New York Draft Riots

Draftees could gain exemption from service by paying $300 or by hiring a substitute. This sparked the infamous draft riots in New York City in July 1863.

Military Committee

Draft notice of Oliver D. Mead, 5 September 1862. Lydia Ferris Lester papers.

When the war began there was no national army as we know it today; each state had a militia that could be called upon in a time of national emergency. To meet the burden of raising volunteers for the war, a quota was placed upon each state which then turned to its towns. A Military Committee was formed in Greenwich in October 1861 that was responsible for raising volunteers. Towns considered it a matter of pride to fill their quota without a draft, as Greenwich did in 1864 when 43 men volunteered.