>http://www.civilwarhome.com/conscription.htm >
The article did not say much at all about drafting immigrants off the boat as was claimed. The best I could find was this article: http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-6160483/Which-poor-man-s-fight.html And there was no mention of people straight off the boat being drafted. The best the authors could find was that some recent immigrants were drafted, and then at a far lower rate than any other group in either the Federal or Confederate states. Here's a quote: The pattern that emerges from this data is unmistakable: immigrants were not disproportionately forced into the army as a result of the draft. In most instances, in fact, immigrants were underrepresented in the ranks of those held to service. From Maine and New Hampshire to Ohio and Illinois, immigrants in the nation's major and mid-size cities were almost always less likely than natives to serve in the army as a result of the draft. The Irish, the most economically disadvantaged of the major immigrant groups of the period, are especially underrepresented, but other immigrant groups are lacking in the ranks of the conscripted as well, though in a few places in 1864 Germans entered the army as a result of the draft at a higher rate than either the Irish or the native-born. If one considers all those forced to contribute to the war effort as a result of the draft, by combining those forced to serve with those who hired substitutes or paid the commutation fee, then immigrants lag even further behind natives in their contributions. This study indicates that one group does appear to have been disproportionately forced into service as a result of the draft--native-born laborers, especially those residing in rural areas. Their outsized contribution to the Union cause has not previously been adequately recognized. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;207172674;29440083;f Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:279702 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5
