The lists of men drafted during the Civil War vary from state to state, and even from one drafting district in a state to another draft district. The lists also vary within a draft district over the two years the draft was in effect as new clerks arrived with their own distinctive handwriting.
Some districts kept a bound ledger for every draft call during the war - there were four - and in those ledgers listed the name of every man drafted, the date the man was drafted and the disposition of every draft case, that is, whether the man was exempted as unfit for duty, held to duty, already in the U.S. Service, or failed to report to the draft office. Other districts kept general lists that often simply contained the name of the man drafted and either an X or D after the name to signify if the man was exempted - X - or held to duty - D.
There were no typewriters during the Civil War. Every name on a draft list was handwritten, generally by a clerk in the draft office but sometimes by an officer or the surgeon examining the draftee. And every clerk's handwriting was distinctive to that clerk. Some clerks wrote in a florid, sweeping style that made capital L's look like capital I's to the untrained observer, others wrote in a cramped, tight-fisted style with letters running together and so small the word was hard to read.
PRUSSIAN SPELLING HARD
The illustration to the left is a digital image of an actual page from the draft ledger for Hart Township, Winona County, Minn. The third name on the list is written as "Labora Knauf Hannsen." But the man's real name is "Liborius Kauphusman" - and pro-nounced "La-boar-ee-us Ka-foos-man."
Liborius Kauphusman, pictured above, was an immigrant from Prussia. Apparently, the clerk recording his name took a stab at the spelling after hearing Liborius say his name.
