[Brion McClanahan]

The Confederate Congress passed a conscription law in 1862 which many considered unconstitutional. How did they do it? They just did, at the recommendation of Pres. Davis and military leaders like Lee. Every man 18-35 was considered in the army unless they fit one of the “exemptions,” but the selective service act created to implement the law included so many exemptions that it became hard, at times, to raise troops. Yet on the other end of the spectrum, some areas were wiped clean of men. State officers were requested to enforce the system, but some States refused. As in the North, conscription was a messy business.