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Collection
Civil War Enlistment Certificates
Title
Civil War Enlistment Certificates
Object ID
MG0422
Date Range
1864
; and signatures of members of the Committee on Bounty Fund. These volunteers were “credited to the quota of the City of Lancaster, in the President’s calls for troops.” Creator: Committee on Bounty Fund (Lancaster, Pa.) Conditions for Access: No restrictions. Conditions Governing Reproductions
  1 document  
Collection
Civil War Enlistment Certificates
Title
Civil War Enlistment Certificates
Description
This collection contains certificates of enlistment for volunteer soldiers from Lancaster City for April and May 1864. The documents show the name of the volunteer; the ward he was from; date; and signatures of volunteer, witness, and/or the draftee for which the volunteer was a substitute; and signatures of members of the Committee on Bounty Fund. These volunteers were "credited to the quota of the City of Lancaster, in the President's calls for troops."
Admin/Biographical History
"No conscription in the North during the Civil War was absolute. The drafted man could always hire a substitute if he could afford it. Starting in 1862, the U.S. government allowed this escape from military service on the theory that, so long as each name drawn from the wheel produced a man, it made no difference whether the drafted person or one hired to take his place appeared for muster. The Conscription Act of 3 March 1863 legalized this method of draft evasion. Until the act of 24 February 1864, the conscript could choose between hiring a substitute or paying the government $300 as commutation of service. Thereafter, the government only permitted substitution, except for conscientious objectors. Furthermore, exemption by furnishing a substitute extended only until the next succeeding draft, at which point the principal again became liable. Immediately, the prices of substitutes rose far above the $300 to which the commutation clause had held them. For this reason, legal draft evasion became the prerogative of only the unusually well-to-do."
"Substitutes, Civil War," www.answers.com/topic/substitutes-civil-war
Date Range
1864
Creation Date
1864
Creator
Committee on Bounty Fund (Lancaster, Pa.)
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 10
Subjects
Bounties, Military
Recruiting and enlistment
United States. Army--Recruiting, enlistment, etc.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Search Terms
Civil War
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Military bounties
Extent
1 box, 3 folders, .25 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0422
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
Record of Recruits, 1863-1864. City Archives Collection (CA 08-01 1604-005)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Civil War Enlistment Certificates (MG0422), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
2007.MG0422
Other Numbers
MG-422
Classification
MG0422
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Added to database 22 February 2022.
Documents
Less detail