Those with disabilities were dismissed, and others paid off their doctors to claim that they had disabilities. Those with financial means could pay the commutation fee or use bribes to escape fighting. GIF made with the NYPL Labs Stereogranimator
The remaining 85% avoided the war by literally running away, finding someone else to take their place or paying the commutation fee. Of the more than 750,000 drafted in 18, only about 46,000 actually saw battle. When names were selected from the lottery, men had three options: fight find someone to take their place or pay a $300 commutation fee to escape that round of drafting.
Each recruiting district had quotas to meet, and those districts where numbers fell short would draft soldiers by lottery. citizenship, were required to sign up to fight. 1888.Īll Union men between the ages of 20 and 45, as well as all immigrants seeking U.S. "Union soldiers sharing their rations with the Confederates." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. On March 3, 1863, the Union officially signed the Enrollment Act.
As the death rate rose, the Union needed to find a new way to recruit soldiers. With the second anniversary of the war looming, the initial enthusiasm of enlistees was in decline.