Tag Archives: conscription

9 February 1865: “…it shall be the duty of the Governor to cause to be enrolled as a Guard for Home Defence, all white male persons not already enrolled in the service of the Confederate States…”

Item Description: A broadside containing General Orders for the operation of the North Carolina Home Guard. The order describes who may be exempted from service and the structure and organization of the units. An additional order from the Fifth Regiment … Continue reading

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21 November 1863: “In Buncombe the cavalry are scouring the country gathering up every man they find of conscript age and they have taken some that are beyond the age”

Item description: In this diary entry, dated 21 November 1863, Samuel A. Agnew recorded some of his usual comments on the weather and his doings and also noted the cavalry’s apparent ruthlessness in rounding up conscripts in Buncombe, Miss. Samuel … Continue reading

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6 November 1863: “I must express to you the great gratification and interest felt in perusing the report, which will be filed at this office with pride as a North Carolinian”

Item Description: Letter, 6 November 1863, from Col. Peter Mallett, Commandant for Conscripts, to University of North Carolina President David L. Swain, notifying Swain of the War Department’s acceptance of his request to exempt UNC seniors from conscription. [Item transcription available … Continue reading

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31 August 1863: “Jack I hope you will not show this letter but burn it as soon as read.”

Item description: Letter, dated 31 August 1863, from Mrs. Catherine “Carrie” Roulhac to a friend named Jack.  She discusses his recent visit and the departure of fifty soldiers from Hillsboro to Charleston. Item citation: From Folder 85 of the Ruffin-Roulhac-Hamilton Family … Continue reading

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25 August 1863: “I have no one elce […] he is the only one that can manage them. if he was taken from them now they would become a nuisance in the county.”

Item description: Letter, 25 August 1863, from Olivia Andrews, St. Joseph, La., to George Logan. Andrews, apparently a widowed plantation mistress, writes Logan to ask for a conscription exemption for her plantation overseer, John L. Dulaney, because she worries that his absence … Continue reading

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13 August 1863: “…desertion is rife the men regard their money as worthless & the government is unable to remedy the evil.”

Item description: Letter, dated 13 August 1863, from Joseph Norwood to his brother in law, Walter Lenoir. The writer discusses wounded and missing friends, the sale of land, the inflation of money, and desertion among Confederate soldiers. [transcription available below … Continue reading

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

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.”

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…”

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!”

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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