The Civil War Draft in Wisconsin
READ all of the instructions carefully before completing the assignment.
Introduction:
The Civil War had a profound effect on nearly all aspects of life in Wisconsin. All residents, regardless of whether they became a part of the Union effort, felt the repercussions of war. After the financial shock of early 1861 resulting from the secession of the Southern states, the Civil War brought economic prosperity to Wisconsin. The war helped to consolidate transportation and industrial activity by increasing the volume of eastward-moving trade, especially when the closing of the lower Mississippi River restricted access to New Orleans. Railroads were overwhelmed with business, sending transportation costs through the roof. With the departure of men in uniform, farmers faced labor shortages that increased wages for hired hands. Fortunately for farmers, though, crop prices also multiplied as the demand for wheat, Wisconsin's principal crop at the time, skyrocketed. Consequently, the increased demand for agricultural products led to a boom in the mechanization of farming, an industry centered in southeastern Wisconsin.
Everyone in Wisconsin did not support the war. Some were Democrats who honestly thought state's rights should prevail, or that the nation had been taken over by Republican extremists. Others, especially German Catholics, did not support the Lincoln administration which, to them, represented abolitionism, Yankee nativism, and Protestant godlessness. The draft that Lincoln instituted in 1862 was especially intolerable to them, since many Germans had left their homeland to escape compulsory military service. On November 10, 1862, roughly 300 rioters attacked the draft office in Port Washington and vandalized the homes of Union supporters, until troops arrived to quell the disturbance. In Milwaukee that week, a mob of protesters shut down the draft proceedings, and in West Bend, the draft commissioner was beaten bloody and chased from the scene by opponents of the Civil War draft. But as the war continued and thousands of Wisconsin families lost fathers or sons, public opinion overwhelmingly backed Lincoln's efforts to preserve the union.
Assignment:
The following pages are readings concerning the draft in Wisconsin during the Civil War. Embedded in the documents are links, which you need to look at and read, concerning different images and documents with the draft. Once you have read the information and viewed the links, answer the questions provided in complete sentences using details from what you read or saw to support your opinion. There are other directions below concerning the assignment so be sure to read those carefully as well. There are three parts to read and answer questions about.
The Civil War Draft in Wisconsin
Primary Source Analysis on Opposition and Support
Part I:
The Initiation of the Draft
After months of fighting and news of heavy losses, U.S. Secretary of War Edward Stanton realized that he had stopped federal recruiting too early and would need to ask the state governors for additional recruits. The grim realities of war–death, disease, and tragedy–had diminished previous enthusiasm. Doubting that the states would be able to fulfill these new quotas with a system of voluntary enlistment, in mid-July 1862 the United States Congress passed a law that can be interpreted as the first federal draft. The act outlined procedures for states that did not yet have a draft procedure, but the actual process of implementation was left up to each state’s governor.
Governor Salomon Struggles with the Draft
Wisconsin was required to supply an additional 42,557 men to the war effort. At the time Wisconsin was under the leadership of Governor Salomon, a recently naturalized German- American citizen. Thrust into office when Governor Louis Harvey drowned while visiting with soldiers in Tennessee, Salomon struggled to devise an equitable draft system. Before the draft could begin, counties that had previously provided volunteers needed to be credited and an accurate list of eligible men in each county needed to be compiled.
As Salomon grappled with these tasks, another request came from Washington for an additional 5,904 men to replace the men lost to casualties and to bring the existing regiments up to full strength. Salomon tried to avoid immediate implementation of the draft by questioning the numbers required of Wisconsin, since the state had already furnished five regiments more than previously required. Salomon hoped that by postponing the draft until after the upcoming harvest, more men would volunteer, and conscription would not be necessary. Secretary of War Stanton did not oblige any requests for postponement, however, and on August 15, 1862, he ordered Salomon to execute the draft in Wisconsin.
Avoiding a federalistic battle, Governor Salomon appointed “War Democrat” Levi Vilas to administer the draft. Vilas worked with a draft commissioner and an examining physician from each county to ensure the quotas designed by Governor Salomon were filled. The lists of eligible men between the ages of 18 and 40 compiled by county sheriffs were useful as a point of departure. Yet Salomon was still concerned about the equity and fairness of the draft and put the issue of conscription before the legislature in hopes a law addressing the issue would be passed. Recognizing the potential adverse political ramifications, the legislature did not act, and the work was left solely to Governor Salomon.
Opposition to the Draft
Governor Salomon correctly surmised that, after the harvest, volunteers would fill the quotas. By the end of October all counties except several along Lake Michigan had filled their quotas with volunteer recruits. Yet even with the increasing number of recruits, opposition to the draft and fighting within Wisconsin continued. The numbers in volunteer fire companies, which were exempt from service, swelled to such an extent Salomon limited exemption to those on fire company rolls prior to the announcement of the draft. Men also sent letters and affidavits to their county surgeons, detailing medical conditions for exemption status. In some cases, the designated county surgeon issued certificates of exemption. In most cases, he did not. Salomon was perplexed that so many of his fellow immigrants would deny their intention to become U.S. citizens in order to avoid the draft. He even went so far as to suggest the idea of deportation for those immigrants not willing to serve, but this did not occur.
For several reasons, the counties along Lake Michigan (Milwaukee, Washington, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, and Ozaukee) had the most difficulty providing the required number of men. These counties were composed largely of German and Irish-Catholic immigrants, and very few Catholic priests were chaplains for Wisconsin’s Civil War regiments. In addition, the German Catholics were particularly opposed to the idea of mandatory war service, since many had left Germany to avoid the draft. Clearly these immigrants did not understand the long-term controversy over slavery and did not identify with the “radical” abolitionist policies of the Republican Party and Lincoln administration. After Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, the Milwaukee German newspaper Die Seebote clearly expressed immigrant sentiment by deriding the Union’s intent to use “immigrants . . . as fodder for cannons in an abolitionist war.” (Die Seebote, October 25, 1862)
On November 10, 1862, Governor Salomon scheduled drafting to begin town-by-town in the counties lacking volunteers. Draft noticeswere posted. Disorganized protest occurred in Sheboygan and West Bend, but a full-scale riot occurred in Port Washington in Ozaukee County. Eight companies of the 28th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment were called in to restore order there. In the end, of the 4,537 Wisconsin men drafted, only 1,739 were mustered in. More than a third failed to report, and among those who did, most were discharged or released for various reasons. Only 6,812 Wisconsin soldiers reported to duty of the 38,495 called. The first federal draft proved to be only mildly successful in boosting the numbers of soldiers who actually served on the front.
Directions: After reading the above passages and viewing the imbedded links, answer the following questions using complete sentences and specifics to explain. You can copy and paste the questions into a Word document or you can answer them on a separate sheet of paper.
Part I:
1. What is your impression of Edward Stanton after reading and viewing his picture? Did he make wise decisions? Does he look like a trustworthy individual? Explain.
2. What is your impression of Governor Salomon after reading the viewing his picture? Did he make wise decisions? Does he look like a trustworthy individual? Explain.
3. What pieces, or type of information, can you gather from lists of eligible men between the ages of 18 and 40?
4. What pieces, or type of information, can you gather from letters and affidavits? What exactly IS an affidavit? If you don’t know, look it up.
5. When looking at the certificates of exemptions, what were some of the aliments men had that qualified them to be exempt from the military draft?
6. What is important about draft notices? What purpose did they serve? Where do you think they placed them? Explain.
Part 2:
The Draft Document- Draft Dodger Broadside
A little on the document: The document featured with this article is a broadside, or poster, from the 1st District of Wisconsin Office of the Provost Marshal, listing the names of the draft dodgers in Milwaukee County. The poster includes data detailing each man’s place of birth, age, marital status, and occupation. The broadside, offering a reward for the arrest and delivery of these men to draft headquarters, was directed toward able-bodied citizens sympathetic to the war effort.
Directions: Using the link above (Draft Dodger Broadside), answer the following questions in complete sentences and use specifics to explain. You can copy and paste the questions into a Word document or you can answer them on a separate sheet of paper.
Part 2:
1. Describe the document in one sentence.
2. What can you tell about the people listed on this document?
3. If you had to generalize, where were majority of the people on this poster born?
4. Who produced this document?
5. Who is the anticipated audience for this document?
6. Where do you think it was hung?
7. Why do you think this poster was produced? What purpose did it serve?
8. After viewing this document, what generalization(s) about the Civil War can you make?
Part 3:
Governor Letters-Letters from Governor Salomon
(Concerning the draft in Ozaukee and Sheboygan counties)
Directions: Using the link above (Letters from Governor Salomon), answer the following questions in complete sentences and use specifics to explain. You can copy and paste the questions into a Word document or you can answer them on a separate sheet of paper.
Part 3:
Letter One:
1. When was letter one written?
2. To whom was letter one written?
3. What was Governor Salomon expressing in this first letter?
Letter Two:
1. When was letter two written?
2. To whom was letter two written?
3. What was Governor Salomon expressing in this second letter?
Letter Three:
1. When was letter three written?
2. To whom was letter three written?
3. What was Governor Salomon expressing in this third letter?
Letters One-Three:
1. What are the similarities between all three letters?
2. What sentiment about the draft in Wisconsin is in the underlying tone of the letters?
3. What insight do these letters give historians about the draft in Wisconsin during the Civil War?