Following is an explanation of the 1862 Illinois Military Census that I got off the USGEN Wayne Co., Illinois website. I just became aware of it this week. Illinois State legislation passed in 1861 required township assessors to compile lists of able-bodied male residents from the ages of 18 through 45.Within townships were two categories of eligible young men. The voluntary militia consisted of those individuals who had organized themselves into companies and elected officers for the purpose of military enlistment. Voluntary militia lists give the township of residence, soldier's name, age, birthplace, occupation, if they had already entered the service and appropriate remarks. The reserve militia, on the other hand, was composed of those eligible men who chose not to volunteer but who were liable to being drafted. Reserve militia lists generally provide township and men's names only. These lists were composed over 1861-1863. The President called for 300,000 men to be inducted into military service with an order issued August 4, 1862 and the War Department established regulations for the enrollment and drafting of these men. The resulting record was an 1862 federal census conducted by enrolling officers of the men eligible for drafting. The description of this census is from the book "Descriptive Inventory of the Archives of the State of Illinois", paragraph 301.029. The actual military census starts on microfilm Roll #1-12422, and continues on #1012423, Military Census and Military Rolls. Both rolls are available through any local lending library from the Illinois State Library and at Family History Centers throughout the world. Jeanne