1864 Abraham Lincoln Civil War Draft Act – War Department General Orders No. 75.
Original 10-page War Department publication dated February 25, 1864, issued by the Adjutant General's Office in Washington, D.C., reproducing an important Act of Congress approved the previous day, February 24, 1864, amending the Enrollment Act of 1863.
Issued during the administration of President Abraham Lincoln, this legislation addressed one of the Union's most pressing wartime challenges: maintaining sufficient military manpower to continue the fight against the Confederacy.
The original Enrollment Act of March 3, 1863, had established a nationwide federal conscription (draft) system. The February 1864 amendments strengthened and refined that system, granting the President broad authority to call for additional troops whenever military necessity required.
Among the important provisions were regulations governing military quotas assigned to individual communities, additional drafts when quotas remained unfilled, the use of substitutes by drafted men, exemptions from military service, and procedures for administering and enforcing the draft.
The legislation also addressed resistance to enrollment, penalties for obstructing federal draft officials, and the enrollment of Black men into the national forces.
Particularly interesting is the legislation's treatment of substitutes and commutation payments, reflecting one of the most controversial aspects of Civil War conscription: the ability of men with financial resources to avoid immediate military service while others were compelled to serve.
Published just one day after the legislation became law, this War Department General Order represents a contemporary official publication of an important development in the Lincoln administration's efforts to sustain the Union Army.
An appealing historical document for collectors of Abraham Lincoln, Civil War legislation, military history, and early American federal government publications.
Condition: Ten pages, apparently disbound from a larger volume of War Department General Orders, with evidence of
Although President Lincoln had already received federal conscription authority under the Enrollment Act of March 3, 1863, the February 24, 1864 amendments significantly strengthened its operation. The new legislation refined local recruitment quotas, authorized additional drafts to meet manpower requirements, revised substitution and exemption provisions, and strengthened enforcement. These changes reflected the Union's continuing struggle to maintain sufficient military forces as the Civil War entered its fourth year.
The concluding page bears the printed name of E. D. Townsend (Edward Davis Townsend), Assistant Adjutant General of the United States Army, who played an important administrative role in the issuance of official War Department orders during the Civil War.
$85.00
used
Ten pages, apparently disbound from a larger volume of War Department General Orders, with evidence of previous binding along the left margin. Age-related wear as shown in the accompanying photographs.
4 5/8" x 7"