Pratt, William M., fl. 1864 [General orders no. 59 regarding the purchase of African Americans to serve in place of drafted persons]
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02224.01 Author/Creator: Pratt, William M., fl. 1864 Place Written: New Bern, North Carolina Type: Printed document signed Date: 31 August 1864 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 19.5 cm, Width: 12.7 cm Order a Copy
Signed by Pratt, Aide-de-Camp (possibly to Brigadier General Innes Newton Palmer). Relates the story of John H. Irish, a recruiting agent, who attempted to bribe officers to allow him to cite previously enlisted men in order to satisfy recruiting quotas for Yates County, New York. States that Irish furthermore intended to sell the names to a recruiting agent in New Jersey, committing a double instance of fraud. Irish is portrayed as "a fair sample of a good portion of the Recruiting Agents who are now sent out from the Northern States, to purchase colored men to do the fighting for them to whom the approaching draft is such a terror." States that Irish will receive a trial if he wishes to have one, but that his option of having a trial is not a precedent for future cases. Issued from headquarters of the District of North Carolina by Assistant Adjutant General J. A. Judson. Issued by the command of Palmer.
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