Provost Marshal of the 7th Congressional District of New York City Records
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Abstract
This collection contains records from the Office of the Provost Marshal, Seventh Congressional District, New York, which oversaw enlistments for the Union Army from the 11th and 17th wards of New York City. Portions of this collection relating to the Civil War have been digitized and are available to on-site researchers and to users affiliated with subscribing institutions via EBSCOhost.
Historical note
On March 3, 1863, Congress passed the first national draft in United States history (although not the first on American soil: the Confederate government instituted the draft for its army almost a year earlier). Passed to provide manpower for the Union Army, which by this time was long on casualties and short on volunteers, the Enrollment Act subjected all men between the ages of 20 and 45 to the draft.
The legislation also created the administrative machinery necessary to implement the Federal draft. A new Provost Marshal General's Office was added to the War Department, and charged with overall administration of conscription. The country was divided into enrolling districts along the lines of congressional districts. Each district was headed by a provost marshal who was responsible for registering and calling up draftees. The provost marshals also had broad authority to arrest and detain all persons resisting the draft or discouraging enlistments.
The number of men called for by the President was apportioned by district, establishing for each district a quota of men to enroll. Enrolling officers had the unenviable task of going door-to-door to identify all men eligible for service. After this laborious process, names were drawn at a public lottery to determine who would be called to service. If enough men volunteered to fill the quota in a particular district, the draft would not apply there.
The provost marshal also determined who was eligible for the various draft exemptions provided under the Act, such as mental and physical disability. More controversially, draftees who had the means could escape service by paying a $300 exemption fee or providing a substitute. Nowhere were these provisions resented more than in the poor neighborhoods of New York City, which erupted in riots on July 13, 1863, after the names of the first draftees were drawn. As a result, the first draft in the 7th Congressional District of New York City, originally ordered for July 14, 1863, did not take place until August 25, 1863.
Arrangement
This collection has been organized into the following two series:
Series I: Loose documents
Series II: Bound volumes
Documents are arranged by type, and chronologically within each category, where possible.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of correspondence and other records of Captain Frederick C. Wagner in his capacity as provost marshal of the 7th Congressional District (encompassing the 11th and 17th wards) of New York City. The papers concern the conscription, enrollment and provisioning of Union soldiers, as well as requests for exemptions, substitutes, deserters, and claims against the government for property damage. Portions of this collection relating to the Civil War have been digitized and are available to on-site researchers and to users affiliated with subscribing institutions via EBSCOhost.
The collection has been organized into two series. Series I, Loose papers, includes correspondence, receipts, contracts, certificates and other official papers sent to or issued by Captain Frederick C. Wagner; circulars from the Office of the Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General at Albany; receipts for clothing issues; returns of public property; requisitions; descriptive lists and muster rolls; and receipts from a campaign to raise recruitment funds in the 17th ward. Also included is Wagner's summary report of the business transacted by his office during the Civil War, which gives a useful overview of office operations.
Series II includes six bound volumes. Two volumes contain enrollment lists of substitutes and volunteers. Entries for volunteers include descriptive information such as the enrollee's age, height, build, complexion, place of birth, occupation, and family. A third volume records a list of persons arrested for desertion from New York regiments, and provides personal descriptions of each man arrested, the date and place of enlistment, desertion, and arrest; name of the person responsible for the arrest; and subsequent fate of the individual following his arrest. The fourth volume contains a record of clothing and eating utensils distributed to volunteers and substitutes.
Series II also includes a notebook, probably kept by Frederick C. Wagner, listing men in the 11th and 17th wards who claimed exemption, had provided substitutes, or were already enrolled as volunteers or substitutes. The notes give names and addresses of the men, some personal information about them, and notes on the money paid to recruits and men enlisted as substitutes. A final volume contains the Circulars issued by the Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General of the Southern Division of New York.
Conditions Governing Access
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Items that include presidential signatures will be presented to researchers in duplicate form.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
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Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as the Provost Marshal of the 7th Congressional District of New York City Records, MS 498, The New-York Historical Society.