Raising an Army at Town Meeting

Communities held numerous town meetings throughout the Civil War to decide how they would meet their quotas. In order to get enough men to enlist, towns offered bounties to men who enlisted. They then raised taxes to pay for the bounties.  Here is a sample town meeting record from Strafford, Vermont.

To use this with students begin by helping them transcribe and translate the record. This will require hints on handwriting and some vocabulary work.  Students can then work through a series of scaffolded questions to find out how armies were raised during the Civil War. Take a trip to your town office and see what was happening in your town!