Lincoln ordered on October 17, 1863 another call for 300,000 men. Wisconsin's quota would be set at 10,281 with 74,976 men of the first class enrolled for possible military service through the country. The penalty for not filling the quota would be as Adjutant General Agustus Gaylord stated on November 23,1863: �If the quota above given is not filled by voluntary enlistment, a draft is ordered by the General Government on the 5th of January 1864, to supply the deficiency then existing. The January draft did not take place for on February 1, 1864, Lincoln issued a call for 500,000 men which was assumed to include the 300,000 from the October 17 call. March 14, 1864 brought an additional call for 200,000 men. The system of extra bounties by the towns was enough to raise enough men to negate the draft for the two calls. Additional credits from the 1863 draft did much to further alleviate the pressure. Try as it may, the state finally succumbed to the 500,000 call of July 18, 1864. A draft therefore took place on September 19, 1864 resulting in 17,534 draftees. Again, efforts to secure these men proved to be futile. Only 2,494 were conscripted, 954 hired substitutes, 6,724 were discharged, 7,367 failed to report, and 4 men paid the $300 commutation fee. The North's last draft was ordered to take place on March 27, 1865 for districts that did not meet their quota.
Under the Union draft act men faced the possibility of conscription in July 1863 and in Mar., July, and Dec. 1864. Draft riots ensued, notably in New York in 1863. Of the 249,259 18-to-35-year-old men whose names were drawn, only about 6% served, the rest paying commutation or hiring a substitute.
The following drafts were held:
15 Jun 1863 100,000 6 months
17 Oct 1863 500,000 3 years
14 Mar 1864 200,000 3 years
23 Apr 1864 85,000 100 days
18 Jul 1864 500,000 1, 2, and 3 years
19 Dec 1864 300,000 1, 2, and 3 years
The draft, which was very unpopular, would not be applied in any locality that had alreadv met its quota of recruits. The country was divided into Congressional Districts. The need for men was apportioned to those districts, and each district was supposed to provide a specified number of men. If that proper number of men had volunteered in a given district, the draft would not apply there. So it was in the interest of government authorities in the counties and cities to recruit men as vigorously as they could to keep the draft from affecting the people in their area. The draft stirred recruiting drives all over the country and resulted in a great many men going into the army who probably would not have enlisted if they were left to their own devices.
The draft records, available for a time period in which tracing families is sometimes difficult, are invaluable for obtaining information on men living in cities or rural areas. The draft records give additional important details than those found in either the censuses or city directories.
The existing conscription records include lists of men which are created by enrollment districts based upon the Districts of the 38th Congress.
The records are found in National Archives RG 110 (Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau) and National Archives RG 59 (General Records of the Department of State). The records have not been microfilmed and most are in bound volumes. It is important to be able to identify the Congressional District in which the soldier or non-soldier lived in 1863.
This is the purpose for the following index to the Congressional Districts. First, a little more information about five types of records created by the Draft that are used by genealogist studying their family history.1. Consolidated Lists. These are the most important individual records.
An entry for a man gives his name; place of residence; age as of July 1, 1863; occupation; marital status, state, territory, or country of birth; and the military organization (if a volunteer) of which he previously was a member. The records are arranged by state and by Congressional or Enrollment District. Most are bound in volumes. They are divided into three classes- men between the ages of 20 and 35 subject to military duty and unmarried men above 35 and under 45 subject to military duty; married men above 35 and under 45; and volunteers. Entries in each class are arranged in rough alphabetical order by initial letter of surname. To access your ancestor on the consolidated lists, it is necessary to identify the Congressional District in which the soldier or non-soldier lived in 1863.
The records of the Consolidated Lists are kept in the National Archives in Record Group 110
Jacob: Mar 17, 1849 plus 14 years = Mar 17, 1863 to Mar 1864 (be 15)