MEN ON THE HOMEFRONT, CIVIL WAR

Despite the modern image of the patriotic volunteer in the Civil War, not all men fought for the Union or the Confederacy. Between 1861 and 1865 thousands of eligible men refused to serve. Some were draft dodgers and others were conscientious objectors. Still others purchased substitutes to fight for them. There were also thousands of deserters from the armies of the North and South who tried to melt into the general population.

Eligible men who did not serve risked being perceived as cowardly or unpatriotic. In a rousing letter to Kentuckians in 1861, one writer said that it was a time when "the workshop, the office, the counting-house and the field may well be abandoned for the solemn duty that is upon us … while the noble ship pitches and rolls under the lashings of the waves … the man who, at such an hour, will not work at the pump, is either a maniac or a monster." Senator Stephen A. Douglas echoed this opinion, stating, "There can be no neutrals in this war, only patriots or traitors."

Some men who lived in border states that were split in their loyalties, such as Kansas and Missouri, suffered violence. Men who were suspected of being loyal to the Union cause were hunted down by gangs of Southern loyalists called "bushwhackers." Union loyalists called "jayhawkers" wreaked havoc on Confederate supporters. Some men actually joined the army to avoid being attacked.

One occupation that was exempt from military service was the expressman. These couriers worked for express companies that delivered letters and packages. The express was the only way for prisoners to receive clothing and supplies from their loved ones across the Mason-Dixon line. The expressmen also carried the coffins of soldiers who had died on the battlefield to families who could afford to have the bodies shipped home.

When the war began, thousands of men on both sides immediately volunteered to join the army. As time passed, this initial surge proved insufficient to fill the ranks. The Confederacy enacted the first draft act in U.S. history in April 1862. The Enrollment Act of 1863, issued by President Abraham Lincoln, provided that a mandatory draft of men ages 20 to 45 would be held to create a sizable army. There was a loophole, however, in both draft acts; men who could afford to pay an exorbitant exemption fee of $300 were excused from serving. Among those who did not fight in the war, choosing instead to focus on their careers, were the future magnates James Mellon, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan.

In the North, the draft was met by protests and riots in several cities due to the perceived unfairness of the situation. The most serious of these riots took place in New York City, where laborers, particularly Irish immigrants, were angry at the prospect of having to serve in the army while wealthy men avoided the draft entirely. On July 13 and 14, 1863, they rioted, causing great damage and resulting in some 100 deaths.

Some men who stayed on the homefront were involved in keeping the wartime economy going. The railroads still ran. Factories churned out uniforms and rifles. Saloons and other businesses stayed open, whether run by the original proprietor or by a relative or friend. Newspapermen followed the war on a daily basis. Photographers took keepsake photos of soldiers on their way off to war and as the troops stopped in a town or city.

Some front men were draft dodgers; others were conscientious objectors. Thousands of deserters hid until the war was over, or sometimes dared to return home at the risk of being arrested. Others on the homefront included many of the 400,000 men who were wounded during the war and returned home disabled or sick.

bibliography

Bernstein, Iver. The New York City Draft Riots: Their Significance for American Society and Politics in the Age of the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press. 1990.

Cashin, Joan E., ed. The War Was You and Me: Civilians in the American Civil War. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 2002.

Damon, Duane. When This Cruel War is Over: The Civil War Home Front. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner, 1996.

Ellis, Edward Robb. The Epic of New York City. New York: Kodansha, 1997.

Murdock, Eugene C. Patriotism Limited 1862–1865: The Civil War Draft and the Bounty System. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press. 1967.

Stevens, Joseph E. 1863: The Rebirth of a Nation. New York: Bantam, 1999.

Richard Panchyk

See also:New York City Draft Riots.