On 2 June 1864, Frank Ziegler, Columbia N. Ward, received the following notification from the Provost Marshall’s Office, 9th District, State of Pennsylvania.
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Francis X. Ziegler
(1821-1884), my 2nd great grandfather, did not report but rather paid
a fee of $300 on 17 June 1864 and was discharged from further liability under
the draft.[1]
Commutation “allowed a man whose name was chosen in the draft to pay a fee to
avoid military service. It was designed to allow needed skilled laborers and
religious pacifists to avoid military service, but it quickly became a legal
way in which the wealthy could avoid the draft.”[2]
Although it is unclear
why Francis Ziegler chose this option, there are several circumstances
that could have prompted this decision. He was an engineer[3]
on the railroad and perhaps was more valuable in that role. His younger
half-brother, Charles Carroll Ziegler, had died of wounds sustained at the
Battle of Gettysburg less than a year prior to Francis’ draft notice. Additionally,
his age of 43 could have been a determining factor.
Though the reasons
for not enlisting may never be known, it does not appear that this decision was
a source of embarrassment to the family. The originals of these documents exist
to this day.
[1]
Original Form 39 and receipt for $300 in possession of the author.
[2] Terry
L. Jones, Historical Dictionary of the
Civil War, Volume 1 (Scarecrow Press, 2011), p. 322; digital images, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books
: 26 June 2015).
[3] 1860
U.S. census, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Columbia, p. 124,
dwelling 643, family 657, household of Francis Zigler; digital images online,
(www.ancestry.com : 28 June 2015), citing NARA publication M653, roll 1120.
