Very Rare ! Original Civil War Substitute Draft Document, dated 1864

This Civil War Draft Substitute Document is a rare piece from the “Office of Receiver of Commutation Money,” Printed by “Fitch, Estee & Co., Stationers, 3 Park Place, N.Y.,” in black upon white wove period paper, this historic receipt reads in full:

"Received at Newark, on the Twelfth day of July 1864, from Oscar Wallace 341 Broad St. Newark N.J who was drafted into the service of the United States on the twenty seventh day of May, 1864, from the Fifth Congressional District of the State of New Jersey, the sum of Three Hundred Dollars ($300) to obtain exemption under section 13, of the 'Act for enrolling and calling out the National Forces, and for other purposes,' approved March 3rd 1863 and section 5 of the amendments thereto, approved February 24th 1864. (Signed) D M Wilson - Receiver of Commutation Money.”

The unfairness of these exemptions, and their favoritism towards the wealthy, led to the bloody New York City Draft Riot in July 1863. So many people took advantage of this opportunity to avoid the draft that an unexpected windfall of $12 million in gold coin poured into the national coffers. These “draft dodging” receipts are very desirable for any period collection, as they represent some of the rarest and most desirable of Civil War era documents. Commutation Money payments of $300 were made to literally avoid military service in the Civil War, and money receipts were issued following the Conscription Law of 1863.

There is another example of this document which was featured in American History Auctions. Dana Linett, who is the owner of this company, frequently appears on the History Channel show “Pawn Stars” giving estimates on antique documents. The bidding on his document started at $600.00 and had an estimate of $800 - $1000. It is identical except for name of the draftee – actually a pencil note on the left border shows this one being number 11, while the one on the American History auction was number 10. Obviously this man being the next to make a payment to avoid the draft (they were both drafted on May 27, 1864).

This is a rare document and is in excellent condition deserving acid-free professional framing. I have this piece priced well under estimated values for these scarce documents, and as Dana states “These exceedingly rare official receipts are impossible to locate”.