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July 30- August 1, 1863

Thursday, July 30, 1863.

Prevented us very busy all day at home very dull day in the evening i went up to buzards then around to Miss whom Mary is still sick

Friday 31

to day is the eventful day they begin to Draft in the seventh ward Alfred and EJ are both drafted Mary is quite worried i hope he will not have

Saturday, August 1

to go Elijah is over the Mrs. Steward was buried yesterday Elijah got a […] and we all would I stoped up to hazards

 


Annotation 1

Although unpopular, Philadelphia’s draft was quite orderly. Life was difficult for wives of soldiers, like Mary. Deaths among military age men were three times the average rate. Wives argued with their husbands over enlisting and reenlisting. “The Draft Not Suspended,” North American and United States Gazette (Philadelphia), July 16, 1863; “The Draft in the Eighteenth Ward-All Quiet in That Part of the City,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 14, 1863; “The Draft,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 15, 1863; Gallman, Mastering Wartime, 54-84.

Annotation 2

Mary’s worry about her husband Alfred was likely compounded by her own illness and her fears for how she would care for baby Frank in Alfred’s absence.

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