Conscription and Conflict in the Confederacy - Paperback

by Albert Burton Moore (Author), John S. Sproat (Editor), William Garrett Piston (Introduction by)

In a book that has served as a standard source for more than three generations of Civil War scholars, Albert Burton Moore uses conscription to illustrate a central paradox of the Confederacy-in order to protect its commitment to states rights, the Confederacy was forced to adopt tactics of centralized government. He examines the system's daily operations, troublesome substitution and exemption procedures, and ultimate collapse. Although he credits Confederate conscription with a high degree of success, he blames it for causing dissension between state and national officials and for creating bureaucratic problems of colossal proportions.

Back Jacket

A standard source for more than three generations of Civil War scholars, Conscription and Conflict in the Confederacy remains the authoritative study of the Confederate draft. In this landmark book, Albert Burton Moore uses conscription to illustrate a central paradox of the Confederacy: in order to protect its commitment to states' rights, the Confederacy was forced to adopt tactics of centralized government. Charting the strength of Confederate forces before and after conscription's implementation in 1862, Moore examines the system's daily operations, troublesome procedures for substitutions and exemptions, and ultimate collapse. He conveys the controversy surrounding conscription by quoting from acerbic and sometimes eloquent arguments for and against conscription put forth by governors, congressmen, newspaper editors, and soldiers. Although Moore credits Confederate conscription with a high degree of success, he blames it for causing friction between state governors and President Jefferson Davis, dissension between state and national judicial systems, and bureaucratic problems of colossal proportions. William Garrett Piston's new introduction places the volume in its historical context and underscores one of the most remarkable features of the study - Moore's forthright admission that a large number of Southerners did not support the Confederacy.

Author Biography

William Garrett Piston is associate professor of history at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, where he teaches courses in Civil War and military history. The author of Lee's Tarnished Lieutenant: James Longstreet and His Place in Southern History, Piston is currently working on a history of the Civil War battle of Wilson's Creek.