[CIVIL WAR] Document Grouping Pertaining to 1864 Election

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Day 2: The American Civil War

By Fleischer's Auctions

Apr 25, 2026

Set Reminder 2026-04-25 09:00:00 2026-04-25 09:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Day 2: The American Civil War https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/fleischers-auctions/day-2-the-american-civil-war-22127
Featuring rare artifacts, documents, ephemera, photography, and weaponry relating to the American Civil War. Fleischer's Auctions info@fleischersauctions.com

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• Lot Description

  A grouping of three (3) documents pertaining to the issue of the Union draft and soldier’s rights to vote in the impending 1864 election.

  
  The 1864 election year brought along many challenges to the Union, with the growing pressure of divided parties and increasing exhaustion from a bloody war which was consuming a nation. The decisions made in the 1864 election would set the course for the Civil War; would reunification be made throughout the country? Would slavery be abolished or continued? How would peace finally be established after so much bloodshed? These questions were on the mind of every constituent, and very likely most heavily in the minds of the soldiers who were fighting the battles born from such division. Thus, the 1864 election year also brought with it the decision to allow soldiers to place absentee votes. Thousands of voting-eligible men were serving the Federal army, and were thus unable to vote in a usual manner. Still wanting to ensure the election results would be honest and fair, it was up for debate whether or not the soldiers would be allowed to participate. Democrats, who were strongly fighting to replace Lincoln with McClellan, worried that by allowing soldiers to vote the scales would be tipped in the incumbent’s favor. Ultimately, while states with Democratic majorities opted to not pass legislation allowing soldiers to vote, some states were successful in granting the right which about 150,000 soldiers practiced, casting their votes in the impending election. Lincoln would go on to win by a popular vote far surpassing the sway that the soldier’s votes would have potentially provided, but the issue ultimately opened up a door of reform for future elections and absentee votes for soldiers in service. 

   

  This intriguing grouping captures key items from this pivotal change in elections spurred by the strained 1864 Federal election. 

   

  Featuring: 

   

  1.) Soldier’s Absentee Ballot Envelope. Partly printed document completed in manuscript. Received 21 October 1864. Wax seal to verso, with side of the envelope opened. 5 1/2 x 3 inches.

   

  An absentee ballot attributed to William W. Converse (1837-1889) of Company A of the Connecticut 1st Heavy Artillery. Enlisting on 9 December 1863 as a private, Converse would serve until the end of the war, where he would eventually choose to desert his regiment on 31 July 1865 before their mustering out in September. Citing his residence as a voter of Canton, Connecticut, his vote would have been received and recorded as a part of the 1864 Federal election.  

   

  2.) “People’s Ticket. No Draft!” Ballot. Printed document. 1 page, 3 x 6 1/2 inches. 

   

  A political leaflet containing the suggested ticket for local office such as Town Clerk, Justice of the Peace, Constables, and Inspectors of Election. Headlining the entire ballot, titled the “People’s Ticket” is the slogan “No Draft!” Due to the ongoing pressure of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln issued several massive draft calls to sustain the Union Army in 1864. These drafts were controversial, and provisions were allowed which granted draftees to hire a substitute. Naturally, this left poorer populations at a disadvantage, providing them no other alternative than service. Thus, the draft was a hot topic issue during the 1864 election, one which would have undoubtedly swayed votes. 

   

  3.) “Address of the Union Central Committee.” Printed document. 27 July 1864. 1 page, 8vo. 

   

  An intriguing public address printed by the Union State Central Committee of Hartford, Connecticut, expressing their support to soldiers in the field by advocating for their ability to submit absentee votes. The document, which lists the names of the committee members themselves, asserts their position, calling upon the foundations of the constitution to justify an individual’s right to vote.

   

   “Elsewhere throughout the country, this privilege has been accorded, not as a favor, but as a right; and we trust that you will now say, and by an overwhelming majority, that those citizens who protect your firesides from the invader’s torch, and your country from destruction, shall be entitled to vote for those who may govern the country which they have periled their lives to save.”

   

   Noting the proposed legislation which would further permit soldiers the ability to submit their votes, this document draws heavily upon the sacrifice made by Union soldiers in fighting the historic war: “The soldier who sacrifices his business interest, leaves his family, and surrenders for three years or more his personal liberty to serve his country, can not understand why those less patriotic than himself, many of whom would sooner see their country torn into fragments than share his privations and dangers, should alone have the privilege of making laws and lawgivers, which he and his children are bound to respect and obey.” 

   

  A powerful document, crystalizing the opinions of American citizens who petitioned for the soldier’s vote to be included in the 1864 election. 

   

  [Civil War, Union, Confederate]  [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs][Abraham Lincoln, Politics, Mary Todd Lincoln, 1860 Election, Election of 1860, 1864 Election, Election of 1864,  Lincoln Assassination, John Wilkes Booth]

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