POST YOUR DRAFT CARDS!!

[cpatrick]

I thought that this would make for an interesting topic. I would like to see documents related to the draft. Not just the infamous Vietnam draft card, but all periods! Here's an early one!! From my personal collection. This is a Civil War draft notice for a soldier from Madison County, New York.

 

1864 had proved to be the bloodiest year for the War for the Union. By the time that this draft notice was issued, the nation had seen the horrible casualty lists from the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. In just ONE MONTH casualty rates had EXCEEDED 50,000 men. From the Battle of the Wilderness, to Cold Harbor, the fighting would not stop for 30 days. Mary Todd Lincoln herself asked that Grant be removed from command, calling him a "Butcher".

 

This war of attrition necessitated yet another draft. This little script of paper is a testament to just how the war had affected just one civilian-turned-soldier in the North.

 

So, let's see'm!