Enrollment Act

Enrollment Act

Long title	An Act for enrolling and calling out the national Forces, and for other Purposes
Nicknames	Civil War Military Draft Act
Enacted by	the 37th United States Congress
Effective	March 3, 1863
Citations
Statutes at Large	12 Stat. 731
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 511 Passed the Senate on February 16, 1863 (13-24) Passed the House on February 23, 1863 (61-60) with amendment House agreed to House amendment on February 25, 1863 (115-49) with further amendment Senate agreed to House amendment on February 28, 1863 (11-35) Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on March 3, 1863
Major amendments
Enrollment Act of 1864 (13 Stat. 6) Enrollment Act of 1865 (13 Stat. 487)

The Enrollment Act, 12 Stat. 731, enacted March 3, 1863, also known as the Civil War Military Draft Act, was a legislation passed by the United States Congress during the American Civil War to provide fresh manpower for the Union Army. A form of conscription, the controversial act required the enrollment of every male citizen and those immigrants who had filed for citizenship between ages twenty and forty-five. Federal agents established a quota of new troops due from each congressional district. In some cities, particularly New York City, enforcement of the act sparked civil unrest as the war dragged on, leading to the New York Draft Riots on July 13–16. It replaced the previous Militia Act of 1862.

The Provost Marshal General James Barnet Fry administered the national implementation of the Enrollment Act and answered directly to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Beneath Provost Marshal General Fry were the State Acting Assistant Provost Marshal Generals. The State Provost Marshal Generals were not authorized by the Enrollment Act, but were appointed personally by James Fry to attend to matters in each individual state. New York and Pennsylvania were the only states that had more than one State Acting Assistant Marshal general; New York had three and Pennsylvania had two. Each state was divided along district lines with each district under the jurisdiction of an enrollment board.

The enrollment boards were headed by a district provost marshal and also included a surgeon and a commissioner. Each enrollment board employed clerks, deputies, and special agents as needed. The enrollment boards divided themselves into sub-districts along ward (in cities) and township (in rural areas) lines. In each sub-district a census was conducted by an enrollment officer to document every man eligible for the draft in the sub-district.

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