COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES fo r the militia. On Oct. 15th there w as a call fo r 300.000 men, and on Feb. 1. 1864. the President ordered a draft for 500,000 to be made on the toth o f March. On the 14th there was a call for 200,000 more, on the 18th o f Ju ly one fo r 500,000, and on the 19th o f December one fo r 300,000. Besides these there were a lot o f "ninety-day m ilitia" and other irregular musters. These various calls w ere filled by enlistments, volunteering and d rafts. There were four drafts made in Columbia and Montour counties—one by the State authorities for the m ilitia; one Sept. 17, 1863, to fill previous calls; one on Ju n e 3, 18 6 4; and on e on .'Vpril 14 ,18 6 5 . Lee having surrendered A p ril gth, the men liable fo r ser-ice under the last were rclca.scd. T he last battle of the war w as fought M av 12, 1865, and the surrender of the last of the Confederates, under K irby Sm ith, occurred on M ay 26th of the same year. CKiring the w ar there were fo r Pennsyl vania two great emergencies, the first in Sep tember. 1862, relieved by M cClellan's victory at Antictam. A t that time Governor Curtin called fo r 50,000 men, and Columbia county responded by sending four companies, and Montour sent two. T he second emergency w as in June, 1863, when the President called fo r 100.000 men. O f the number required, Columbia county sent five companies, and Montour (wo. T he first company in Columbia county to en list fo r the Civil w ar was the "Iro n Guards,” under Col. W . W . Ricketts, from Orangeville, and the first man to enlist from the county w as C . B . Brockway. Ricketts was a Wcst Point cadet, and he soon had his company completed. H e offered it lo the government, but w as rejected. Not daunted, the members chartered canalboats and went to Harrisburg, where they were finally accepted. TH E DRAFTS
A t the beginning of the Civil w ar the mi litia o f Pennsylvania existed practically only on paper. There w as a form o f military organization, and a tax w as levied on each voter liable to duty save those in volunteer companies, but there were few companies in a complete state o f organization. In 1862 an enrollment was ordered, and the number subject to military duty in Colum bia county w as found to be 4.58 7; the quota, under all calls, was 1 4 4 7; the number in serv ice. 6 2 6 : leaving a balance of 8 21 men to be
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supplied by draft or otherwise. The d raft was ordered by the Slate to fill the ranks. The townships o f Catawissa and Pine, and the borough o f Berwick, filled their quota with volunteers, but in the other divisions of the county a total o f 696 men were drawn. Bloom supplied Briarcrcek, 4 9; Beaver, 4 0 : Benton, 2 7; Conyngham, 6 o; Centre, 5 4; Fishingereek, 5 0; Franklin, 5; Greenwood, 4 5; Hemlock, 2 5; Jackson, 1 9; Locust, 4 0; Mon tour, 2 4; Main, i 8; Mount Pleasant, 2 7; M if flin, 4 6; Madison. 4 8 : Orange, 9; Scott, 3 6; Sugarloaf. No opposition w as manifested to this draft, in fact it had the effect o f stimulating enlist ments in the national service. The later d ra h s on (he part of the national government, how ever, were not received with equal unconcern. The first was drawn at T roy, Pa., Sept. 17. 1863, and called fo r 634 men from Columbia county. There was considerable opposition, particularly in Fishingereek, Benton, Sugarloaf, Jackson and Pine townships, and the ncighlroring portions o f Luzcm c and Sullivan counties. A series o f semi-public meetings was held in the disaffected sections fo r the purpose o f discussing the situation, at which the usual windy oratory prevailed, but no definite plans were made to meet the ques tion at hand. Some advocated resistance to (he draft, others su » e ste d the hiring o f sub stitutes, but all fin al^ acted on their own suggrations, individually. There were a number who refused to report fo r duty, and. as is cus tomary in wartime, they were declared to be deserters by the military authorities. This angered (he people greatly and many wild threats were made by individuals, who after wards regretted their sudden ebullition o f tem per. The culmination of the trouble came when, in August. 1864, I.icutcnant Robinson o f Luzcm c county was shot and fatally wounded by a party o f citizens whom he had challenged on the road near Raven Creek post office. It has since been established that Kohin.son had no oflkial authority to appre hend deserters. In the same inonili a detachment o f United States troops arrived in Bloomsburg and camp>ed at the F a ir Grounds, ostensibly for the puiqHjse o f enforcing (he draft. This force was increased later until it included almost a thousand men, a company under Colo nel I^m bcrt. part of the Keystone Battery from Philadelphia, under IJcu tm an t Robcrt.s, a battalion o f infantry under I.icutcnant Colo nel Stewart, and a Kattalion of the Veteran R cserse Corps. On ,ug. i6th M ajor Gen
