The+Draft+and+Draft+Riots+5

=Drafting:= There were no real drafts during the American Civil War period. Yet, the Confederacy passed its first of 3 conscription acts on April 16 1862, and a year later the Union started to conscipt men. Government started to need people for their armies because of the shortage of manpower and they hoped this would spark men to voluntarily join. The public felt this was going against their own personal liberty and their own free will. Duting the Union draft act men faced the possibility of conscription in July 1863 and in Mar., July, and Dec. 1864. Draft riots ensued, notably in New York in 1863. Of the 249,259 18-to-35-year-old men whose names were drawn, only about 6% served, the rest paying commutation or hiring a substitute.The first Confederate conscription law also applied to men between 18 and 35, providing for substitution and exemptions. A revision, approved 27 Sept. 1862, raised the age to 45; 5 days later the legislators passed the expanded Exemption Act. The Conscription Act of Feb. 1864 called all men between 17 and 50. Conscripts accounted for 1/4to 1/3 of the Confederate armies east of the Mississippi between Apr. 1864 and early 1865.

New York Draft Riot: One of the most famous draft riots of the civil war era. The second draft drawing was being held on Monday, July 13, 1863, just ten day after the Unions victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. At 10 AM a crowd of 500 people led by Black Joke Engine Company 33 attack the assistant Ninth District Provost Marshal's Office, where the draft was taking place. The crowd started to throw large rocks through the windows, bursting through doors, and setting the place on fire. The New York State Militia was gone assisting in Pennsylvania leaving the police officers to handle the crowd. The crowd over powered the police officers. The situation improved on two days later, when assistant provost-marshal-general Robert received word from his superior officer, Colonel James Barnet Fry, he ordered to suspend the draft. As this news appeared in newspapers, some rioters stayed home. But, some of the militias began to return and used harsh measures against the remaining mobs.

Work Cited: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/317749.html http://civilwarhome.com/conscription.htm