Original 1862 Civil War Draft Notice Broadside From Rockingham New Hampshire For Sale

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This wonderful Civil War Draft Broadside measures approx. 6 1/4” by 9 1/4” and was September 9th, 1862 from Rockingham, New Hampshire. It was issued by the Selectmen of the Town of Rockingham to announce the holding of a Draft the next day - September 10th.

The Broadside essentially is printed in two sections. the top section reads in part: "DRAFT ORDERED! / By orders received this day, the Selectmen of the Town Rockingham are directed to Draft Thirteen Men from the enrolled militia to fill the quota required from this Town; and they hereby give notice that they will meet for that purpose at the Town Clerk's Office, in Bellows falls on Wednesday Sept. 10th, 1862, at 9 o'clock A.M., at which time and place they will proceed according to General Order No. 17."

The lower half of the Broadside reads in full: "MASS MEETING! / One More Effort to Save a Draft! / The people of Rockingham are requested to assemble en masse at Bellows Falls on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 1862 at 9 o'clock A.M. (the same place and time that the Draft was scheduled to take place), to see if the full quota of the town cannot be raised without drafting, said meeting to continue throughout the day. / It is requested that all business be suspended after 9 o'clock, A.M., on that day, throughout the day and that the bells be rung at that hour; and let every man woman and child devote the day to the service required."
The content of the text of this Broadside gives one a chilling insight into the serious effect that the drafting of the citizens of a town to serve in the Civil War had on the populace. In September of 1862 things were not going well for Union forces and what was originally envisioned as a short and relatively bloodless conflict was now seen for the horrific event that it truly was. The call for every "man, woman and child" to gather together "en masse" and find a way to avoid drafting 13 of their fellow citizens sends a chill down one's spine even 151 years later!!

This fascinating and exceptionally rare Civil War Draft Broadside is in very good condition. The Sheet is generally clean and crisp - intact and complete although slightly miss-cut along the left hand edge (the Broadside was likely printed on a newspaper press with 2 or 4 Broadsides per sheet and then cut by hand). Overall this is a well preserved example of this testament emotional upheaval in EVERY small Northern town when it became clear that an all volunteer army would not be sufficient to win this bloody war to save the Union and that their Husbands, sons, fathers and brothers would have to be drafted by lottery to fill the ranks of the ever growing troops.

A very rare and emotion charged, 1863, Civil War Draft Broadside, and a fantastic addition to any collection!!!

Overseasshippping is extra and cost will be quoted at buyers request. Massachusetts residents must add 6.25% sales tax.

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Important Notes about Shipping Charges:

The amount quoted for Shipping & Handling is calculated by and is equal to the EXACT amount charged by the Post Office plus a $1.00 "packing fee" - the $1.00 fee is our only compensation for the virgin packing materials we use on all of our professionally packaged boxes as well as our cost for the salaried help that does most of our packing - as I am sure you can see, we make NO profit on the Shipping charges and, in fact, our costs are usually greater than the $1.00 fee. Please contact us if there are any issues regarding the cost of shipping.

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On Feb-16-13 at 13:08:36 PST, seller added the following information:

PLEASE NOTE: This Broadside is from Rockingham, VERMONT not New Hampshire!!!

This item has been shown 188 times. Original 1862 Civil War Draft Notice Broadside From Rockingham New Hampshire: $500