Biography
Axel W. Carlson was a conscientious objector from Minnesota imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed for refusing military service, he was held at Fort Leavenworth. Sentenced to 25 years in prison (and/or 12. (Documented in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection's World War I Conscientious Objectors database.) Archival note: did not register for draft; interviewed by Bd. on Feb. 14, the Disciplinary Barracks ; charged with disobedience of orders; sentenced to 25 years in prison (and/or 12.5 years?), not reduced?; reason for stance = Socialist; member of Socialist Party; not a U.S. citizen
Douglas distinguishes civilian draft cases from the subsequent military confinement: the St. Paul resisters’ civilian sentences were reduced to time served on January 28, 1918, and the men were transferred to Fort Snelling before Camp Dodge. The March 11 court-martial terms and subsequent Leavenworth transfers do not establish that those nominal terms were actually served. William R. Douglas, The Germans Would Court-Martial Me, Too: St. Paul’s World War I Socialist Draft Resisters, Minnesota History 55(7), Fall1997 pp286–301, original PDF page 3. Source: https://storage.googleapis.com/mnhs-org-support/mn_history_articles/55/v55i07p286-301.pdf#page=3
Custody record
The cited World War I archival record does not establish a one-day imprisonment. The imposed sentence and the period actually spent in custody are different; no exact duration is recorded here unless supported by custody records.
Minnesota History documents the St. Paul draft resisters’ civilian-to-military custody transition in January 1918. Its footnote warns that records contain multiple Axel Carlson variants; Richard Carlson’s release must not be assigned to Axel.
The Revolutionary Age of August 9, 1919 prints a letter received by the National Left Wing Conference on June 21, 1919 from political prisoners confined in the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. It lists Axel W. Carlson among Socialist Party members, endorsing the letter's support for the Left Wing and its political aims. June 21 is the conference's receipt date, not an admission or release date; no individual charge or measured custody total is supplied.