I have a question for the members of this list. The Constitution of
1902 said that no person who served in the Confederate or Union army or
navy during the Civil War was required to pay the poll tax. My question
is this: How is the word "served" defined? Did it include African
Americans who served the Confederacy as teamsters or laborers? If so,
how did these individuals prove their service? Or was this clause
interpreted to mean only those individuals who actually served in
fighting units? Or was this left up to the individual registrars to
determine?
Thank you.
Bill
--
William B. Obrochta
Assistant Director for Education
Virginia Historical Society
P. O. Box 7311
Richmond, VA 23221-0311
phone: 804-342-9651 fax: 804-355-2399
www.vahistorical.org
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