By Hardy Kenwright
The Recruiting Sergeant’s Challenge
The Enrolment Act,
enacted on 3rd March 1863 to provide fresh manpower for the Union Armies,
required the enrolment of every male citizen between the ages 20 and 45, including
those immigrants who had filed for citizenship. You will recall that the
implementation of this legislation in New York led to the tragic riots of
13th-16th July.
You
think we have it bad?
You
may not realise that the Rebels were forced to pass a Conscription Act, to fill
their ranks, as early as April 1862. On
the 17th February this year, the ‘Third’ Conscription Act has
extended qualification to all white men between the ages 17 to 50, who now
became available for military service for an ‘unlimited period’. There is the
concession that those 17 to 18 years and 45 to 50 years old, will constitute a
state defence reserve, not serving outside their resident state. The exempted
categories have been reduced from 24 to 14 so there are fewer ways for the
great and good to avoid being drafted. It seems that finding willing and able
manpower for the armies is becoming a serious problem.
There’s
a Hole in My Bucket
Getting
draftees into the Rebel armies is one thing, but our sources inform us that
keeping them there is becoming quite another.
