Early in the Civil War, regiments were all-volunteer, including the 7th New York, shown here in this old woodcut marching off to the South in front of cheering citizens.
As the Civil War progressed and the need for manpower increased, the U. S. government resorted to conscription in 1863 to raise additional troops with the passage of the Enrollment Act on March 3. It was not a new practice in military circles, with many European countries having widely used forcible means to ensure compliance with orders to join the army or navy. However, the draft was new to America, and many citizens resented the concept. It had been tried earlier in the war to fill the ranks of drafted militia regiments, including here in York County, Pennsylvania.
The controversial 1863 act required the enrollment of every male citizen and those immigrants who had filed for citizenship between ages twenty and forty-five. The War Department did provide a way out. If a man was drafted and ordered to report to the service, he could legally avoid the order by providing a willing substitute who would serve in his place.
The catch?
The draftee had to pay a bounty to the "volunteer" replacement, a fee that ranged in York County from $200 to $1000 for the 1862 drafted militiamen according to an article written some time ago by Dr. Mark Snell. If you were relatively wealthy, you could afford to hire a sub and stay home. If you were poor, welcome to the Union Army. Even President Abraham Lincoln hired a substitute, John Summerfield Staples from rural Monroe County, Pennsylvania, as a gesture of support for the measure. Staples received a bounty of $500 and served in various rear lines posts until the end of the war.





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