Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/109

 COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES fo r the militia. On Oct. 15th there w as a call fo r 300.000 men, and on Feb. 1. 1864. the President ordered a draft for 500,000 to be made on the toth o f March. On the 14th there was a call for 200,000 more, on the 18th o f Ju ly one fo r 500,000, and on the 19th o f December one fo r 300,000. Besides these there were a lot o f "ninety-day m ilitia" and other irregular musters. These various calls w ere filled by enlistments, volunteering and d rafts. There were four drafts made in Columbia and Montour counties—one by the State authorities for the m ilitia; one Sept. 17, 1863, to fill previous calls; one on Ju n e 3, 18 6 4; and on e on .'Vpril 14 ,18 6 5. Lee having surrendered A p ril gth, the men liable fo r ser-ice under the last were rclca.scd. T he last battle of the war w as fought M av 12, 1865, and the surrender of the last of the Confederates, under K irby Sm ith, occurred on M ay 26th of the same year. CKiring the w ar there were fo r Pennsyl­ vania two great emergencies, the first in Sep­ tember. 1862, relieved by M cClellan's victory at Antictam. A t that time Governor Curtin called fo r 50,000 men, and Columbia county responded by sending four companies, and Montour sent two. T he second emergency w as in June, 1863, when the President called fo r 100.000 men. O f the number required, Columbia county sent five companies, and Montour (wo. T he first company in Columbia county to en­ list fo r the Civil w ar was the "Iro n Guards,” under Col. W . W . Ricketts, from Orangeville, and the first man to enlist from the county w as C . B . Brockway. Ricketts was a Wcst Point cadet, and he soon had his company completed. H e offered it lo the government, but w as rejected. Not daunted, the members chartered canalboats and went to Harrisburg, where they were finally accepted. TH E DRAFTS

A t the beginning of the Civil w ar the mi­ litia o f Pennsylvania existed practically only on paper. There w as a form o f military organization, and a tax w as levied on each voter liable to duty save those in volunteer companies, but there were few companies in a complete state o f organization. In 1862 an enrollment was ordered, and the number subject to military duty in Colum­ bia county w as found to be 4.58 7; the quota, under all calls, was 1 4 4 7; the number in serv­ ice. 6 2 6 : leaving a balance of 8 21 men to be

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supplied by draft or otherwise. The d raft was ordered by the Slate to fill the ranks. The townships o f Catawissa and Pine, and the borough o f Berwick, filled their quota with volunteers, but in the other divisions of the county a total o f 696 men were drawn. Bloom supplied Briarcrcek, 4 9; Beaver, 4 0 : Benton, 2 7; Conyngham, 6 o; Centre, 5 4; Fishingereek, 5 0; Franklin, 5; Greenwood, 4 5; Hemlock, 2 5; Jackson, 1 9; Locust, 4 0; Mon­ tour, 2 4; Main, i 8; Mount Pleasant, 2 7; M if­ flin, 4 6; Madison. 4 8 : Orange, 9; Scott, 3 6; Sugarloaf. No opposition w as manifested to this draft, in fact it had the effect o f stimulating enlist­ ments in the national service. The later d ra h s on (he part of the national government, how­ ever, were not received with equal unconcern. The first was drawn at T roy, Pa., Sept. 17. 1863, and called fo r 634 men from Columbia county. There was considerable opposition, particularly in Fishingereek, Benton, Sugarloaf, Jackson and Pine townships, and the ncighlroring portions o f Luzcm c and Sullivan counties. A series o f semi-public meetings was held in the disaffected sections fo r the purpose o f discussing the situation, at which the usual windy oratory prevailed, but no definite plans were made to meet the ques­ tion at hand. Some advocated resistance to (he draft, others su » e ste d the hiring o f sub­ stitutes, but all fin al^ acted on their own suggrations, individually. There were a number who refused to report fo r duty, and. as is cus­ tomary in wartime, they were declared to be deserters by the military authorities. This angered (he people greatly and many wild threats were made by individuals, who after­ wards regretted their sudden ebullition o f tem­ per. The culmination of the trouble came when, in August. 1864, I.icutcnant Robinson o f Luzcm c county was shot and fatally wounded by a party o f citizens whom he had challenged on the road near Raven Creek post office. It has since been established that Kohin.son had no oflkial authority to appre­ hend deserters. In the same inonili a detachment o f United States troops arrived in Bloomsburg and camp>ed at the F a ir Grounds, ostensibly for the puiqHjse o f enforcing (he draft. This force was increased later until it included almost a thousand men, a company under Colo­ nel I^m bcrt. part of the Keystone Battery from Philadelphia, under IJcu tm an t Robcrt.s, a battalion o f infantry under I.icutcnant Colo­ nel Stewart, and a Kattalion of the Veteran R cserse Corps. On ,ug. i6th M ajor Gen­