe part of the reason President Lincoln was Assassinated was due to the Draft being used. Yes, Hatreds were going around all over back then. Families and Businesses and Farms were destroyed. Hates were flying high.
And People can mull over the Civil War all the Time. And there are Many Answers to many questions. And they all depend on what a person is looking for. Don’t they? But Today, I dug deep into this Draft during the Civil War from the point of View of my own Hate for The Draft during the Vietnam War. I saw, first hand, how this Draft affected families.
My best friend was killed there and He was Drafted. It was Just Him and only his mother. He and his mother didn’t get the $300 Exit Plan or the Find Yourself a Substitute Plan like they created for themselves like during the Civil War. And how many took advantage of avoiding the Civil War Draft?
The United States first employed national conscription during the American Civil War. The vast majority of troops were volunteers; of the 2,200,000 Union soldiers, about 2% were draftees, and another 6% were substitutes paid by draftees.
So, 8% avoided the Draft during the Civil War. That’s about 176,000 individuals who had the Money! Money to escape Military Duty. For that time period, that seems like an excessive amount. 176,000 Well-To-Do individuals? Or families? Where parents paid for their kid. To keep them out of Harm’s Way?
You know, I bet the Vietnam War might have lasted longer if there was an escape Clause in the Draft. But there wasn’t. Only Rich People found out where to go to get a Medical Deferment. Every one knew there were Doctors to go to to get out of the Draft, but the Price? Usually $20,000. Back then, that was a ton of money.
We called all Medical Deferments DRAFT DODGERS!
But it was Legal during the Civil War. Dang…
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