When Johnny didn’t go for a soldier
In genealogy, as in law, it’s awfully hard to prove a negative. It’s even harder when you’re trying to figure out why someone didn’t do something you think perhaps he should have done. But that’s the situation confronting reader Bob Fleitz, whose second great grandfather was of the right age at the right time to have served in the Union forces in the Civil War — but didn’t.
Ignatius (Ignatz) Fleitz of Ohio, 1834-1896
“I wonder how one could find out why an ancestor did NOT serve,” Bob writes. His second great grandfather Ignatius or Ignatz Fleitz had been born in Baden, Germany, around 1834, emigrated in 1848, and so was in his 20s, living in Jerusalem Township, Lucas County, Ohio, when the war began. “He was a farmer, already had a wife and three children, maybe didn’t speak English yet. Perhaps Ohio had its quota of soldiers, perhaps he was exempt for some reason, maybe he just laid low, … Any idea how one would research that?”
Here’s a shock for you (said with tongue planted firmly in The Legal Genealogist‘s cheek): start with the law.
And the law we have to start with when researching this question in the northern states is called the Enrollment Act or, more formally, “An Act for enrolling and calling out the national Forces, and for other Purposes.” It was enacted 3 March 1863, and it was the very first effort by the Union at conscription — otherwise known as the draft.1
The South had already gone the conscription route, nearly a year earlier, with its first draft law enacted 16 April 1862.2 The North thought it could raise enough men through the militias of the states and had given the President the authority to call up the state militias as early as July of 1861.3
By the beginning of 1863, it was clear that more men would be needed, and the Congress adopted the Enrollment Act. And for Bob’s purposes, the key provisions are the ages of the men subject to conscription — all men between the ages of 20 and 45,4 bringing Ignatz squarely within the terms of the law — and the exemptions and exceptions created by the law.
One entire section set out those who would not be called:
SEC 2. And be it further enacted, That the following persons be, and they are hereby, excepted and exempt from the provisions of this act, and shall not be liable to military duty under the same, to wit: Such as are rejected as physically or mentally unfit for the service; also, First the Vice-President of the United States, the judges of the various courts of the United States, the heads of the various executive departments of the government, and the governors of the several States. Second, the only son liable to military duty of a widow dependent upon his labor for support. Third, the only son of aged or infirm parent or parents dependent upon his labor for support. Fourth, where there are two or more sons of aged or infirm parents subject to draft, the father, or, if he be dead, the mother, may elect which son shall be exempt. Fifth, the only brother of children not twelve years old, having neither father nor mother dependent upon his labor for support. Sixth, the father of motherless children under twelve years of age dependent upon his labor for support. Seventh, where there are a father and sons in the same family and household, and two of them are in the military service of the United States as non- commissioned officers, musicians, or privates, the residue of such family and household, not exceeding two, shall be exempt. And no persons but such as are herein excepted shall be exempt: Provided, however, That no person who has been convicted of any felony shall be enrolled or permitted to serve in said forces.5
And another let men who were called buy their way out, by furnishing a substitute or making a cash payment that was intended to allow the Secretary of War to find a substitute:
SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That any person drafted and notified to appear as aforesaid, may, on or before the day fixed for his appearance, furnish an acceptable substitute to take his place in the draft; or he may pay to such person as the Secretary of War may authorize to receive it, such sum, not exceeding three hundred dollars, as the Secretary may determine, for the procuration of such substitute; which sum shall be fixed at a uniform rate by a general order made at the time of ordering a draft for any state or territory; and thereupon such person so furnishing the substitute, or paying the money, shall be discharged from further liability under that draft.6
So the first step in Bob’s research would be to compare Ignatz’s situation to the exemptions provided by the law to see if there is an obvious reason why he wouldn’t be called. In his case, there doesn’t seem to be one.
The next step would be to find the records of the draft system where Ignatz may have been recorded to see if they shed light on the situation. The draft was conducted within each individual Congressional district, and Ignatz Fleitz lived in Ohio’s 10th Congressional District at the time. And the very first thing Bob discovered was that the consolidated draft register for surnames from A-K for Ohio’s 10th Congressional District is missing from the “U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865” database at Ancestry.com. It isn’t clear whether that means that volume no longer exists, or wasn’t digitized, or just isn’t available online.
Fortunately, this database isn’t the real thing, so to speak. It’s a consolidated register created from the underlying records themselves. Even Ancestry says so in a note on the database description page: “The actual draft registration records are available in NARA regional archives and sometimes contain more information than the consolidated lists.”7 More importantly, “The consolidated lists … give no clue as to why (persons enrolled) did not serve. Answers to such questions should reside with the records of the various districts.”8
So what exactly might exist at the National Archives regional repository, which — for Ohio records — happens to be in Chicago? In Record Group 110: Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), 1861 – 1907, for Ohio’s 10th Congressional District, here’s just a sampling:9
• Descriptive Book of Drafted Men, 09/1864 – 11/1864
• Journals of Recruits and Substitutes Enlisted into Service, 12/1863 – 04/1865
• List of Men Credited to the Subdistricts, 1863? – 1866?
• List of Men Exempted from Service Because of Physical Disability, 04/1864 – 01/1865
• Lists of Men Reported as Deserters Whose Descriptive Rolls Were Received, 1863 – 1865
• Lists of Recruits Delivered to the Rendezvous at Toledo, Ohio, 1864 – 1864
• Medical Register of Examinations of Drafted Men, 11/1864 – 05/1865
• Medical Register of Examinations of Enrolled Men, 01/1864 – 04/1865
• Medical Register of Examinations of Recruits and Substitutes, 10/1864 – 04/1865
• Memoranda of Medical Examinations of Recruits, 04/1864 – 10/1864
• Muster and Descriptive Book of Recruits and Substitutes, 06/1864 – 04/1865
• Muster and Descriptive Books of Recruits and Substitutes, 11/1863 – 04/1865
• Name Indexes to Muster and Descriptive Book of Recruits and Substitutes, 1864? – 1865?
• Proceedings of the Board of Enrollment, 05/1863 – 05/1865
• Register of Enrolled Men Exempted Because of Physical Disability, 07/1864 – 07/1864
Now that sounds like a road trip to me. But before Bob gets ready to go, one word of caution: it’s very likely that the answer is going to be purely and simply that Ignatz just was never called up. Although Ohio, like all states, had to set up and run its draft boards under the Enrollment Act, conscription was only required when a state didn’t produce enough volunteers, and because the draft was so unpopular, states worked hard to fill the ranks with volunteers, usually by paying bounties.10
And in Ohio, generally, there were enough volunteers: “The federal government required each state to supply a set number of soldiers determined by the state’s population. Ohio exceeded the government’s call for men by 4,332 soldiers. This number does not reflect the 6,479 men who paid a monetary fine to the government to escape military duty.”11
That doesn’t mean there won’t be records of Ignatz, and it doesn’t mean those records might not provide information you won’t find anywhere else (can you imagine finding a medical examination of a man who lived in the 1860s???). It may simply be that Ignatz registered and went home waiting to be called … and never was.
But won’t it be fun to find out for sure? Let us know, Bob, what you find!
SOURCES
- “An Act for enrolling and calling out the national Forces, and for other Purposes,” 12 Stat. 731 (3 Mar 1863)); digital images, “A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875,” Library of Congress, American Memory (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html : accessed 9 Jan 2013). ↩
- See Judy G. Russell, “Anniversary of two very different laws,” The Legal Genealogist, posted 16 Apr 2012 (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : accessed 9 Jan 2013). ↩
- Ibid., “An act to provide for the suppression of rebellion against and resistance to the laws of the United States,” 12 Stat. 281 (29 July 1861). ↩
- Enrollment Act, 12 Stat. 731, § 1. ↩
- Ibid., § 2. ↩
- Ibid., § 13. ↩
- “U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 Jan 2013). ↩
- Michael T. Meier, “Civil War Draft Records: Exemptions and Enrollments,” Prologue (Winter 1994, Vol. 26, No. 4), National Archives ( : accessed 9 Jan 2013). ↩
- A full list of possibly relevant holdings can be found by conducting a search for (“record group 110”) AND Ohio 10th at the National Archives Archival Research Catalog. ↩
- See Daniel W. Hamilton, “Enrollment Act (1863) (The Conscription Act),” Enotes.com (http://www.enotes.com : accessed 9 Jan 2013). ↩
- “Conscription Act,” Ohio History Central, Ohio Historical Society (http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org : accessed 9 Jan 2013). See also Mike Mangus, “Conscription Act and Enrollment Act (1863),” Ohio Civil War Central (http://www.ohiocivilwarcentral.com : accessed 9 Jan 2013). ↩
This one caught my attention – “Fourth, where there are two or more sons of aged or infirm parents subject to draft, the father, or, if he be dead, the mother, may elect which son shall be exempt.”
Mom, pick me, pick me! I was always your favorite!
In reality, though, what an agonizing choice to make. And potentially a disastrous decision to have to live with.
Yep, talk about a “Sophie’s Choice” kind of situation!!! That one really tugs at your heartstrings, doesn’t it, Blaine?
This post really has me thinking. I’ve always wondered about why my Georgia ancestor did not fight alongside all of his brothers and brothers-in-law in the Confederate Army. I am sure the laws differed for the south, but this has given me ideas of some different avenues to pursue. I’ve always wondered if my ancestor had some physical handicap that would have made it difficult and I’ve also searched to see if he was among those from the South that fought for the North. And it’s always nice to find an excuse for a road trip!
And you’re gonna share what you find out, right, Michelle? (And yeah… road trips are the best part of genealogy!!)
I certainly will!
🙂
This sort of research is on my list this year as well. I have a few Philadelphians registered while others were not.
I’ll also need to dig deep into Texas during the war. Several MS ancestors vacated to Texas. Many returned to MS while others stopped in LA. My Missouri folks that fled to Texas, possibly to escape the border wars, are also on my Civil War curiousity list.
Fun Stuff. Do hope Bob lets us know what he finds.
I’ve got a lot of Texas research yet to do myself, Rorey. Sigh… so many ancestors, so little time…
…so little money.
Ain’t that the truth…
I have an ancestor who I was always told served in the Home Guard, not the regular Confederate troops. Turns out he *did* serve, in 1861 only – after the deaths of 2 brothers before the war (both leaving children), this ancestor and his baby brother went off to war with their local militia company, which was rolled into the state troops. They got pretty well shot up at First Manassas / Bull Run, and baby brother died of his serious wound in August 1861. My ancestor was discharged in October 1861 and returned home – the only surviving son of his aged parents, with one older spinster sister, 2 infant children of his own (including 1 newborn) … and no wife, who had died in childbirth the previous month.
While he did join the Home Guard in 1863, I’m not surprised that he never mentioned to his children/grandchildren that he had gone away to war in 1861 – sounds like that was a horrible year for him.
What a great (yet tragic) story, Betsy. I’d be careful about him “joining” the Home Guard in 1863 — he may have had no choice since conscription was pretty nearly universal in the south by then. There should be records at the county level that tell you whether this was conscription or enlistment (conscripts in certain categories were assigned to what was, in essence, a home guard), and those records can be truly wonderful.
Very interesting indeed! You have provided me with ideas on researching my own (southern) ancestor who did not fight in the war. Thanks for the sources above – I clicked through to source #2 and am finding it helpful as I formulate my research plan.
Sure glad you’re finding the information useful, Lisa!
Great article. I had to go back and look at one of my Confederate puzzles and posted this: The Legal Genealogist Inspires Me to Take Another Look at the Puzzle of Jeremiah.
Thanks for writing this!
LOVE your follow-up, Anne, and wish you the best of luck with Jeremiah. Make sure to check the county records, which is where the exemptions etc. were often filed! And don’t overlook the miscellaneous stuff at places like Fold3.
Thanks for suggestions. This is why we should all read blogs — new ideas for our own research!
Wow, Judy. You’re right, there might be a road trip necessary. As I’m retiring shortly, I should have time to run this down and let you know. Though I suspect you are right in your suspicion that, just like draft registration more recently, most men register, go home and never get called up. My draft lottery number in 1972 was 312, as I recall.
Hope you get some good information from that road trip, Bob — and please do let us know what you find out!
Oh, dear! I have a g-grandfather in WV, Samuel Harper, who appears not to have served. An archivist in Charleston at the Archives helped me look for him and although we found a Samuel Harper, it wasn’t him. I’ve been assuming he hid from military service for both sides as he moved from county to county every year or two. Now, it looks like I have to do more research! He was in his 30’s, had a bunch of children, and very little money. He was a farmer of the subsistence variety. He also had relatives of both Confederate and Union persuasions. Just when I think I have an ancestor properly accounted for, along comes somebody suggesting other documents I need to try to find. 😉 A genealogists work is never done!!
>>A genealogists work is never done!!<<
And you wouldn't have it any other way! But remember that WVa was a state in flux so not all records would have survived.
I did just find him in that Ancestry database of Union draft registrants. He made himself a bit younger but had the right middle initial and was in the right county so I’m pretty sure it is him. When I was at the WV Archives, we did look for him in that county’s records, looked through the pensions, looked through the militia records, looked through the regimental lists and I forget what else. The archivist who helped me pulled a whole lot of stuff, the actual records not indexes. He (the archivist) was pretty experienced at that sort of research so I’m sure there aren’t any records left for me to find there. I still think my guy didn’t serve.
It sure doesn’t sound like he served, Jo — and remember that WV was such a battleground itself that he may have felt that unless he was drafted he needed to (a) be home to protect his family and/or (b) stay out of the fight to avoid his family being targeted by irregulars from either side!
Judy, your research and your reasoning are very impressive to me. Essentially, you’re doing a differential legal diagnosis of reasons why Ignatius would not have served, right down to that sampling of Ohio records for Bob’s “road trip.” I find the very existence of all those Ohio records amazing. They even have records of paid substitutes — and I guess that means a record of those who paid them. Your mastery of detail is seriously admirable.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Mariann. Attention to detail… the littlest details… is so important in genealogy, isn’t it? And that’s really at the heart of what I’m doing here: paying attention to the details.
Ohio also allowed the counties to set up local funds which would be used as bounties (what we might call a “signing bonus”.) The bounties were used to entice men to volunteer. Get enough men to “volunteer” and then your county or town didn’t have the stigma of having to enact the draft.
Men could pay a monthly fee, often $3, which would fund the bounties and — more importantly — keep that man’s name out of the draft. I need to do some digging to find the specifics, but I have seen records of these from various county Auditor’s offices in the state.
Now that is really neat, Amy! Terrific information!