Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/373

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��HISTORY OF RICHLAN^D COUNTY.

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��On the 30th of June, it was mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., and was finally discharged at Columbus, Ohio, on the 8th of July, 1865.

When the One Hundred and Second Regi- ment left Mansfield, the county lacked nearly three hundred men of filling its quota. As early as the 22d of August, IMr. James Purdy advertised in the city papers that he had been appointed by the Governor as Commissioner to conduct the draft, to fill the militia ranks or- dered out by the last call. He stated that, unless the county's quota was complete b}' the 3d of September, he would, between the hours of 9 and 5 o'clock, draft, by lot, on the en- rolled militia of the county, to fill the call for 300,000 men. He could not tell the number the draft would require, as the enlistments were going on at this time in the One Hundred and Second and One Hundred and Twentieth, as well as recruits for regiments already in the field. Before the time arrived, however, the (xovernor postponed the draft until October 1, hoping the enlistments would fill the quota. During this month occurred the famous raids endangering the Ohio Kiver cities in this State, and bringing out every militiaman in Ohio. The militia of Mansfield met for regular drills. It was composed of seventy men from the First Ward, fifty from the Second, fifty from the Third and about one hundred from the Fourth. T. G. Bristor, who had been out in the three- months service, was Captain ; Jonas . Smith and B. F. Blymyer, Lieutenants ; H. Colby, Orderly Sergeant, and Judge G. W. Geddes, Second Sergeant. The raids were of short duration, however, and the militia was not needed to repel an invasion. The county's quota of men was not, however, full, and the draft came.

On the morning of October 1, Mr. Purd}^ began the draft. Two hundred and thirt3'-six men were required to fill the quota. The pro- portion to each township was as follows : Mad- ison, twenty-six men ; Butler, thirty-five ;

��Springfield, seventeen ; Blooming Grov^e, twenty ; Cass, twenty ; Weller, eight ; Mifflin, twenty ; Sandusky, twenty-nine ; Washington, seventeen ; Worthington, five ; Franklin, four- teen, and Jackson, twenty-five.

From this statement it will be seen that, in proportion to the area, Sandusky was the most behind in enlistments ; while the townships of Pl3'mouth, Sharon, Monroe, Jefferson and Perry had furnished their quota, and hence no draft was made in any of them.

An order had been received from the Gov- ernor, allowing all drafted men who wished, to enlist, a privilege many availed themselves of as quickl}' as they found they were drawn. Before the draft occurred, many persons daily besieged the offices of the examining surgeons, in the hope they could find some ill that would exempt them from military dut3^ An aston- ishing amount of disease suddenly appeared among hitherto supposedly sound men. The surgeons were, however, men of experience, and if a sound man endeavored to obtain from them some certificate of unfitness, his imagin- ary complaints generall}' vanished under their careful scrutiu}', and he was given to under- stand that in case he was drafted he could prepare to go. Many others, who, when the committees were raising money to purchase volunteers, scoffed at the attempts and defied the draft, found themselves in a very straitened condition. The}' were brave in the absence of danger ; when it came, the smallest favors were thankfully received. Many of this class were allowed to procure, alone, their own substitutes, pa^'ing sometimes enormous suihs for them.

As fast as the men were drafted they were summoned to Camp Mansfield and drilled for war. B}' the end of the first week in October, over 2,500 men were in the camp. The Herald of October 15 gives the following summarj- of drafted men in the camp. It sajs :

" There are now in Camp Mansfield 3,4(34 draft- ed men, who are being formed into companies and

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