Misplaced Pages

#974025

100-561: It set up under the Union Army an elaborate machine for enrolling and drafting men for conscription. Quotas were assigned in each state, and each congressional district, with deficiencies in volunteers being met by conscription. In several cities, including New York City , enforcement of the act sparked civil unrest as the war dragged on, leading to the New York City draft riots on July 13–16, 1863. The Provost Marshal General

200-603: A brevet brigadier general when the war ended. Francis B. Spinola recruited four regiments in New York, was soon appointed Brigadier General by President Abraham Lincoln and given command of the Spinola Brigade . Later he commanded another unit, the famed Excelsior Brigade . The Garibaldi Guard recruited volunteers for the Union army from Italy and other European countries to form the 39th New York Infantry . At

300-399: A census was conducted by an enrollment officer to document every man eligible for the draft in the sub-district. The policies of substitution and commutation were controversial practices that allowed drafted citizens to opt out of service by either furnishing a suitable substitute to take their place or paying $ 300. Both provisions were created to soften the effect of the draft on pacifists ,

400-449: A chief quartermaster, a chief commissary of subsistence, an assistant inspector general, an ordnance officer (all with the rank of colonel ) and a medical director. The actual number of personnel assigned to an army's headquarters could be quite large: at Gettysburg the headquarters of General Meade (excluding engineers, the artillery reserve and the headquarters of each corps) was no less than 3,486 strong. The military organization of

500-505: A hundred Black men were eventually made officers (not counting those passing as white), none were promoted to a rank higher than major. If captured by Confederate forces, Black soldiers risked being made slaves or summarily executed . Women took on many significant roles in the Union army and were important to its ultimate success on the battlefield. The most direct way they could help was to enlist and fight as soldiers, although women were officially barred from doing so. Nevertheless, it

600-415: A living by enlisting as substitutes, collecting their compensation, deserting before their units were dispatched to the front, and repeating the process. The problem was well known to the military commanders who regularly saw the same recruits. In addition, troops furnished by substitution were considered to be of an inferior quality in comparison to regulars and volunteers. Commutation (paying $ 300 to escape

700-550: A massive military presence that deterred the plotters. Election Day, November 8, passed without incident. But, on November 25, the saboteurs finally struck, setting fires at several hotels and other leading landmarks, including P. T. Barnum's museum , which had been rebuilt following the Draft Riots the year before. The city's firefighters extinguished most of the blazes, and the majority of the conspirators escaped to Canada. However, former Confederate officer Robert Cobb Kennedy

800-536: A misconception that the South held an advantage because of the large percentage of professional officers who resigned to join the Confederate army. At the start of the war, there were 824 graduates of the U.S. Military Academy on the active list; of these, 296 resigned or were dismissed, and 184 of those became Confederate officers. Of the approximately 900 West Point graduates who were then civilians, 400 returned to

900-443: A personal friend of Lincoln, Elmer Ellsworth . Troops paraded down Broadway to cheers and shouts as they left for the war. Over the course of the war, the city would send off over 100,000 troops collected from around the state. (based on New York State records, New York City raised over 150,000 volunteers, not including the tens of thousands of militia called up during emergencies during the war. In addition, 30 to 50,000 sailors joined

1000-461: A role. Thus for example, comparing two infantry regiments at their full authorized strength one might have twice as many soldiers as the other. Furthermore, even when units were of equivalent size, their actual effectiveness depended greatly on training, leadership, equipment and other factors. During the course of the Civil War, the vast majority of soldiers fighting to preserve the Union were in

1100-480: A volunteer army of up to 500,000 troops to the cause. The call for volunteers initially was easily met by patriotic Northerners, abolitionists , and even immigrants who enlisted for a steady income and meals. Over 10,000 German Americans in New York and Pennsylvania immediately responded to Lincoln's call, along with Northern French Americans , who were also quick to volunteer. As more men were needed, however,

SECTION 10

#1732764833975

1200-575: Is believed hundreds of women disguised themselves as men in order to enlist. While many were discovered and forced to quit, others were only found out after they were killed in combat, and a number managed to serve throughout the entire war with their true identity successfully concealed. One of the more traditional roles played by women in the Union army was that of camp followers . Thousands of white and Black women accompanied Union armies in an unofficial capacity to provide their services as cooks , laundresses , nurses and/or prostitutes . Many were

1300-858: The 69th New York , 63rd New York, 88th New York, 28th Massachusetts, 116th Pennsylvania; the Swiss Rifles (15th Missouri); the Gardes de Lafayette (55th New York); the Garibaldi Guard (39th New York); the Martinez Militia (1st New Mexico); the Polish Legion (58th New York); the German Rangers ; Sigel Rifles (52nd New York, inheriting the 7th); the Cameron Highlanders ( 79th New York Volunteer Infantry ); and

1400-527: The Department of War . These included, at the onset of the war, the adjutant general , inspector general , paymaster-general , judge advocate general , chief of engineers , chief of topographical engineers , quartermaster general , commissary general of subsistence, chief of ordnance , and surgeon general . After the war started, the position of Provost Marshal General was also created. Originally established on September 24, 1862, as an office in

1500-638: The Enrollment Act of 1865 (13  Stat.   490 , passed on March 3, 1865), imposed denationalization (loss of citizenship) as a penalty for draft evasion or desertion. In Afroyim v. Rusk (1967), Justice John Marshall Harlan II 's dissent mentioned the Enrollment Act of 1865 as an example of a law in which citizenship could be revoked without a person's consent and that the Congress regarded as constitutional. New York City in

1600-838: The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies , there were over 200 Italians who served as officers in the U.S. army. By 1860, the African American or Black population of the United States consisted of four million enslaved and half a million free Blacks . When the Civil War began, many freedmen in the North attempted to enlist in federal service but were barred from doing so. Popularly-held prejudices doubted whether Black people could be effective soldiers, and President Lincoln believed allowing their enlistment would anger Northern whites and alienate not just

1700-826: The Southwest was still part of Mexico . Some Confederate propaganda condemned foreign-born soldiers in the Union army, likening them to the German Hessian troops who fought alongside the British Army during the American Revolutionary War . A relatively smaller number of Native Americans , including members of Cherokee , Chickasaw , Choctaw and Muscogee peoples, fought for the Confederacy. The great majority of Italian Americans , for both demographic and ideological reasons, served in

1800-594: The Union League to support the war effort and the president's policies. A series of U.S. Army forts, most constructed prior to the war, housed garrisons of Union troops to protect New York Harbor and the city from possible Confederate attack, but none occurred. Fort Lafayette , Fort Schuyler , and several others eventually were used to hold hundreds of Confederate prisoners-of-war . The Army established or expanded several large military hospitals, including McDougall Hospital and De Camp General Hospital , to serve

1900-708: The West , and the remaining 18 manned garrisons east of the Mississippi River , mostly along the Canada–United States border and on the U.S. East Coast . There were only 16,367 servicemen in the U.S. Army, including 1,108 commissioned officers. Approximately 20% of these officers, most of them Southerners , resigned, choosing to tie their lives and fortunes to the Confederate army . Almost 200 United States Military Academy graduates who previously left

2000-594: The Whig and Republican parties, as well as anti-slavery and other reform movements. Greeley, who during the secession crisis of 1861 had espoused a hard line against the Confederacy, became a voice for the Radical Republicans during the war, in opposition to Lincoln's moderation. By 1864 he had lost much of his control over the newspaper, but wrote an editorial expressing defeatism regarding Lincoln's chances of reelection. As his editorials were reprinted across

2100-470: The northern army . It proved essential to the restoration and preservation of the United States as a working, viable republic. The Union Army was made up of the permanent regular army of the United States , but further fortified, augmented, and strengthened by the many temporary units of dedicated volunteers , as well as including those who were drafted in to service as conscripts . To this end,

SECTION 20

#1732764833975

2200-435: The regimental colors and rallied their fellow soldiers to fight, provided first aid or helped the wounded back to a field hospital. A related (and sometimes conflated) role was that of "daughter of the regiment". Often literally a daughter of one of the regimental officers, these women looked to the soldiers' well-being but also served as their regiment's "mascot" who inspired the men by wearing stylish clothing and enduring

2300-443: The volunteer units . The pre-war regular army numbered approximately 16,400 soldiers, but by the end while the Union army had grown to over a million soldiers, the number of regular personnel was still approximately 21,699, of whom several were serving with volunteer forces. Only 62,000 commissions and enlistments in total were issued for the regular army during the war as most new personnel preferred volunteer service. Since before

2400-647: The Adjutant General's department under Simeon Draper , it was made an independent department in its own right on May 1, 1863, under James B. Fry . The Signal Corps was created and deployed for the first time, through the leadership of Albert J. Myer . One drawback to this system was that the authority and responsibilities of the Secretary of War, his Assistant Secretaries , and the General-in-Chief were not clearly delineated. Additionally,

2500-625: The Army. Irish-Americans and German-Americans participated in the war at a high rate. The city's strong commercial ties to the South , its growing immigrant population, and anger about conscription led to divided sympathies, with some business men favoring the Confederacy and other opinion in favor of the Union. The New York Draft Riot of 1863, provoked by fears of labor competition and resentment of wealthy men being able to buy their way out of

2600-661: The Civil War New York City during the American Civil War (1861–1865) was a bustling American city that provided a major source of troops, supplies, equipment and financing for the Union Army . Powerful New York politicians and newspaper editors helped shape public opinion toward the war effort and the policies of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln . The port of New York, a major entry point for immigrants, served as recruiting grounds for

2700-438: The Civil War was a hazardous occupation: grueling hours spent in close proximity to deadly diseases and nearby battlefields resulted in many suffering permanent disabilities or death. Added to this were the prejudices of the male medical officers in charge who did not want them there and frequently clashed with the nurses over issues of triage , patient treatments and hospice care . Tens of thousands of women served as nurses for

2800-467: The Civil War, the American public had a generally negative view of the nation's armed forces, attributable to a Jeffersonian ideal which saw standing armies as a threat to democracy and instead valorized the " citizen soldier " as being more in keeping with American ideals of equality and rugged individualism . This attitude remained unchanged during the Civil War, and afterwards many would attribute

2900-531: The Civil War, the Yard had expanded to employ about 6000 men. In addition to government factories, hundreds of small private businesses throughout the New York area, such as the National Arms Company , provided military accoutrements, supplies, sundries, and items of use and comfort to the soldiers. Despite pockets of objections to Lincoln's call for volunteers to serve in the Union army shortly after

3000-490: The Confederacy and called " Copperheads " by staunch Unionists. In January 1861, Wood suggested to the City Council for New York City to secede as the " Free City of Tri-Insula " to continue its profitable cotton trade with the Confederacy. Wood's Democratic machine was concerned to maintain the revenues and jobs in the city (which depended on Southern cotton), which also supported the patronage system. Politically,

3100-520: The Confederate army and 114 returned to the Union forces. With the Southern slave states declaring secession from the United States, and with a shortage of soldiers in the army, President Abraham Lincoln called on the states to raise a force of 75,000 troops for three months to put down the Confederate insurrection and defend the national capital in Washington, D.C. Lincoln's call forced

Enrollment Act - Misplaced Pages Continue

3200-522: The Confederate cause during the Civil War were known as Southern Unionists . They were also known as Union Loyalists or Lincoln's Loyalists. Within the eleven Confederate states, states such as Tennessee (especially East Tennessee ), Virginia (which included West Virginia at the time), and North Carolina were home to the largest populations of Unionists. Many areas of Southern Appalachia harbored pro-Union sentiment as well. As many as 100,000 men living in states under Confederate control would serve in

3300-654: The Navy at New York City.) Beside the Fire Zouaves, other regiments raised in New York City became prominent in the Union army, including the 1st U.S. Sharpshooters (under Col. Hiram Berdan ), the 9th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Hawkins' Zouaves), and the 10th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment ("National Guard Zouaves"). In 1862, George Opdyke was elected as mayor of New York City, succeeding Fernando Wood. A staunch supporter of Lincoln since before

3400-488: The Scandinavian Regiment (15th Wisconsin). But for the most part, the foreign-born soldiers were scattered as individuals throughout units. The Confederate army was less diverse: 91% of its soldiers were native-born white men and only 9% were foreign-born white men, with Irish being the largest group, other groups included Germans, French, British, and Mexicans. Most Mexicans happened to have been born when

3500-582: The South but the Border States too. However he eventually changed his mind and persuaded Congress to authorize the first official Black enlistment system in late 1862, which evolved into the United States Colored Troops . Before they were allowed to enlist, many Black people volunteered their services to the Union army as cooks, nurses, and in other informal roles, and several volunteer regiments of Black troops were raised by

3600-410: The U.S. Army and 99 to the Confederacy. The ratio of U.S. Army to Confederate professional officers was 642 to 283. One of the resigning officers was Robert E. Lee , who initially was offered the assignment as commander of a field army to suppress the rebellion. Lee disapproved of secession, but refused to bear arms against his native state, Virginia , and resigned to accept the position as commander of

3700-488: The U.S. Army, including Ulysses S. Grant , William Tecumseh Sherman , and Braxton Bragg , returned to service at the outbreak of the Civil War. This group's loyalties were far more evenly divided. Clayton R. Newell (2014) states, 92 wore Confederate gray and 102 put on the blue of the United States Army. Hattaway and Jones (1983), John and David Eicher (2001), and Jennifer M. Murray (2012), state that 99 joined

3800-616: The Union army (including generals Edward Ferrero and Francis B. Spinola ). Six Italian Americans received the Medal of Honor during the war, among whom was Colonel Luigi Palma di Cesnola , who later became the first Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York (1879-1904). Most of the Italian-Americans who joined the Union army were recruited from New York City . Many Italians of note were interested in

3900-509: The Union army fought and ultimately triumphed over the efforts of the Confederate States Army . Over the course of the war, 2,128,948 men enlisted in the Union army, including 178,895, or about 8.4% being colored troops ; 25% of the white men who served were immigrants, and a further 18% were second-generation Americans. 596,670 Union soldiers were killed, wounded or went missing during the war. The initial call-up in 1861

4000-421: The Union army in maintaining the order and alignment of formations during marches, battles, and transitioning between the two. Sergeants in particular were vital in this role as general guides and their selection ideally reserved for the most distinguished soldiers. NCOs were also charged with training individuals in how to be soldiers. While the captain or other company-level officers were responsible for training

4100-420: The Union army or pro-Union guerilla groups. Although Southern Unionists came from all classes, most differed socially, culturally, and economically from the region's dominant pre-war planter class . Native-born White Americans made up roughly two-thirds of the soldiers in the Union army, with the rest of many different ethnic groups, including large numbers of immigrants. About 25% of the white men who served in

Enrollment Act - Misplaced Pages Continue

4200-482: The Union army were foreign-born. The U.S. experienced its heaviest rate of immigration during the 1850s, and the vast majority of these people moved to the Northeastern states. Among these immigrants, Germans constituted the largest group with a million arrivals between 1850 and 1860, many of them Forty-Eighters . Nearly as many Irish immigrants arrived during the same period. Immigrant soldiers were among

4300-408: The Union army, among whom are included Clara Barton , Susie King Taylor , Mary Edwards Walker , and Louisa May Alcott . No less vital were the thousands of women who provided service to the Union army in the field of espionage . Early in the war, women were at a distinct advantage as spies , scouts , smugglers , and saboteurs : the idea of women participating in such dangerous lines of work

4400-459: The Union army. He established a military school in New York City where many young Italians were trained and later served in the Union army. Di Cesnola received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Aldie . Two more famous examples were Francesco Casale and Luigi Tinelli, who were instrumental in the formation of the 39th New York Infantry Regiment . According to one evaluation of

4500-457: The Union's victory to the volunteers rather than the leadership and staff work provided by the regular army. In return, officers of the regular army despised the militia and saw them as having dubious value. Commentators such as Emory Upton would later argue that the reliance on militia for the nation's defense was responsible for prolonging conflicts and making them more expensive in both money and lives spent. Despite these attitudes towards

4600-525: The United States Army was based on the traditions developed in Europe, with the regiment being the basis of recruitment, training and maneuvering. However, for a variety of reasons there could be vast differences in the number of actual soldiers organized even into units of the same type. Changes in how units were structured during the course of the war, contrasts in organizational principals between regular and volunteer units, and even simple misnaming all played

4700-495: The Virginian Confederate forces. Lee eventually became the overall commander of the Confederate army. The Confederacy had the advantage of having several military colleges, including The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute , but they produced fewer officers. Though officers were able to resign, enlisted soldiers did not have this right. As they usually had to either desert or wait until their enlistment term

4800-458: The anti-draft movement, and the propertied classes. The result, however, was general public resentment of both policies. The two practices were major points of contention among the general public and led directly to the slogan "rich man's war, poor man's fight." Substitutions were available throughout the war. The problem with substitution was that it provided substitutes with powerful incentives to desert soon after enlisting. Career "jumpers" made

4900-399: The bombardment of Fort Sumter , New Yorkers in general rushed to join the army or to raise financial and other support for the new troops. In one three-month period in early 1861, the city raised $ 150,000,000 for the war effort. By the end of May 1861, New York had raised 30,000 men for the volunteer army, including the "New York Fire Zouaves" ( 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment ) under

5000-426: The border states to choose sides, and four seceded, making the Confederacy eleven states strong. It turned out that the war itself proved to be much longer and far more extensive in scope and scale than anyone on either side, Union North or Confederate South, expected or even imagined at the outset on the date of July 22, 1861. That was the day that Congress initially approved and authorized subsidy to allow and support

5100-510: The city was dominated by Democrats, many of whom were under the control of a political machine known as Tammany Hall . Led by William "Boss" Tweed , the Democrats were elected to numerous offices in New York City, and to the state legislature and judges' seats, often through illegal means. From 1860 to 1870, Tweed controlled most Democratic nominations in the city, and Republicans tended to dominate Upstate New York . Lincoln supporters formed

SECTION 50

#1732764833975

5200-451: The colors. There were a number of staff NCO positions including quartermaster sergeant , ordnance sergeant , and commissary sergeant. NCOs in the volunteer forces were quite different from their regular counterparts as the war began. Appointed to their role as each regiment was created, they were often on a first-name basis with both their superior officers and the enlisted men they were tasked to lead. Discipline among friends and neighbors

5300-466: The country, his pessimism was widely read. The New York Herald , under owner James Gordon Bennett Sr. , regularly criticized Lincoln's administration and policies, although Bennett and his paper strongly supported the Union. He had endorsed John C. Breckinridge early in the 1860 presidential campaign, then shifted to John Bell . In 1864, Bennett promoted George B. McClellan against Lincoln, but officially endorsed neither candidate. In addition to

5400-464: The draft, roughly the equivalent of $ 5,000 earned by an unskilled worker in 2018) was created in an effort to keep substitution prices low. If commutation were not instated, the price of a substitute would have quickly soared past $ 300. Also, commutation was intended to raise money for the war effort. While commutation raised war funds, it was often a criticism of the draft that it was better at raising money than troops. The rationalization for commutation

5500-496: The draft, was one of the worst incidents of civil unrest in American history and featured widespread ethnic Irish violence against blacks in the city. The neighboring and more populous City of Brooklyn , however, was more supportive of the war effort. New York City had long been the largest and in many ways the most influential city in the United States. By 1860, its population was a wide variety of diverse cultures, views, opinions, and politics. As Southern states began seceding with

5600-464: The draft, which wealthier men could buy substitutes for, the protests quickly degraded into civil disorder against the Republicans and especially against Black Americans . The conditions in the city were such that Maj. Gen. John E. Wool stated on July 16, "Martial law ought to be proclaimed, but I have not a sufficient force to enforce it." Using artillery and fixed bayonets, after the first day

5700-445: The efforts of the four "supply" departments (Quartermaster, Subsistence, Ordnance & Medical) were not coordinated with each other, a condition that would last throughout the war. Although the "War Board" could provide military advice and help coordinate military policy, it was not until the appointment of Ulysses Grant as General-in-Chief was there more than the vaguest coordination of military strategy and logistics. The Union army

5800-453: The election of Lincoln, New Yorkers in general supported the war effort, but there were several notable early exceptions. The city and the state had strong economic ties to the South. By 1822, half of the city's exports were related to cotton, which also fed the upstate and New England textile mills. Mayor Fernando Wood won reelection to a second term, serving from 1860 to 1862. He was one of many New York Democrats who were sympathetic to

5900-537: The field operations of the army. At the start of the war, Simon Cameron served as Secretary of War before being replaced in January 1862 by Edwin Stanton . The role of general-in-chief was filled by several men during the course of the war: The gap from March 11 to July 23, 1862, was filled with direct control of the army by President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton, with the help of an unofficial "War Board" that

6000-480: The growing numbers of wounded and ill soldiers. Among the military innovations coming from New York City was the " Wig-Wag Signaling " system, tested in New York Harbor by Major Albert J. Myer . Riker's Island was used as a military training ground for both white and United States Colored Troops during the Civil War; the latter were authorized in 1863. New soldiers were trained at "Camp Astor", named for

6100-435: The job too unsuitable for women of social rank, particularly at the thought of unmarried women surrounded by thousands of men in close quarters. Nevertheless, Congress eventually approved for women to serve as nurses, to which Dorothea Dix – appointed Superintendent of Army Nurses – was responsible for setting hiring guidelines and starting a training program for prospective candidates. For the women who served, nursing during

SECTION 60

#1732764833975

6200-635: The military suppressed the mob, but not before numerous buildings were ransacked or destroyed, including many homes, the Tribune office, an orphanage for blacks, and P.T. Barnum 's museum of oddities. New York City had a number of widely read newspapers and periodicals, whose influence was felt across the country. Horace Greeley , one of the founders of the Republican Party, developed his New York Tribune into America's most influential newspaper from 1840 through 1870. Greeley used it to promote

6300-529: The millionaire John Jacob Astor III , who provided funding for the army. Among the early regiments trained at Camp Astor were the Anderson Zouaves , commanded by Col. John Lafayette Riker , a descendant of the family who had owned the island. The New York Navy Yard , established in 1801 in Brooklyn, was a major facility for the construction and repair of Union Navy ships. By the second year of

6400-462: The most enthusiastic in the Union army, not only from a desire to help save their adoptive home but to prove their patriotism towards it. To help cement immigrant enthusiasm and loyalty to the Union, several generals were appointed from these communities, including Franz Sigel and Michael Corcoran . Many immigrant soldiers formed their own regiments, such as the Irish Brigade , including

6500-426: The necessity of leading their units into combat and their conspicuousness when accompanied by staff and escorts. Among memorable field leaders of the army were Nathaniel Lyon (first Union general to be killed in battle during the war), William Rosecrans , George Henry Thomas , William Tecumseh Sherman , and Phil Sheridan . Others include Benjamin F. Butler . Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) were important in

6600-672: The notion that Black soldiers were a liability, allowing about 200,000 Black soldiers to serve in the Union army during the Civil War. Even as they served their country, Black soldiers were subject to discrimination. They were more often assigned to menial labor. Some Union officers refused to employ them in combat, but when they were they often had to use inferior weapons and equipment. Black soldiers were paid less than white soldiers ($ 10 vs $ 16 per month) until Congress yielded to public pressure and approved equal pay in June 1864. Black units were led predominantly by white officers, and while more than

6700-399: The number of volunteers fell and both money bounties and forced conscription had to be turned to. Many Southern Unionists would also fight for the Union army. An estimated 100,000 white soldiers from states within the Confederacy served in Union army units. Between April 1861 and April 1865, at least 2,128,948 men served in the United States Army, of whom the majority were volunteers. It is

6800-529: The only states that had more than one State Acting Assistant Marshal General; New York had three and Pennsylvania had two. Each state was divided along district lines with each district under the jurisdiction of an enrollment board. Enrollment boards were headed by a district provost marshal and also included a surgeon and a commissioner. Each board employed clerks, deputies, and special agents as needed. They were divided into sub-districts along ward (in cities) and township (in rural areas) lines. In each sub-district

6900-560: The outbreak of the American Civil War, Giuseppe Garibaldi was a very popular figure. The 39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment , of whose 350 members were Italian, was nicknamed Garibaldi Guard in his honor. The unit wore red shirts and bersaglieri plumes . They carried with them both a Union Flag as well as an Italian flag with the words Dio e popolo, meaning "God and people." In 1861 Garibaldi himself volunteered his services to President Abraham Lincoln . Garibaldi

7000-435: The powerful newspapers, New York City was the site of the printing presses of several other important periodicals, such as Harper's Weekly , Frank Leslie's Illustrated News , and New York Illustrated News . The political cartoonist Thomas Nast became a well-known commentator on the war, and his efforts helped stir patriotism and fervor for the Union. Field war correspondents and artists such as Alfred Waud provided

7100-885: The public with first-hand accounts from the Northern armies. Two journalists for the Brooklyn Eagle conspired to exploit the financial situation during early part of 1864, a plot known as the Civil War gold hoax . On May 18, two New York City newspapers, the New York World and the New York Journal of Commerce , 400,000 more men into the Union army. Share prices soon fell on the New York Stock Exchange when investors began to buy gold, and its value increased 10%. Officials finally traced

7200-534: The regulars' performance could impress even the most battle-hardened volunteers. At The Wheatfield during the Battle of Gettysburg , the regulars' fighting skill and orderly retirement under fire drew the admiration of many observers, including Prince Philippe, Count of Paris . As one volunteer put it, "For two years the U.S. Regulars taught us how to be soldiers [;] in the Wheatfield at Gettysburg, they taught us how to die like soldiers." The regulars became

7300-461: The regulars, they would serve as an important foundation around which the Union army was built. In the disastrous First Battle of Bull Run , it was the regulars who acted as rearguard during the retreat while the volunteers fled, and when George McClellan was put in charge of what became the Army of the Potomac he used regular officers and non-commissioned officers to train the volunteers. Training

7400-402: The same grade regardless of their date of commission, a feature which could have become a subject of contention. The use of brevet ranks was also a common feature of the Union army. Officer appointments depended on the commission grade and whether it was in the regular or volunteer forces. The President reserved the right to issue commission for all regular officers and for general officers in

7500-511: The same hardships as them. Some of the most prominent women to accompany the Union armies in the field include Anna Etheridge , Marie Tepe , and Nadine Turchin . Women also sought to serve more formally as nurses in the Union army, many having been inspired by the work of Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War . However, there was strong resistance against these efforts at first. Societal prejudices saw women as too delicate and

7600-406: The soldiers when assembled into squads, platoons or as a company, experienced NCOs could take over this training as well. NCOs were also responsible for the regimental colors , which helped the unit maintain formation and serve as a rally point for the regiment. Typically a sergeant was designated the standard-bearer and protected by a color guard of corporals who only opened fire in defense of

7700-602: The source of the story to the two men from the rival Brooklyn newspaper and arrested them. Thomas W. Knox , a veteran journalist for the New York Herald , published a series of scathing attacks on General William Tecumseh Sherman and his men. These contributed to speculation over Sherman's sanity. Knox printed important information related to the Vicksburg Campaign that led to his being charged, tried, and found guilty of disobedience of orders, although he

7800-592: The standard by which the Volunteers were measured, and to be described as being as good or better than them was considered the highest compliment. Commissioned officers in the Union army could be divided in several categories: general officers , including lieutenant general , which was added on March 2, 1864, major generals and brigadier generals ; field officers including colonels , lieutenant colonels and majors ; and company officers including captains , first lieutenants and second lieutenants . There

7900-498: The states. These included the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment , the first Black regiment to be raised and the first to engage in combat; the 1st Louisiana Native Guard , raised from both freedmen and escaped slaves after the Capture of New Orleans ; and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment , which became the most famous Black unit after their valiant participation in the Battle of Fort Wagner . Their efforts helped to dispel

8000-525: The volunteer forces. volunteer field and company-grade officers could be commissioned by either the president or their respective governor. Company officers were also unique in that they were usually elected by members of their company. The political appointment and/or election of volunteer officers was part of a long-standing militia tradition and of a political patronage system common in the United States. While many of these officers were West Point graduates or had prior military experience, others had none, nor

8100-411: The volunteers, especially in regards to critical administrative and logistical matters, remained an important function of the regulars during the war. This was particularly the case with regular army artillery, as they were more widely dispersed than the infantry and cavalry (making them more visible to the olunteers) and were assigned to specific units to train their volunteer counterparts. In battle,

8200-404: The war and joined the army, reaching positions of authority. Brigadier General Edward Ferrero was the original commander of the 51st New York Regiment . He commanded both brigades and divisions in the eastern and western theaters of war and later commanded a division of the United States Colored Troops . Colonel Enrico Fardella, of the same and later of the 85th New York regiment, was made

8300-541: The war to a conclusion, had approved of a conscription law to draft soldiers into the army to augment the number of volunteers. "Draft Week" in New York City was scheduled for mid-July 1863. Because of opposition to the draft, Lincoln sent several regiments of militia and volunteer troops (some fresh off the Gettysburg battlefield ) to control the city. The rioters numbered in the thousands, and were predominantly Irish Catholics. Initially intended to express anger at

8400-513: The war, Opdyke worked hard to raise and equip more state troops, and to prevent commercial panics on Wall Street as the Union's war successes waxed and waned. Under his leadership, recruiting efforts were renewed, particularly targeted at the vast supply of immigrants. President Lincoln and much of the Republican element of the U.S. Congress, concerned with the numbers of veteran troops whose terms of enlistments had expired and wanting to press

8500-452: The wives or other female relatives of the soldiers themselves who saw to their personal needs and (if time allowed) looked to the well-being of other soldiers. A somewhat more formal role for some camp followers was that of vivandière . Originally a female sutler , the role of vivandière expanded to include other responsibilities, including on the battlefield. Armed for their own protection, they brought water to thirsty soldiers, carried

8600-508: Was Michigan , which designated Fort Wayne as a training center for both officers and NCOs. As the war progressed NCOs gained valuable experience and even drastic disciplinary measures such as execution by firing squad were carried out when deemed necessary. The promotion of soldiers to NCOs (and NCOs to officers) was also increasingly based on battlefield performance, although each state maintained their own standards for when and where promotions could be granted. Southerners who were against

8700-585: Was acquitted on espionage charges. Secret agents from the Confederacy operated in New York City throughout the war, providing information on troop strengths, political views, shipments, etc. to the government in Richmond . Some of these agents planned an act of terrorism for Election Day in November 1864, to burn down several leading city hotels. The plot was initially foiled due to a double agent who turned over communications to Federal officials, and to

8800-525: Was arrested, court-martialed, and hanged at Fort Lafayette in the harbor on 25 March 1865. Union Army American Indian Wars American Civil War Appomattox Court House During the American Civil War , the United States Army , the land force that fought to preserve the collective Union of the states , was often referred to as the Union army , the federal army , or

8900-457: Was authorized a number of aides-de-camp as their personal staff and a general staff . The general staff included representatives of the other combat arms, such as a chief of artillery and chief of cavalry (the infantry being typically represented by the commanding officer) and representatives of the staff bureaus and offices. The staff department officers typically assigned to an army or military department included an assistant adjutant general,

9000-475: Was composed of numerous organizations, which were generally organized geographically. Each of these armies was usually commanded by a major general . Typically, the Department or District commander also had field command of the army of the same name, but some conflicts within the ranks occurred when this was not true, particularly when an army crossed a geographic boundary. The commanding officer of an army

9100-452: Was established on March 17, 1862. The board consisted of Ethan A. Hitchcock , the chairman, with Department of War bureau chiefs Lorenzo Thomas (Adjutant General), Montgomery C. Meigs (Quartermaster General), Joseph G. Totten (Chief of Engineers), James W. Ripley (Chief of Ordnance), and Joseph P. Taylor (Commissary General). Reporting directly to the Secretary of War were the bureau chiefs or heads of staff departments which made up

9200-459: Was for just three months, after which many of these men chose to reenlist for an additional three years. When the American Civil War began in April 1861, the U.S. Army included ten regiments of infantry , four of artillery , two of cavalry , two of dragoons , and one of mounted rifles . The regiments were scattered widely. Of the 197 companies in the U.S. Army, 179 occupied 79 isolated posts in

9300-515: Was further differentiation between line officers, who were members of the artillery, cavalry or infantry branches, and staff officers, who were part of the various departments and bureaus of the War Department. All line officers outranked staff officers except in cases pertaining to their staff assignment, in which they received their orders from their respective department chiefs. Regular general officers outranked volunteer general officers of

9400-452: Was military leadership a primary consideration in such appointments. Such a policy inevitably resulted in the promotion of inept officers over more able commanders. As the war dragged on and casualties mounted, governors reacted to their constituents' complaints and instead began to issue commissions on the basis of battlefield rather than political competence. Officers tended to suffer a higher percentage of battle wounds on account of either

9500-499: Was not enforced as strictly as in the regular army, and while some NCOs brought with them prior battlefield experience (whether from the Mexican–American War or foreign military service) many at the start of the war were as equally ignorant as their officers in military matters. Training for these NCOs took place during off-duty hours and often involved lessons based on manuals such as Hardee's Tactics . One notable exception

9600-402: Was offered a major general's commission in the U.S. Army through the letter from Secretary of State William H. Seward to H. S. Sanford , the U.S. Minister at Brussels , July 17, 1861. Colonel Luigi Palma di Cesnola , a former Italian and British soldier and veteran of the Crimean War , commanded the 4th New York Cavalry and would rise to become one of the highest ranking Italian officer in

9700-628: Was over in order to join the Confederate States Army; though few are believed to have done so, their total number is unknown. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln exercised supreme command and control over the army in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces . Below him was the Secretary of War , who oversaw the administration of the army, and the general-in-chief , who directed

9800-559: Was recreated to administer the national implementation of the Enrollment Act. James Barnet Fry was appointed to the position and answered directly to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton . Beneath Fry were the State Acting Assistant Provost Marshal Generals. The State Provost Marshal Generals were not authorized by the Enrollment Act, but were appointed personally by Fry to attend to matters in each individual state. New York and Pennsylvania were

9900-506: Was simply not considered. Eventually though their opponents recognized their existence, and while female spies caught in the act were not typically executed like their male colleagues, they still faced the threat of lengthy prison sentences. For self-evident reasons many of these activities were kept secret and any documentation (if it existed) was often destroyed. As such the identity of many of these women will never be known. Of those who became famous for their espionage work during or after

10000-425: Was that unwilling troops were ineffective and so the government might as well extract funds from the unwilling rather than get poor service. It was one of the most hated policies of the war. Section 5 of the Enrollment Act of 1864 limited the length of an exemption from the draft by payment of the commutation fee to one year, after which those drafted were required to serve or to furnish a substitute. Section 21 of

#974025