What were the most common reasons why draft-age men were not conscripted for the Union Army?
Upvote:0
The main reason was that North have four times more white men than South (plus, almost 200 African-american soldiers served in northern army).
With rate of volunteers about 50% (theoretical figure), northern army would be four times bigger than southern.
So it is why South eventually needed 100% conscription, after the first year of war, to get Southern army at least half the size of northern.
North could afford wait for two years, and have predominantly volunteer army till the end of the war, with draft provided only in the states not meeting their recruitment quote.
Total share of drafted and substitutes in Northern army was 6-8%. For Southern, share of conscripts or compelled to be recruited by conscription law, estimated at least 30%. In fact, almost nobody who joined Southern army after passing conscription law (spring 1862) could be considered as volunteer.
Upvote:2
Your premise is wrong. The statement, "Based on this question and an answer, it appears that although almost all southern white men of draft age were in the military during the Civil War." is untrue. The relevant "evidence" from the question is:
"In my geneology research, I can assume with some certainty that if a white southern family had sons born between 1835 and 1846 there is a pretty good chance that all of them will have served in the Confederate armed forces."
This is not reliable evidence, some offhand comment about "geneology research". In fact, the supposed genealogist, does not even know how to spell genealogy.
Secondly, the purported factoid, that "all" southern white males between the ages of 14 and 30 fought in the Civil War defies logic. For reasons of logistics, geography and finance alone, such a thing is impossible. Also, from an economic standpoint, to even fight a war you need to be growing food, weaving cloth, blacksmithing and doing many other economic activities to support the soldiers. Not to mention, many men will be infirm, have disabilities, or for other reasons be unsuitable or unwilling to fight.
Just as one example, the members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) living in the south refused to fight in the war, and they were just one of many such refusers.
Upvote:5
There were two main draft exemptions for men in the North. The first was that a man could hire or designate a substitute (e.g. a brother or cousin). The second was that a man could pay $300 (somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 in today's money) to "opt out." In essence, one could buy one's way out of the draft.
There was also a partial "exemption" for married men; they had a lower draft priority than single men.
More post
- 📝 Did Greeks and Romans tolerate those who only worshipped some of their gods?
- 📝 Was it illegal to blaspheme God in Antioch in 360.-410.?
- 📝 Did Rothschild say this famous quote? If yes, what did he mean by it?
- 📝 What is "Distributed Survival Theory"?
- 📝 Did the Allies try to "bribe" Franco to join them in World War II?
- 📝 Why does the US use MM/DD/YY?
- 📝 1900s Vacation between Germany and America
- 📝 Were Moses & Abraham historical figures?
- 📝 Where can I find more information about former German internal enclaves and exclaves?
- 📝 Where, when and why did the practice of proxy marriage originate?
- 📝 Where can I find clean maps of colonial America?
- 📝 Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
- 📝 Why is Richard I (The Lion-heart) considered to be a good king and Jean I a bad one?
- 📝 Was there a tax on being fat in Gaul?
- 📝 Why does the Canadian Air Force name its ranks like its Army, whilst the Australian and New Zealand Air Forces use the Royal Air Force's?
- 📝 What's the oldest monomyth?
- 📝 Is there historical evidence linking medieval forest clearences in Europe with the Medieval Warm Period?
- 📝 Identification of harbor and ships
- 📝 What was the military strength of the participants in the Falklands conflict?
- 📝 For who or what was Cojo Creek named?
- 📝 Why are Quebeckers different from Acadians?
- 📝 When was Nazi paramilitary organisation Waffen-SS liquidated in the legal sense?
- 📝 How were the British and French armies invited into Belgium in 1914?
- 📝 Why didn't the British attack the Continental Congress?
- 📝 Why did France just give up without a major fight in WW2?
- 📝 What colors were used as paint in the construction of the ziggurats in early Sumer?
- 📝 Earliest evidence of surfing
- 📝 What was the impetus behind the British Empire's acquisition of what is now Canada?
- 📝 Was the fall of the Inca Empire inevitable?
- 📝 Has there been a war in which the South conquered the North?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What were the most common reasons why draft-age men were not conscripted for the Union Army?
- 📝 How did knights in full suits of armor eventually die in combat? What were the most common causes of death for soldiers in full-body plate armor?
- 📝 What were the reasons for the Renaissance / scientific revolution in Europe?
- 📝 What were the reasons for making Prohibition a constitutional amendment?
- 📝 What were the reasons that the British colonies in North America rebelled but not others?
- 📝 What is the historical reason for 18 years being the most commonly accepted age of adulthood?
- 📝 Why did the states that were born out of the Louisiana purchase adopt a common law system, and not a civil law system?
- 📝 What were the most common reactions to Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
- 📝 What were conditions like for Chinese men subject to recruitment by the army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War?
- 📝 What was the expected retirement age for men in Spain in 1936?
- 📝 What were the reasons for Japan's surrender in WWII?
- 📝 What were the reasons for the Federal Art Project?
- 📝 What explanations have been given as to why the Jews were not killed in Italy?
- 📝 What is the most common calendar for pre-Julian dates?
- 📝 What activities for children were there in Paris in the 1930s (that were not also available in the countryside)?
- 📝 Why were so many more Jewish men than Jewish women killed during the Holocaust?
- 📝 Why did Europe not see Roman-era numbers of men participating in battles until the 17th century?
- 📝 Why were helmets and other body armour not commonplace in the 1800s?
- 📝 Why were British ships not of the same quality as French and Spanish ships until the latter part of the 18th century?
- 📝 Are there any documented examples of wooden ships which were in active service for 100 years or more? If not, what is the longest?
- 📝 What is the context for Napoleon's quote "[the Austrians] did not know the value of five minutes"?
- 📝 What were the criteria for class ranking at West Point prior to the Civil War?
- 📝 What historical reasons did the Nazis give for hating the Jews? How did they identify non-practicing Jews?
- 📝 What reasons did the Confederacy have for believing they would have a quick victory?
- 📝 Is there a historical source that might explain why so many countries use 35 as a minimum age for the president / the highest office person?
- 📝 Why are most of the world's oldest buildings in Europe and not in the Fertile Crescent?
- 📝 What are the most comprehensive historical references for ancient India?
- 📝 At what point were the most current and former US Presidents alive?
- 📝 What were Argentina's intentions for the Falkland Islanders?
- 📝 Were there punishments in the Roman Empire for not believing in the official religion?