Union Civil War Facts

LAST UNION VETERAN
Albert Woolson, 109 y.o., died August 2, 1956


UNION FLAGS OF THE WAR
1st National .... (33 stars)
2nd National.... (34stars)
3rd National..... (35 stars)
Navy Jack............................
Each Regiment, Brigade, Division, Corps, and Army had its own unique unit flag, also.


WAR COST:
Total Federal cost of the war itself are put at $3,027,791,000
Of this:
$2,713,568,000 for land operations
$314,223,000 for naval operations
These costs don't include other expenditures such as pensions, interest, and continuing costs growing arising out of the war.


MILITARY DRAFT:
An act for "enrolling and calling out the National Forces" was signed into law on March 3, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln. This, the first effective draft by the Union government, called for all men between the ages of 18-45 to be enrolled into local militia units and be available to be called into national service. The draft law exempted men in some occupations, such as telegraph operators, railroad engineers, judges, and certain other government employees. Men with mental disabilities or with certain types of dependents were also exempted. Physical disabilities that would exempt a man included imperfect vision in the right eye, lack of front teeth and molars, and loss of more than 1 finger of the right hand or more than 2 fingers of the left hand.
The actual drafting of the men was the responsibility of the states, which usually used a lottery system. When the government issued a call for more troops, each state would be given a quota to fill based on its population. The number of volunteers would be subtracted from the quota and the difference would be drafted. If a draftee, volunteered before the final muster, he avoided the stigma of compulsory service and was eligible to collect a bounty of $100 from the government plus additional bounties from the state and local communities. In total, the bounties could exceed $500, which was about the average yearly wage in those days. States considered it a matter of pride to fill their quotas without having to resort to the draft.
A draftee could gain an exemption by paying a fee of $300 or by hiring a substitute. The obvious inequity of this provision prompted the cry of "rich man's war, but poor man's fight." The bounty system also made possible the enrichment of a large number of unscrupulous persons called "bounty jumpers." These men would enlist to collect their bounty, then desert and enlist somewhere else and collect another bounty.

1863 DRAFT ACT:
The 4 Draft dates:
July 1863
March 1864
July 1864
December 1864
These drafts resulted in 249,259 men being held to service.
Of these, 86,724 paid a $300 commutation to be relieved of service.


BATTLE NAMES:
1. Union troops were mainly from cities, towns, and villages. They named battles from some kind of natural object near the scene of the conflict.
2. Confederate troops were chiefly from the country. They named the battles from some kind of impressive artificial object near the scene of the conflict.
**Example: Battle of "1st Manassas/Bull Run". The Union army named the battle "Bull Run" from a little stream near the scene called Bull Run. The Confederate army named the battle "Manassas" because of the Manassas railroad station located near the scene.**

BATTLES WITH MULTIPLE NAMES:
Union Name...........................Confederate Name
Bull Run ................................Manassas
Wilson's Creek.....................Oak Hills
Ball's Bluff..............................Leesburg
Logan's Cross Roads.........Mill Springs
Pea Ridge..............................Elkhorn Tavern
Pittsburg Landing.................Shiloh
Chickahominy.......................Gaines' Mill
Chantilly..................................Ox Hill
South Mountain.....................Boonsboro
Antietam.................................Sharpsburg
Chaplin Hills..........................Perryville
Stones River..........................Murfreesboro
Sabine Cross Roads...........Mansfield
Opequon Creek.....................Winchester

*There were at least 230 actions that were known to have more than one name.

The Civil War has been called many different names since the beginning of the war. Some of the most common are:
1. The Civil War
2. The War of Northern Aggression
3. The War of Seccession
4. The War for State's Rights
5. The War against Slavery
6. The War for Southern Rights


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT (1861-1865)
President.............Abraham Lincoln
Vice-President:
Hannibal Hamlin, 1861-1864
Andrew Jackson, 1864-1865
Attorney General:
Edward Bates, 1861-1864
James Speed, 1864-1865
Postmaster General:
Horatio King, 1861
Montgomery Blair, 1861-1864
William Dennison, 1864-1865
Secretary of the Interior:
Caleb B. Smith, 1861-1862
John P. Usher, 1862-1865
Secretary of the Navy..Gideon Welles
Secretary of State........William H. Seward
Secreatry of Treasury:
Salmon P. Chase, 1861-1864
William P. Fessenden, 1864-1865
Hugh McCullough, 1865
Secretary of War:
Simon Cameron, 1861-1862
Edwin M. Stanton, 1862-1865