<Li> Enrollment Act of 1864 (13 Stat. 6) </Li> <Li> Enrollment Act of 1865 (13 Stat. 487) </Li> <P> The Enrollment Act, 12 Stat. 731, enacted March 3, 1863, also known as the Civil War Military Draft Act, was a legislation passed by the United States Congress during the American Civil War to provide fresh manpower for the Union Army . A form of conscription, the controversial act required the enrollment of every male citizen and those immigrants who had filed for citizenship between ages twenty and forty - five . Federal agents established a quota of new troops due from each congressional district . In some cities, particularly New York City, enforcement of the act sparked civil unrest as the war dragged on, leading to the New York City draft riots on July 13--16 . It replaced the previous Militia Act of 1862 . </P> <P> The Provost Marshal General James Barnet Fry administered the national implementation of the Enrollment Act and answered directly to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton . Beneath Provost Marshal General Fry were the State Acting Assistant Provost Marshal Generals . The State Provost Marshal Generals were not authorized by the Enrollment Act, but were appointed personally by James Fry to attend to matters in each individual state . New York and Pennsylvania were the only states that had more than one State Acting Assistant Marshal general; New York had three and Pennsylvania had two . Each state was divided along district lines with each district under the jurisdiction of an enrollment board . </P>

Was there a draft for the american civil war