Owed
In the 19th century, a steward (another word also steward ) was a man who performed military service as a deputy on bail for another (= hired person ) . This was provided for and regulated as a legal option in the recruitment laws of most German states. (Example: Württemberg Military Conscriptions Ordinance of August 6, 1806, Badisches Konskriptionsgesetz, 1825)
A purchase contract was concluded between the seller and the buyer . The adjuster had to provide a deposit. This varied from 300 to 600 florins ( guilders ) and had to be paid into a state fund. A small part of this was paid out to the employee when he started work, the remainder with interest after the end of the commitment period ( surrender period ). The NCOs were often chosen from this group of well-trained and experienced soldiers . A newcomer could also commit himself several times in a row, usually with the rank already achieved .
For example, an order from the Württemberg War Ministry dated March 20, 1817 stipulated for the acceptance of the owers that
- They were born in the Kingdom , of good service, 5 feet 6 inches or more, single or widower with no children, and under 36 years of age;
- from the sergeant / sergeant down to riflemen / gunners 1st class, only those are to be taken “by maintaining the service or who promise future usefulness in advance”;
- the duration of their commitment was six years;
- 500 fl were to be paid for them, of which 100 fl had to be paid to the employee himself, 400 fl to a public cash register with interest until the end of the service period.
Baden purchase contract from 1852 page 1
Baden purchase contract from 1852 page 2
Badischer acquisition contract from 1852 receipt
Once Rather, it was also in the American Union Army of the Civil War . The US Congress created the legal basis for this in March 1863 when it passed the 'Enrollment Act'. The possibility of buying one's ransom was the subject of public criticism ( "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight" ) and one of the triggers of the Draft Riots in July 1863.
References
swell
- Entrant in Meyers Konversationslexikon 1885
- Files on entrants in the main state archive in Stuttgart
See also
literature
- Thomas Michael Schneider: Army Supplement and Social Order. Employees, subscribers and volunteers in Württemberg at the time of the German Confederation , Frankfurt / M u. a. O. 2002, ISBN 3-631-38459-9
- August Ludwig Reyscher (Ed.): Complete, historically and critically processed collection of the Württemberg laws , Vol. 19.2 War Laws Part 2 1801-1820, Tübingen, 1850 ( online at Archive.org )