Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1892-01-02
WAR "REMINISCENCES.
DUMPING THE BOUNTY"
An Army OHicer Tells Some Remarkable
Stories of War Times.

now, and foine job he has indade.
Every wake or two he comes home wild
lashins of greenbacks and batthers
down the dure wild new goold watch"
.Faith an it is nate job intirely, |
and phwat do they call it?"
'Indade / disremember the exact |
uame, but l think they call it leppin |
the bounty"
Phelim's experience in 1868 was that
Of a good many thousands during the
hardest days of the great rebellion. The
drafts ordered by the president were
being rapidly enforced. A man whose
same was on the fated list of conscripts
had but the one alternative-the ranks
or provide a substitute" BY the pro-
visions of the act ofcongress authorizing
the draft, 5000 was the allowance for
these substitutes. But as the war pro-
grcssed and everybody's name was on
the provost marshars books--that is
every citizens name who had ever voted
or was an eligible voter--the price rose
in proportion'to the scarcity Of available
material for substitutes, till in some of
the smaller states in New England and
in many western neighborhoods, large
sums, from twelve hundred dollars to
two thousand dollars even, were paid
by those who were drafted, and the
quotas of each county and town being
huly apportioned, the citizens thereof
,oted county and town bounties, and
these sums, added to the state and ma
tional bounties, made up very re-
spectacle inducement to young men to
enlist.
This state of affairs held out every
temptation to unprincipled men to en-
enlist for the bounty. Many such en-
listments were made by foreigners and
not n few Americans, most of them with
no family ties and no regard for them
If they had did the same thing. They
enlisted for the money, pure and
simple, and little perjury here and
there was small matters to such elastic
consciences The substitute was in a
strange part of the country, had sworn
to the fact that, he was an alien or ut
any rate had never voted, and enlisted
only for bounty, meant to desert when
he could. Another class was composed
of mon recruited to fill up regiments
already in the field They received
similar large bounties, and had no more
intention of fighting than the substi-
tutesl had. and were in great part,
especially in cities, graduates from jails
and penitentiaries, good enough food
for powder if their teeth were strong
enough to bite "hard- tack"
When these men had passed their
medical examination. signed their en-
iistment papers and duly perjured
themselves according to the law, they
r
furnished with blanket, knapsack,
haversacls and canteen and sent, under
guard, to some receiving depot where
they remained until they were for.
warded to the several regiments to
which they were accredited In these
temporary depots, especially in large
cities like New York, Philadelphia and
Boston, there was complete reign OF
terror. Strength and brutality were
uppermost Half dozen ruffians
would attack small sized man anG
take his money from him. To complain
was useless: it was impossible to identi
fy the money or to fix the offense, in
general, upon any one individual.
From time to time these recruiting
depots were thinned out by sending the
men to various camps until enough
were collected for any designated regi
ment Troops from the east were sen
TO Camp Grant and Camp Taylor foul
or five miles from Washington, the
former being only for drafted men ant
the other for substitutes and recruit.
newly enlisted.
had charge of the latter camp dur
ing the winter of lS64-5, and of all the
ungracious work ever had to do in tn,
army that was the meanest. To star
with, l had control of a shifting vary
ing class of humanity, as hard 10
as ever assembled in penitentiary
with none of the restraints which ar,
thrown about the latter place. with n,
possibility of maintaining more than
semblance of discipline. I.hud all tn
responsibilities of a prison warden
without his means of enforcing obedi
ence, and am satisfied that Il year o
such work would have brutalized m
beyond redemption. AS it was, foun
my character, not l trust an ungentl
one, deteriorating from day to day uu
der such debasing influences, and wa
truly thankful when transferred to
more congenial line of duty.
Camp Taylor covered in all an area G
about fifteen acres surrounded by N
stockade, but instead with an arme
guard of the veteran reserve corps. a
organization which those of the presen
generation know nothing. 1t was cor
posed of soldiers who had been wound
ed severely enough to prevent ther
from doing more serious duty in tn
field. Many of these men had receive
very little bounty on enlistment; som
none at all, and it is not to be wondere
at that they felt aggrieved at seein
these roughs with hundreds of dollar
In their pockets, enjoying life afte
their fashion, gambling and loafin
and idling away the slow hours, Will
they, who had borne the heat and bu
den of the day, were living alonI
wotnded and getting mere pittanc
NJ =. L. ID