The Missouri in the Civil War Message Board

Re: Enlistment Location Question

Though far from being the expert in this area and low on the totem pole on the board here, I believe both sides used recruiters that moved about to enlist folks, thus the location of enlistment via this process could be quite varied and frequently was the nearest established camp of the recruiter. This is particularly true for the confederate recruiters. Both sides used fixed "forts and garrisons" the Union more prevalent in this fashion, and young men could appear at the "gates" and volunteer often in response to broadsheets and other inducements. In Missouri there was also the draft which in essence said show up at a particular location to report to authority for possible enlistment. So yes locations of enlistment varied widely. Points of muster were also varied, more so for the confederates. Union forces often had again a fixed location for new recruits to come into for equipping and training, for example Benton Barracks outside of St. Louis. Rolla was an important fixed base for the Union during the war it being the railroad terminus from St.Louis, well manned and frequently reported as a point of enlistment and muster. Hope this helps.

John R

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