 |
 |
|
|
'The Southern shortage of manpower was severe by the spring of 1862 when volunteer enlistments had significantly decreased and the twelve-month enlistments of the year before were terminating. To address the problem, the Confederate congress on April 16, 1862, passed the Conscription Act "declaring every able-bodied white man between the ages of 18 and 35 to be subject to the military service of the Confederate States" for a period of three years. Additionally, the Act extended all twelve-month enlistments to three years from the date of their original enlistment "unless the war shall sooner terminate." The Act provided a thirty-day grace period in which local volunteer companies could be formed. It also provided, within the same grace period, the privilege of volunteering into units already in the field.82 The Conscription Act was to have a significant influence on the Salem Community. Its content was widely disseminated through local newspapers, and strict enforcement was promised by Confederate conscription officers. Young men of conscription age were forced to decide among three options: (1) to enlist in existing units, generally those that had been formed from the local area; (2)to wait and be conscripted into the Confederate army; or (3) to "escape" to Kentucky to enlist in the Union army. With the enforcement of the Conscription Act, they could not simply stay at home. It was probably at this time that Joseph's third son, Will, enlisted in the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry Battalion with his brothers. He had a horse which made him eligible for the cavalry, so after brief orientation and basic training at Knoxville, Will joined his brothers' unit in the vicinity of Cumberland Gap. Joseph and Juda thus saw their remaining son leave home for the army. Joseph alone was left to work the farm. The Conscription Act also affected others in the Salem Community. Joseph's son-in-law Joel Talley was thirty-eight in the spring of 1862 and thus was not in the proscribed age for conscription; however, the rumor in East Tennessee was that the age for conscription would soon be raised to forty-five. (The conscription age was in fact changed to between 18 and 45 by the Confederate congress, October 11, 1862.) Subsequent to the Conscription Act in April, Talley enlisted in the Union army and was mustered into Company G, Fifth East Tennessee Infantry at Camp Pine Knot, Kentucky, on May 21, 1862.83 When Talley left for Kentucky, Elizabeth was left at home with six children. Amanda, the oldest, was fifteen. Andrew Jackson, the youngest, was one year old. Elizabeth would be forced to look to her father for help and support during her husband's absence.' What's New | Contact Us | Roark-Conner Store | | Return Home | Great Links | Calendar | History Page | |
||
 |
 |
