Tag Archives: conscription

31 March 1863: “A man in the 23rd NC deserted to the Yankees on picket…”

Posted on 31 Mar ’13 by

Item Description: Letter, of 31 March 1863, from F.J. Haywood Jr.  The letter is addressed to “My Dear Captain” and relates bits of camp gossip and chatter about the sighting of a “Yankee Balloon,” a desertion across enemy lines, and … Continue reading →

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18 March 1863: “…Be not troubled with any of my relatives as they have no reason & will give you a great deal of annoyance if you listen to all their wants.”

Posted on 18 Mar ’13 by

Item description: In this letter, 18 March 1863, James Cathcart Johnston, a planter in eastern North Carolina, wrote to his friend Mr. Henry J. Futrell about a shipment of tools that he would convey via a third party. Clandestine movement … Continue reading →

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5 March 1863: “On hobbling back to Raleigh, he finds himself superseded by Col. August…”

Posted on 5 Mar ’13 by

Item description: Letter, dated 5 March 1863, from Zebulon Vance to Confederate Secretary of War James Seddon recommending the reinstatement of Col. Peter Mallett. Item citation: From Box 1, Folder 7 in the Peter Mallett Papers, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson … Continue reading →

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13 February 1863: “Attention! Conscripts! Recruits Wanted!”

Posted on 13 Feb ’13 by

Item description: This broadside, with a purported date written in pencil on the bottom left of the document, calls for recruits to the defend the “Old North State” and “drive back the vile invaders of our soil.”   Item Transcription: … Continue reading →

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31 January 1863: “in St. Clair County south of this they are resisting the conscript law & two loyal men have been killed by the conscripts…”

Posted on 31 Jan ’13 by

Item description: A letter, 31 January 1863, from John Tate and Sarah Ann Gordon Finley, Rocky Point, Alabama, to Dr. Robert Franklin and Carolina Gordon Hackett. Item citation: From the Gordon and Hackett Family Papers #1040, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson … Continue reading →

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12 December 1862: “The following is a list of substitute money delivered by me to Col. Peter Mallett, Commdt. at Camp Holmes near Raleigh N.C. on Dec. 12th 1862.”

Posted on 12 Dec ’12 by

Item description: List, dated 12 December 1862, of substitutes, as reported to Col. Peter Mallett, head of Confederate conscription in North Carolina. Item citation: From the Peter Mallett Papers, #480, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  

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5 December 1862: ” I have no doubt but what several hundred of conscripts are lying out in those mountains, but I think that most of them are cowardly…”

Posted on 5 Dec ’12 by

Item Description: Letter, 5 December 1862, from Thomas Isaac Lenoir, to his brother, describing his volunteer company’s march into Tennessee and the search for conscripts and the capture of prisoners. [Transcription available below images]  Item citation: From the Lenoir Family Papers #426, Southern … Continue reading →

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5 October 1862: “Colonel Shaw’s body servant says the troops have left, and are in the vicinity of Wilmington, on account of yellow fever. The conscripts are from 14 to 50 years old. Many of them ran away.”

Posted on 5 Oct ’12 by

Item description: “Report of Acting Rear-Admiral Lee, U. S. Navy, regarding affairs in and about Wilmington, N. C., and the inefficiency of the blockade.” The report discusses naval actions near Wilmington, North Carolina, including reports of contraband, blockade activities, a … Continue reading →

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28 August 1862: “Very soon after I left last January nearly all the students left and went to war; some were called out by the draft some were taken by the Conscription law and some went voluntarily, So nearly all left…”

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Item description: In this letter of 28 August 1862, Preston H. Sessoms writes from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., to his sister Bettie. Sessoms tells his sister that only 50 students are enrolled, and board is expensive. … Continue reading →

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22 August 1862: “Feeling a deep interest and even anxiety in the speedy and faithful execution of the conscript law, I cannot allow myself to be represented as opposed or even neutral towards it.”

Posted on 22 Aug ’12 by

Item description: Clerk’s copy of a letter, dated 22 August 1862, from North Carolina Governor Henry T. Clark to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The letter continues a discussion about conscription among Clark, Davis, Confederate Secretary of War George W. Randolph … Continue reading →

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