General Facts of the Confederacy

Confederate Stats

SLAVERY
Slavery in 1860: Only 25% of Southerners had a direct connection to slavery. There were 385,000 Slaveowners. Of these slave owners:

• 88% held less than 20 slaves
• 72% held less than 10 slaves
• 50% held less than 5 slaves

LAST CONFEDERATE VETERAN
John Salling, 112 y.o., died March 16, 1958

Military Draft

The first general American military draft was enacted by the Confederate government on April 16, 1862, more than a year before the Union did the same. The Confederacy took this step because it had to; its territory was being assailed on every front by overwhelming numbers, and the defending armies needed men to fill the ranks. The compulsory-service law was very unpopular in the South because it was viewed as a usurpation of the rights of individuals by the central government, one of the reasons the South went to war in the first place.

Under the Conscription Act, all healthy white men between the ages of 18-35 were liable for a 3-year term of service. The act also extended the terms of enlistment for all 1-year soldiers to 3 years. A September 1862 amendment raised the age limit to 45, and February 1864, the limits were extended to range between 17 and 50. Exempted from the draft were men employed in certain occupations considered to be most valuable for the home front, such as railroad and river workers, civil officials, telegraph operators, miners, druggists and teachers. On October 11, the Confederate Congress amended the draft law to exempt anyone who owned 20 or more slaves. Further, until the practice was abolished in December 1863, a rich drafted man could hire a substitute to take his place in the ranks, an unfair practice that brought on charges of class discrimination.

Many Southerners, including the governors of Georgia and North Carolina, were vehemently opposed to the draft and worked to thwart its effect in their states. Thousands of men were exempted by the sham addition of their names to the civil servant rolls or by their enlistment in the state militias. Georgia and North Carolina accounted for 92% of all exemptions for state service.

Battle Names

Union troops were mainly from cities, towns, and villages. They named battles from some kind of natural object near the scene of the conflict. Confederate troops were chiefly from the country. They named the battles from some kind of impressive artificial object near the scene of the conflict. For example, the battle of "1st Manassas/Bull Run". The Union army named the battle "Bull Run" from a little stream near the scene called Bull Run. The Confederate army named the battle "Manassas" because of the Manassas railroad station located near the scene. There were at least 230 actions that were known to have more than one name.

The Civil War has been called many different names since the beginning of the war. Some of the most common are:

1. The Civil War
2. The War of Northern Aggression
3. The War of Seccession
4. The War for State's Rights
5. The War against Slavery
6. The War for Southern Rights

The Confederate Government

President

• Jefferson Davis

Vice-President

• Alexander Stevens

Attorney General

• Judah P. Benjamin, 1861
• Thomas Bragg, 1861-1862
• Thomas H. Watts, 1862-1863
• George Davis, 1864-1865

Postmaster General

• John H. Henninger

Secretary of the Navy

• Stephen Mallory

Secretary of State

• Robert A. Toombs, 1861
• Robert M.T. Hunter, 1861-1862
• Judah P. Benjamin, 1862-1865

Secretary of the Treasury

• Christopher G. Memminger, 1861-1864
• George A. Trenholm, 1864-1865

Secretary of War

• Leroy P. Walker, 1861
• Judah P. Benjamin, 1862
• George W. Randolph, 1862
• Gustavus W. Smith, 1862
• James A. Seddon, 1862-1865
• John C. Breckenridge, 1865