MSC206

Union Document - Commutation Money Receipt - Printed filled-in receipt for $300 from William Edwards of Newark NJ to obtain exemption from the conscription laws. William Edwards was drafted July 14, 1864 and the receipt is dated "Aug 18th 1864" more than a month after he was drafted. This is Receipt #229 with imprint "Office of Receiver of Commutation Money" signed by D. M. Wilson Receiver of Commutation Money. When a young man was drafted into the Union Army, he had several choices: 1) He could enlist and report for service in the army as required by the draft, 2) or he could hire and pay for a substitute to take his place, 3) or he could buy his way out of the draft for the sum of $300 paid to the Federal government. This was according to the conscription law passed in March 1863. Only the rich could afford to hire a substitute or pay the $300 to avoid the draft. $300 represented a year's salary earned by an ordinary worker in the 1860's. So the poor working man was drafted and went to war while the rich legally bought their way out of going to war. This was one of the causes of the bloody New York City Draft Riot in July 1863. Not many of these commutation receipts remain as people grew ashamed later of paying money to stay out of the war and did not keep the receipts. When one of these rare receipts came up for sale in  the recent past, it would sell at auction for as much as a $1000 or more. Fairly recently, a small hoard of these receipts was found in Newark NJ (known as the "New Jersey Hoard") consisting of perhaps 50 examples making them a little more readily available to the collector. This receipt is from that newly discovered hoard. An interesting item of Union Civil War history. Minor edge fault at upper left and several light vertical file folds. Alfred Edwards, who resided at 10 Franklin Place in Newark NJ (address is on the receipt), according to the 1864 Newark City Directory is listed on the 1860 Federal census as 51 years old and a "Silver Plater" by profession with a real estate and personal wealth of $30,000 ($1,100,000 in today's money). His son William was 21 years old in 1864, and Alfred could easily have afforded to buy his son out of military service according to the law of the time.

$250.00

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