Orange County’s first draft, 1917

In the chronology

Events in this storyline, in date order. See these 8 dated events in the chronology →

1. June 5, 1917 Orange County men register on the first draft registration day On June 5, 1917, 1,503 Orange County men registered for the draft. In Chapel Hill a Red Cross committee decorated the town with flags, pinned khaki bands on the registrants, and led a parade of the new registrants through the main streets afterward. People: Alice NobleSearch the index · Documenting the American South: A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina, 1917-1919, p. 18
2. by July 19, 1917 R. L. Strowd joins Orange County's draft exemption board When Sam White of Mebane could not serve, R. L. Strowd of Chapel Hill was chosen for the county's local exemption board, which then stood as Strowd, James H. Webb and C. D. Jones, both of Hillsboro. People: Robert L. StrowdThe News (Chapel Hill), July 19, 1917, p. 7
3. July 19, 1917 The full list of Orange County's June 5 draft registrants is printed A two-page supplement printed the name, serial number and post office of every man who registered for the draft in Orange County on June 5, numbered to about 1,500, as the county exemption board finished its work and awaited its call.The News (Chapel Hill), July 19, 1917, p. 5
4. by July 26, 1917 Orange County's first draft quota is set at 141 men Of the 15,674 men North Carolina was called on to furnish in the first draft, Orange County's share was 141. The first number drawn in the national lottery, 258, fell to a Chapel Hill driver, the first man drafted from the county. People: Robert L. StrowdThe News (Chapel Hill), July 26, 1917, p. 5
5. July 28, 1917 A traveling fiddler at the Damascus schoolhouse tells his audience the draft cannot send them abroad A traveling entertainer billed as Uncle Josh, who gave a benefit show for the Damascus school, also lectured on the war. The News reported that he told the crowd the government could not force anyone to leave the country to fight, and said only people with little sense would believe him.The News (Chapel Hill), August 2, 1917, p. 5
6. July 30, 1917 The county exemption board summons its first 400 drafted men to Hillsboro Meeting in Chapel Hill, the Orange County exemption board fixed the order of liability and summoned the first 400 men drawn for service to come before it at Hillsboro, 100 a day from August 6. People: Robert L. StrowdThe News (Chapel Hill), August 2, 1917, p. 1
7. September 1, 1917 The local board names Orange County's first seven drafted men for Camp Jackson The Orange County exemption board chose and announced the seven men who made up the first five percent of the county's draft quota, picked rather than taken in draft order, and told them to report at Hillsboro on September 6 to leave for Camp Jackson, South Carolina.The News (Chapel Hill), September 6, 1917, p. 1
8. September 3, 1917 Hillsborough gives a Labor Day dinner for Orange County's first drafted men On Labor Day, September 3, 1917, the county honored its drafted men with a dinner for white men at the warehouse and a separate dinner for Black men at the Black school house. Lily Hamilton's Comfort Bag Committee gave bags to the first seven men called from the county.Search the index · Documenting the American South: A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina, 1917-1919, p. 44