Aslag Anderson Draft Documents

From our Monthly “History Hub” E-Newsletter

Curator's Corner

Written by Jeff O'Keeffe

This month’s Curator’s Corner was written as a small study of a document I found while sorting through the Aslag Anderson Family Collection, researching for my upcoming talk at the Door County Maritime Museum centered around the history of the Anderson Dock. This talk will leverage new research and connections, presenting a fresh perspective on Ephraim’s early maritime operations. The talk will take place on March 6th beginning at 7pm, if you are interested in attending this free event visit DCMM’s website here.

In mid-July, 1862, the United States Congress passed the Militia Act which among many things, established State quotas for new volunteers to be conscripted into the war effort against the South. This document, dated December 18, 1862, is a deferment from the Militia Act. It addresses Aslag with the name “Oscar”, a recurring misnomer even found on the land patent associated with the Anderson Dock. It goes on to state that Aslag presented to the Commandant at Camp Washburn outside of Milwaukee a “Certificate of the Surgeon of the Post for Physical Disability, and is hereby Furloughed until further orders.”

Since we are unaware of any physical disability that Aslag possessed, my best guess as to the reason for his deferment was his involvement in local government - as we has listed on the Board of Supervisors for Gibraltar by 1862. When the Militia Act ultimately did not deliver the needed volunteers for the war effort, the Enrollment Act took its place in March of 1863. For Aslag, this delay in the first official conscription act in the United States likely saved him from involvement in the Civil War. The Enrollment Act targeted men ages 20 to 45, further dividing that pool into two classes: Class I, from ages 20-35 and Class II, 35-45. Turning 36 the month after he was canvassed for the 1863 draft, he is noted in Class II at age 35.

There were a handful of Ephraim men who volunteered or were conscripted, with the 15th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment including a handful of Ephraimites - George Marshall, Christian Morbeck, Carl Nelson, and Torger Torgerson. The 15th was also known as the “Norwegian” or “Scandinavian Regiment”, mustered into service January 31, 1862. If you’d like to learn more about Ephraim’s Civil War history, send me a message and arrange to pick up a copy of When Johnny Comes Marching Home: Ephraim’s Civil War Stories, our 2017 exhibit booklet.

References

Bureau of Land Management. “Land Patent Search.” Database and images. General Land Office Records. http://glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch : 2011.

Door County Advocate. 1862. “Election Returns.” Door County Advocate (Sturgeon Bay), April 19, 1862, 3.

The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110; Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); NAI: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 3 of 3.