Telegram and envelope reporting Substitute Found for Required Military Service during Civil War

Single sheet 22 x 14 cm. Telegram Horizontal and Vertical fold. Printed form on one side in red type "The American Telegraph Company Principal Office, 83 State Street. Form filled in with black ink. Sent from Portland (Maine?). Rec'd, Boston Sept 3 1864. To Geo Rounds (in Boston). Handwritten "I have got a man Jonathan Norton." Undated later handwritten note in pencil in lower right portion of telegram sheet: "This "man a negro was Grandfather's substitute in the Civil War and was killed. Mother." Small original envelope which contained this telegram is present addressed to Geo Rounds at a Franklin Street address. When it became clear that the Union Army's need for new recruits could not be met by volunteers alone, Congress passed the Enrollment Act in March, 1863, which authorized a national draft of men aged 20 to 45. Men of means could avoid service by hiring a substitute to serve in their stead or by paying the Federal Government a $300 Commutation Fee.