In 1864, Lincoln paid $500 to hire a draft replacement.

J

jimintoronto

Well-known Member
During the US Civil War, the Union Army allowed wealthy men, who had received a draft notice, to hire a replacement, to serve in their place. Although President Lincoln was exempt from the draft because of his age, he sent one of his staff out onto the streets of Washington to find a young man who would agree to serve in Lincoln's place in the Union Army.

The staff member found J Summersfield Staples as 19 year old youth, and brought him in front of Lincoln. Lincoln offered the youth $500 if he would enlist in the Army as Lincoln's stand in. The youth agreed to the arrangement, and he was sworn in right there. The National Archive in Washington has the enlistment papers to this day. Lincoln was trying to encourage others "ineligibles " to hire stand ins. Grover Cleveland and John D Rockefeller both did the same thing.

J Summersfield Staples was 19 years old, and he was found to be "free from bodily defects, or mental infirmity, and sober at the time of his enlistment " He stood five feet 3 inches tall, had blue eyes and brown hair.

Here is a link to a website about this odd bit of US Civil War history.https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/01/abraham-lincoln-the-president-paid-a-substitute-to-enlist-in-the-union-army.html

Further information. About 40,000 men from what was then known as British North America ( now Canada ) joined the Union Army during the US Civil War period. Why ? Some went for adventure, many went for the money being offered to "stand ins " by wealthy Americans who were subject to the draft laws.

Many of the US States that bordered Canada saw large numbers of men joining their units from Canada. Canada as a country was politically neutral during the Civil War, but many Canadian companies sold materials to the Union army. Horses, uniforms, boots, and food flowed south by railways, and by ships along the Atlantic coast. US Union Army agents went into Canada to try to try to convince experienced British Army SGTS to desert to the States. Artillery and Engineer NCO"s were especially prized, for their knowledge, and they were offered large amounts of money to "Cross the line " into the States.
JIMB.
 
jimintoronto said:
During the US Civil War, the Union Army allowed wealthy men, who had received a draft notice, to hire a replacement, to serve in their place. Although President Lincoln was exempt from the draft because of his age, he sent one of his staff out onto the streets of Washington to find a young man who would agree to serve in Lincoln's place in the Union Army.

The staff member found J Summersfield Staples as 19 year old youth, and brought him in front of Lincoln. Lincoln offered the youth $500 if he would enlist in the Army as Lincoln's stand in. The youth agreed to the arrangement, and he was sworn in right there. The National Archive in Washington has the enlistment papers to this day. Lincoln was trying to encourage others "ineligibles " to hire stand ins. Grover Cleveland and John D Rockefeller both did the same thing.

J Summersfield Staples was 19 years old, and he was found to be "free from bodily defects, or mental infirmity, and sober at the time of his enlistment " He stood five feet 3 inches tall, had blue eyes and brown hair.

Here is a link to a website about this odd bit of US Civil War history.https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/01/abraham-lincoln-the-president-paid-a-substitute-to-enlist-in-the-union-army.html

Further information. About 40,000 men from what was then known as British North America ( now Canada ) joined the Union Army during the US Civil War period. Why ? Some went for adventure, many went for the money being offered to "stand ins " by wealthy Americans who were subject to the draft laws.

Many of the US States that bordered Canada saw large numbers of men joining their units from Canada. Canada as a country was politically neutral during the Civil War, but many Canadian companies sold materials to the Union army. Horses, uniforms, boots, and food flowed south by railways, and by ships along the Atlantic coast. US Union Army agents went into Canada to try to try to convince experienced British Army SGTS to desert to the States. Artillery and Engineer NCO"s were especially prized, for their knowledge, and they were offered large amounts of money to "Cross the line " into the States.
JIMB.
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Interesting post, Jim.
 
Local history recounts a handful of such cases. All of them were funded by collections taken from the village and surrounding farms, and the boys involved were from families with no living father or only-children in families relying on their labor to get by
 
Teddy Roosevelt's father did this as well. It only cost him $100.00. He suffered from a guilt complex as a result, so he went into combat areas and had the soldiers in the Union send their pay home to their wives. These women needed the money to keep home and hearth thriving. It was one of the finest things Ted Sr., ever did, as well as dangerous, during that war.

I believe I read this in Mornings On Horseback by David McCullough. I've read several books about President Theodore Roosevelt, but I am almost certain this book is the one that mentions this about his father.
 
Paladin1950 said:
$500 could last you a whole year if not more back then..đź’°đź’˛
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That $500 back then would be worth $5000 in 2024. Ever hear the expression "Johny bought the farm " ? That refers to the "death benefit " that the stand in's family would have been paid, if he died from wounds or illness while in service. The family back home would be able to buy or pay off a farm with that much money coming to them. JIMB.
 
DaveA said:
Interesting post, Jim.
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Thanks. Here is another Civil War oddity. The 27th Maine Regiment was a one year enlistment Union Army infantry unit, which was never engaged in any fighting, BUT they were awarded 864 Medals of Honor. Why? In the weeks right after Gettysburg, Washington city was almost completely undefended. The 27th was about to finish their one year enlistment period and go home to Maine. The Secretary of War promised them ALL the Medal, if they stayed to defend the city. They did stay, but did not have to fight. A barrel of Medals of Honor were given to the 27th Maine, who took them home and buried them on the grounds of the Maine State Legislature. IN 1917, a Congressional inquiry decided to revoke those Medals, and they were returned to Washington. link.

The Medal of Honor

It is worth noting that during the Civil War the Medal of Honor was THE ONLY medal that could be awarded to any US serviceman. JIMB.
 
ohioboy said:
Wait a minute, it just hit me, in 1864 Lincoln was President, how can you draft a President? Not only that, he was Commander in chief.
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Of course you are right, BUT Lincoln was doing this as a way to encourage others to do the same thing. Even back then, Political grand standing was a common practice. The record doesn't mention if reporters were present in the White House when that 19 year old kid was enlisted, but I think it may have happened that way. In any case, the practice of paying somebody else to serve was a well established practice during the Civil War on the Union side. JIM.
 
ohioboy said:
Wait a minute, it just hit me, in 1864 Lincoln was President, how can you draft a President? Not only that, he was Commander in chief.
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He was too old... plus ineligible as president. He did this to encourage other men who were not eligible for whatever reason to hire someone to take their places as if they'd been eligible. The Union was short of men, so it helped doing it that way.
 
jimintoronto said:
That $500 back then would be worth $5000 in 2024. Ever hear the expression "Johny bought the farm " ? That refers to the "death benefit " that the stand in's family would have been paid, if he died from wounds or illness while in service. The family back home would be able to buy or pay off a farm with that much money coming to them. JIMB.
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actually it would be worth ÂŁ10 K


Have a look here

$500 in 1864 → 2024 | Inflation Calculator
 
Lincoln was a complicated, flawed person. No doubt about that. But he was also a visionary to see that preservation of the Union was the cheif matter at hand.

It’s also important to remember that the nation was founded with indentured servant, slave, and even prisoner labor. The wealthier always being able to buy or steal the labor of others was a long tradition, or a bad habit.

So, in that tradition, why not be able to hire someone to fight in your place? What shall we do about this? It’s a sin of our way of doing capitalism. When we try to create a more fair system, the wealthy generally kill the voices of all opponents.

It should be noted that during WWII, President Teddy Roosevelt lost two sons in that war. Two Roosevelt Sons In Normandy Graves (Published 1984)

FDR’s two surviving sons (one died as a baby) also served in WWII and both survived. I think this is why so many people honor the Roosevelts. They didn't ask the nation to do anything their families were not doing also.
 
CallMeKate said:
He was too old... plus ineligible as president. He did this to encourage other men who were not eligible for whatever reason to hire someone to take their places as if they'd been eligible. The Union was short of men, so it helped doing it that way.
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Research affirms that fact. I do not think I ever knew that, to tell you the truth. I guess the aim was, if the President did it, I can too. I would have loved to see his official draft notice.
 
jimintoronto said:
During the US Civil War, the Union Army allowed wealthy men, who had received a draft notice, to hire a replacement, to serve in their place. Although President Lincoln was exempt from the draft because of his age, he sent one of his staff out onto the streets of Washington to find a young man who would agree to serve in Lincoln's place in the Union Army.


JIMB.
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Yes, he wanted to set an example for all elected officials (and their advisors) who were exempt from the draft.
 
ohioboy said:
Research affirms that fact. I do not think I ever knew that, to tell you the truth. I guess the aim was, if the President did it, I can too. I would have loved to see his official draft notice.
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There are many odd facts to be learned about the US Civil War. I think I previously mentioned a Maine infantry unit that was never in any fighting at all, but the entire unit was awarded the Medal of Honor, all 864 of them ? The 27th Maine Volunteers were a 12 month enlistment unit. Here is a link that explains the story. The Medal of Honor

Another oddity. About 3 weeks before Lincoln was murdered, a number of Confederate officers were in Montreal, meeting with Booth. Both Montreal and Toronto were used by the Southern states as places to raise money, and to operate beyond the official reach of the Federal Government.

The most northerly military action of the Civil War was a cross border raid by Confederate soldiers, that saw 2 banks in Vermont robbed in one day. The bank robbers were pursued into Quebec, where they were arrested by Canadian Police, as were the US Army troops who had chased them across the international border. This resulted in a huge political uproar, and an eventual court case in Canada where the US Government was forced to pay a sizeable fine for having sent armed troops into Canadian territory. JIM.
 
This I think is my favorite Twilight Zone episode. A man travels back in time and tries to convince everyone that Lincoln is going to be assassinated, to no avail.


Back There - Wikipedia

I toured Ford's Theatre on trips to D.C. and one time I was fortunate to climb the stairs leading to the Lincoln box/ balcony and it took me back to 1865. The picture of George Washington draping the box was the same one on that night in April.

In the basement museum, they have many Lincoln artifacts, including the Derringer that killed Lincoln (imagine the auction value of that), and the suit he was wearing that night.
 
ohioboy said:
This I think is my favorite Twilight Zone episode. A man travels back in time and tries to convince everyone that Lincoln is going to be assassinated, to no avail.


Back There - Wikipedia

I toured Ford's Theatre on trips to D.C. and one time I was fortunate to climb the stairs leading to the Lincoln box/ balcony and it took me back to 1865. The picture of George Washington draping the box was the same one on that night in April.

In the basement museum, they have many Lincoln artifacts, including the Derringer that killed Lincoln (imagine the auction value of that), and the suit he was wearing that night.
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I got to visit Ford’s Theatre when I was in DC once. I was amazed that it took many decades before anyone decided it should be turned into a historical site. It is quite small as today’s theaters go.
 
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