Union Army

The Union Army refers to the United States Army during the American Civil War. The Union Army is also known as the Northern Army or the Federal Army.

Desertions and draft riots

Desertion was a big problem in the Civil War for both sides. The daily hardships of war, forced marches, thirst, suffocating heat, disease, delay in pay, solicitude for family, impatience at the monotony and futility of inactive service, panic on the eve of battle, the sense of war weariness, the lack of confidence in commanders, and the discouragement of defeat (especially early on for the Union Army), all tended to lower the morale of the Union army and to increase desertion.

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In 1861 and 1862, the war went badly for the Union Army, and there were, by some counts, 180,000 desertions. In 1863 and 1864, the bitterest two years of the war, the Union Army suffered over 200 desertions every day, for a total of 150,000 desertions during those two years. This puts the total number of desertions from the Union Army during the four years of the war at nearly 350,000. Using these numbers, 15% of Union soldiers deserted at some point during the course of the war. Official numbers put the number of deserters from the Union Army at 200,000 for the entire war, or about 8% of Union Army soldiers. It is estimated that 1 out of 3 deserters returned to their regiments, either voluntarily or after being arrested and being sent back.

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Of all the ethnic groups in the Union Army, the Irish had the highest number of desertions per capita by far, by some accounts they deserted at a rate 30 times higher than Native-born Americans.

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The Irish were also the main protagonists in the famous "Draft Riots" of 1863 (the film Gangs of New York is a dramatization of this event). As a result of the Enrollment Act, rioting began in several Northern cities, the most heavily hit being New York. A mob consisting principally of Irish immigrants rioted in the summer of 1863, with the worst violence occurring in July. The mob set fire to everything from African American churches and an orphanage to the office of the New York Tribune. The principal victims of the rioting were African Americans and activists in the anti-slavery movement. Eventually the Union Army was sent in and had to open fire to quell the violence and stop the rioters. By the time the rioting was over, 1,000 people had been killed or wounded.

Related Topics:
Gangs of New York - Enrollment Act

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