sig Pink Pre NY Ny CEN AN A C@CRCH SC Des OF THE NORTH CAROLINA YEARLY MEETING, TESTIMONY AGAINST WAR, FROM 186A EPOa Soa. ee Published by Order of the Representatives of North Carolina Yearly Meeting of Friends, Pe BALTIMORE: SETHAM PRESS OF WILLIAM KE. BOYLE, Corner of Baltimore and St. Paul Streets. 1868. | ERED TRANS SCR er eelinien etn SUFFERINGS OF FRIENDS ERE, +0 He AN ACCOUNT OF THE SUFFERINGS OF FRIENDS NORTH CAROLINA YEARLY MEETING. IN SUPPORT OF THEIR TESTIMONY AGAINST WAR, FROM i861 TO 1865. PR el ele Published by Order of the Representatives of North Carolina Yearly Meeting of Friends, BALTIMORE: SLHAM PRESS OF WILLIAM KE. BOYLE, Corner of Baltimore and St. Paul Streets. 1868, : ee a te A N. 2G G0 Bf OF THE SUFFERINGS OF FRIENDS Of North Carolina Yearly Meeting, in support of thew Testimony against War, from 1861 to 1865. - 2 We believe it right to record the sufferings of Friends in North Carolina during the late Rebellion, not that they so greatly exceeded those of others, but because principles of such high importance were involved in them as totally to separate them in character and results from the general calamities of war. The position of Friends in this State was a peculiar one. Utterly opposed not only to war itself, but, as was well known, to the system of slavery, which was the leading object of the contest, they had a double por- tion of enmity to bear. While many others reaped as they had sown, or were innocently involved in the tatal choice of their rulers, they suffered for conscience sake, they endured crief, suffering wrongfully; it was emphatically ‘‘the trial of their faith,’’ and as such, precious, we believe, in the sight of the Lord, and worthy of remembrance among men. We desire also to commemorate the loving kindness of our God; for He who said ‘‘Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you’’ has Himself been with His people as their Refuge, and has proved his faithfulness in strength- ening them to bear their testimony for Him, in delivering them from danger, and in overruling all for good. We think it right to refer more minutely to our position respecting Slavery:—a position reached by patient and con- caeneemmiaiaeeiiamaanaiiatia SA a —— p . Se Sh ss 4 tinuous effort about one hundred and fifty years after the origin of our Religious Society. The first action on the subject by North Carolina Yearly Mecting was in 1740, and went no further than to advise that negroes be well used. The next record in 1758 refers to making provision for Negroes’ Meetings. In 1770 the importation of Negroes from Africa was declared iniquitous, and buying them from traders or dealers was also disapproved. In 1776 the sub- ject of slaveholding itself was at last solemnly considered, and about ten years after was formally condemned by our Discipline.* For more than thirty years those Friends who were not fully convinced of this evil or were so iIn- volved in it as to render their extrication difficult, were the objects of faithful and patient care. ‘‘One Committee after another was appointed. Deficient members were again and again advised and dealt with in love and tenderness. A very few were disowned. They mostly yielded to their conviction of duty. Truth and justice triumphed. Slave- holding in the Society was abolished.’’} In 1818 a brief record of the Yearly Meeting shows this final result, ‘‘none held as Slaves.’’ No sooner had Friends assumed their own decisive posi- tion and embodied their convictions in their Book of Disci- pline, than they began to extend their efforts. In 1787 they laid the subject before the General Assembly of the State. For many years after, they presented almost annually simi- lar protests against the unjust and oppressive laws that upheld slavery, clearly pointing out its inseparable evils. After a first, or sometimes second reading, these appeals were laid upon the table. Yet we believe such faithful words, evidently actuated by no party spirit, and heard *The same step was taken by Virginia Yearly Meeting in 1785. For similar movements in other Yearly Meetings, See ‘‘A Brief Statement of the Rise and Progress of the Testimony of the Religious Society of Friends against Slavery, and ae Slave Trade. Published by direction of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1843.’ tT See ‘‘A Narrative of some of the Proceedings of North Carolina Yearly Meet- ing on the subject of Slavery, within its limits, published by order of the Meet- ing for Sufferings of North Carolina Yearly Meeting,’’ 1848. 5 year after year by all our legislators down to the year 1834, could not have been wholly lost.* At least it was per- fectly understood that one religious Societyt in their midst could not for conscience sake participate in what law and custom and even religious opinion so fully sanctioned. “We believe that Friends endeavored to maintain their testimony faithfully as the darkness around grew thicker; but it was at the cost of much that the world counts most *Aga specimen of these faithful appeals, and also as indicating clearly the increasing severity of the Slave laws, we give the following extract from a memorial presented in 1834. ‘‘Your memorialists are emboldened under a weighty sense of religious duty, to petition the present General Assembly to repeal all those laws, enacted by preceding legislatures of this State against the literary instruction of Slaves, whereby it is made a finable offence for any to be fonnd teaching their slaves to read. And they also respectfully request your con- sideration of the repeal of the laws recently enacted, prohibiting all colored persons in this State—bond and free—under a penalty, of corporal punishment, from preaching and exhorting publicly in their respective religious congregations. We consider these laws unrighteous—contrary to the spirit of Christianity — offensive to God. And your memorialists believe, if not repealed, they will in- crease the difficulties and danger they are intended to prevent. “Your petitioners, so far from using any measures either publicly or privately, that would tend to increase the discontent of the slaves with their situation, feel it their indispensable duty on all suitable occasions, to encourage slaves to obedi- ence and faithfulness to their masters, as the probable means of mitigating their sufferings and ameliorating their present condition; and we do exhort masters to be kind to their slaves, as we have no doubt Christian usage would induce a recip- rocity of kindlier feeling between them, and ultimately tend’to increase the happi- ness of both. May we not believe the more we live in the spirit and practice of the precepts of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more kind and gentle will be our treatment of every grade of our fellow creatures—for was not the harmonizing and evangelizing of the whole human family one of the grand purposes for which this religion was introduced into the world? ‘‘And lastly, your petitioners would respectfully submit to your consideration not only the repeal of the laws before mentioned, but the enactment of other laws ‘and regulations for the general instruction of slaves in the doctrines of the Chris- tian Religion, and in at least so much of literary education as would enable them to read the Holy Scriptures, which would undoubledly tend to the improve- ment of their general character, and greatly lessen, if not wholly remove, the apprehension of danger from them.”’ In 1818 and 1823 Memorials were presented to the Congress of the United States, +The Methodists and Moravians both gradually gave up their testimony. The disruption of the former from the Northern Conference occurred in 1844. 6 desirable. Free labor was with great difficulty obtained and to labor with their own hands was, through the plight ing influence of slavery, held as degrading. Thus they were compelled by the force of surrounding circumstances to con- tent themselves not only with smaller gains, but to take also a lower social position. Under these depressing circumstances, in a land impov- erished by slave culture, cut off in various ways from the privilege of a good education for their children, many of our most enterprising members turned to the free and fertile West. It is impossible to determine the amount of this emigration,* but the present results are very evident. There have sprung up, largely from this source, the Yearly Meetings of Ohio, Indiana, Western and Iowa, numbering at present over forty thousand members, extending creat the Western States. We gratefully record our sense of the blessings which thus rewarded the faithfulness of one gen- eration in the prosperity of the next; and overruled their straitened position in their own land for the spreading abroad of their tents, we trust to the honor of Him who ‘‘setteth the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.”’ We now proceed to consider the position of Friends in North Carolina during the late War. A Convention met in the Fifth month of 1861, and passed an ordinance of Seces- sion for the State. In the Twelfth month of the same year attempt was made to pass an ‘Ordinance concerning Murai Sedition,’’ by which every free male per- son in the State above sixteen y ove sixteen years of age was required to appear publicly and renounce all allegiance to the Govern- . : : ‘The pl figures furnish the only Statistics in regard to our numbers which we can give with any degree of accuracy. Number of members in 1851 over five years of age about 3,000 té 6 in 1861 (73 66 be 6e ne 6 66 in 1867 (ec 6e Cc CC . The decrease from 1851 to 1861 was entirely owing to emigration and as this continued largely throughout the war and at its close, the actual increase since 1861 is much larger than shown by these figures. | fi ment of the United States, and also promise to ‘support, maintain and defend the independent Government of the Confederate States.’? The alternative was banishment in thirty days. An earnest protest was entered against this act which would fall with much severity upon Friends. Their peaceful, industrious and moral character was fully recognized and their peculiar stand-point in regard to war and slavery urged on their behalf. It was claimed that the exception and special provision made in their favor by an Act of Assembly in 1777 ought still to protect them, and the final appeal was made in these words—‘‘Upon the expulsion from among us of such a people the civilized world would cry shame.’’* The proposed ‘act fell to the ground, but not so the hostility that was capable of sug- gesting it. In the excitement which now prevailed throughout the State in the effort to promote volunteering, Friends were, in various ways, exposed to much anxiety. Many left the State, though every means was now used to prevent this, and several parties of emigrants were arrested and brought back. A few friends were occasionally included in the Draft, but obtained their release upon various grounds without much difficulty. It was not until the summer of 1862 that the great and general trial came. By the passage of-a Conscrip- tion Act in the Confederate Congress, in the Seventh Month of this year, every man between eighteen and thirty-five years of age was required to enter the army. This Act, as early as 1863, was made to include all between the ages of eighteen and forty-five; and finally, in 1864, all between seventeen and fifty years of age. Meantime, in the Fourth Month of 1862, Friends had petitioned both the State Assem- bly and the Confederate Congress for relief. The State Gov- ernment first passed an Act of Exemption, releasing them from military duty upon the payment of one hundred dollars each, and on the 11th of 10th month a similar bill passed *See “Speech of Hon. William A. Graham, of Orange, in Convention of North Carolina, Dec. 7th, 1861, on the Ordinance concerning Test Oaths and Sedition. Raleigh, 1862.”’ 8 the Congress at Richmond, which exempted all who were members at that date upon the payment of five hundred dollars. Unlike our Friends in the Northern States, it was not upon a few that the trial came; but upon the many. And in another more important respect our positions differed widely. In our own case, the existing Government and the officers who executed its will, were far from having sympathy with us. We were still loyal at heart to the Government of the United States, and though submitting passively to a tem- porary usurpation, this was little merit in a community that called for the utmost zeal in the new cause. We testified against slavery, and in the fresh effort to establish it more firmly this was no small offence. Above all, we could not fight, and with the spirit of war so rampant in our midst, that the preaching of the Gospel of Peace gave way in almost every place of worship to a call to arms, the hatred and malice thus aroused fell with much violence upon us. In proceeding to give some details of the consequent suf- fering, it may be well, for the sake of clearness, to group them under three heads, viz: 1. Cases of suffering previous to passage of the Exemption Act, or under irregular proceedings. 2. Cases among the Newly Convinced Members, on whom the persecution fell most heavily. 3 Cases of those who could not conscientiously pay the Exemption Tax. The first division, while embracing the largest number of instances, does not furnish the cases of greatest suffering. Rude arrests, short but uncertain imprisonments and violent threatenings were the common lot of many who were drafted or conscripted, but refused to fight. In not a few instances they were also hung up by the thumbs for several hours, Some of these escaped to the West, some obtained release on the ground of inability; others felt at liberty to engage nm 2 in the State Salt Works, and some other kinds of employ- ment which protected those thus occupied—though not a few of the latter, finding their work too closely connected with war, relinquished it. We are willing also to acknowledge, that at this early stage of the war, the trial that fell so sud- denly upon us found some of us unprepared. ‘There was naturally for a time some unsettlement and much uncertainty; but very soon we believe there was experienced a deeper root- ing for the storm, and those whose faith was really overthrown were very few indeed. After exemption had been obtained for our Society, there were still occasional instances of cruelty. In the constant search for “Conscripts, thousands of whom were hidden in the woods, our Friends were often exposed to suspicion and danger. Sometimes from neglecting to carry their papers with them they were sadly maltreated. Space which will be needed for more important cases will allow us to give only one such occurrence in detail. In the spring of 1865, about forty men, professing to be in search of Conscripts, came to a mill belonging to J. D. of Cane Creek, Chatham Co. The miller was first hung up by a rope three times to force him to betray his sons, who were hidden. Upon hearing the screams of the miller’s wife and children, J. D. went out to the crowd. The same infor- mation was demanded of him, but he assured them of his entire ignorance as to their retreat. He was at once seized and carried into the barn. A rope was tied around his neck, and thrown over a beam, while he was mounted upon a box. Then beginning to tighten the rope, they said, ‘* You are a Quaker, and your people, by refusing to fight and keeping so many out of the army, have caused the defeat of the South,’’ adding, that if he had any prayers to offer, he must be quick, as he had only five minutes to live. J. D. only replied, that he was innocent, and could adopt the language ‘‘Father forgive them, they know not what they do.’’ They then said they would not hang him just then; but proceeded to rob him; then ordered him under a horse- trough, threatening to shoot him if he looked up. While lying there he could hear them hanging up the miller three 2 10 different times, till the sound of strangling began. After finally extorting a promise from him to find his sons, they left, charging J. D. to lie still till they came back with some others to hang. They did not return, however, but went on to one of his Methodist neighbors whom they hung until unconscious, and then left him in that state; and the next night they found one of the missing conscripts, whom they hung until dead. Such were the persecutions at the hands of violent men, of which many instances could be given. We now proceed to the Second Division—the newly con- vinced members of our Society. J. G. of -—— Co. was conscripted in the autumn of 1862. About two months before this, his fear of the coming evil was so great, that he left his home and family, and escaped to Tennessee. But finding that the step did not result in peace of mind, he returned, and quietly awaited the result. In about two weeks he was arrested and carried to Camp Holmes. In a few days the Conscripts were all summoned. and offered bounty money if they would now volunteer. J. G. and two others refused the offer. An attempt was next made to entrap them by giving them a paper to sign, without which they were assured they could have neither money nor clothing. They were adroitly told of the great need they might soon have of the latter, or if not needing it themselves, of the good they might do in giving it to the needy. These offers were steadily refused, and the wily arguments met by the open assertion, that ‘‘all war was opposed to the whole spirit and teachings of the Gospel and the mission of the Christian, His weapons, they said, were not to be carnal, but spiritual.’’ Bundles of cloth- ing were, however, soon tossed to them, with many offensive epithets, and they were now told that they must either obey orders or be shot; and that if they did not fire when in bat- tle, the men behind were ordered to shoot them. J. G. replied, ‘‘ You have me here, and may inflict on me any punishment you will; but I cannot do more than submit to iA what you inflict. My hands are clean of the blood of men, and I intend to keep them so, cost what it may.’* An attempt was then made to force the Bounty Money upon them, but in vain. One of the officers now came for- ward and said, ‘‘Boys, I want to give you some good advice. Take your clothing and money and go along. Obey your officers and do right, or else you will be put under sharp officers of Col. S. who will have you shot into strings if you don’t obey. Just put away your Quaker notions now and do right. What regiment will you be sent to?’’ Refusing to commit himself by any choice, he was ordered to Richmond, Va.; but while on his way, he, with several others, was released through the efforts of Friends, and the payment of the $500 required. He was at this time in connection with the Methodists but was soon after united to Friends. It was in the midst of such commotions that many were led to very serious thoughts upon the inconsistency of war and fighting with the loving and quiet spirit of a disciple of Jesus. Decided first upon this point and then led on to the consideration of others, many sought admission to our Society. The whole number of these, including those members of their families who were often received with them, was about six hundred. There were many other grounds upon which the more quiet citizens of our State were opposed to the War, but such motives could rarely have been the inducement for them to unite with us. Nor did such a step allow of much hope of escape from suffering. Only those who were actually mem- bers at the time the Exemption Act was passed were allowed the benefit of it. It is true that through the leniency of some . officers in the Confederate War Department this act was sometimes so construed as to cover other cases. But for this, special application had to be made, and such influences brought to bear, as few could hope to secure; while the release was usually obtained after a lengthened period of trial had tested the reality of their convictions. Thus it fell out that the storm burst with the greatest violence upon those who were in many ways the least prepared to meetit. By their old asso- ciates such views were regarded as lacking the excuse of early ‘ 12 training, and in the family circle the suffering had often to be more or less shared by those who did not partake of the con- viction that occasioned it. But He whose strength is given ac- cording to our need, prepared many of these to anita cheer- fully for His name’s sake, and to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. In the great multitudes that swelled the two vast armies arrayed against each other, there could not have been found instances of more Walks shard: ism, of calmer courage, and fearless unshrinking endurance of death, and agonies beyond those of death. than were exhibited by that little band, who made up Bnothet army and followed as their only Captain the Prince of Peace N é hope of higher honors lured them on. No exulting oe gave them its gratitude. Reviled and betecenged, chart nek, Leader sustained them with one sure promise, Great is your reward in heaven.’’ S. F. who had become a member with us after the passage of the Exemption Act, and could not avail himself of it, was arrested in the Twelfth Month, 1864, and taken to Salida On refusing to take a gun, he was subjected for two hours ts the brutal punishment known ag bucking; in which the person is placcd in a stooping position, the wrists firmly tied and brought in front of the knees, with a pole thrust In a painful and totally helpless position. After this he was made to carry a pole for two or three hours and then tied during the night. The next morning he ae tied up by the hands for two hours. The same hie aes a gun a tied to his right arm and a piece of timber to his neck Unable longer to endure the weight of it, he sat down = order to support the end of it upon the ground, when he was pierced by a bayonet. They then bucked him down again and gagged him witha bayonet for the remainder of the da Enraged at the meekness with which these cruelties ia indignities were borne, the Captain began to swear at him, telling him it was useless to contend further he must now take a gun or die. As the Captain proceeded to 13 tie the gun upon his arm, 8. F. answered quietly: ‘‘If it 1s thy duty to inflict this punishment upon me, do it cheer- fully—don’t get angry about it.’’ The Captain then left him, saying to his men: ‘‘If any of you can make him fight, do it—I cannot.”’ Two young men now appeared with their guns, telling him they were going to take him off and shoot him. ‘It is the Sabbath,’’ he replied, ‘‘and as good a day to die as any.’’ They however took him to the Colonel of the Regiment, who, more inclined to mercy, advised him to consult a lawyer and procure exemption, if possible, but assured him that if not so released he must take his gun or die. Two days after his gun was tied to his arm with great sever- ity, and a strap passed around his neck, by which he was dragged around nearly the entire day. The next day the bucking was resorted to. A Friend, who visited the camp at this time, remonstrating against such cruelty it was given up; though he was still retained as a prisoner till the sur- render of Salisbury not long after restored him to his family. J. B. of Chatham County, N. C. was, at the commence- ment of the war a Baptist and Colonel of the Militia. He threw himself eagerly into the Southern cause and began to raise volunteer companies. ‘The refusal of some Friends to | join in a parade, led him to examine the ground which they held. The result was, that he first hesitated to order the Captains of the different companies to enroll the Friends, and soon after, in the Fall of 1861, he resigned his own com- mission, under a full persuasion that ‘‘it was not right to slay his fellow-men.’’ Starting on a dark night not long after to attend a political meeting, to-be held near him, he lost his way, and wandering, in no small distress of mind, he reached at last the public road, and the steps of a building which proved to be the Friends’ Meeting-House. While seated there alone, in solemn meditation, he became satisfied that it was his duty to unite himself with the people who worshipped there. Delaying a little to perform the vow which he had at that time made, on the 6th of Third Month, 1862, he was drafted. He evaded the search made for him 14 by escaping into another County. Venturing to return in the Kighth Month he was for some time unmolested. He was received into membership. with Friends in the First Month, 1863. He soon after paid the Exemption Tax, But the enmity which followed his decided course, and _ hith- erto singularly held in check, now the next year his exemption was r and he was sent under guard to C and then to Wilmington, where for four weeks he suffered much abuse. But hig spirit was so far changed that he was amp Holmes, near Raleigh, 15 stamped him as a coward and despicable. But instead of yielding to such an imputation, he fearlessly explained the conviction that led to his singular position; thus sometimes opening the eyes of others, and compelling the respect of nearly all to a courage far beyond their own. Strik- ingly were the words of the Apostle Peter verified In his experience—‘‘If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye;’’ and—‘‘If any man suffer asa Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf,”’ 3 able to endure it meekly, and even literally when smitten on the one cheek turned the other also. A petition for hig release from his friends proving ineffectual, he resolved to escape After a perilous journey on foot of 200 miles, he reached his home only to be recaptured the next morning, and was soon again at Wilmington under still more cruel Poneto Be- lieving that he had erred in his hasty escape, he now became resigned to whatever they might be able to inflict. An alarming illness, which brought him to the brink of the grave, led to his discharge. Upon his recovery he was again ordered to Camp, and put in jail for a week, Pinged on again as a prisoner from Camp to Camp, he had place, to bear his testimony threats. The surrender restored him to his family, and the life thus ennobled by patient endurance, has since been earnestly devoted to the relief of the suffering around him, and the highest welfare of his fellow men. | ; | | i | | G. M. was arrested and removed from one guard house to another, till reaching Richmond, he was sent on to join the army of General Lee, then in the Valley of Virginia. Refusing to fight, he was ordered to the rear to cook. He explained, that while willing to do his own cooking, he could take no part in any of a soldier’s duties. For this refusal he was bucked down for some hours. The next day the army was obliged to retreat, and on the way he was offered a gun. He replied, that he had no use for it, as he could not fight. The General in command of his division then threatened him with immediate hanging, and he was marched towards some trees selected for the purpose. But arriving there he was allowed to go on with the retreating army. Refusing to accept any occupation that was military, even to carrying the baggage of the Officers, after varied abuses, (among which were much knocking and kicking,) he » In each amid sneers and taunts and cruel At times he met with kinder treatment, and was E. P. H. who has since become a | was ordered to Salisbury to guard Government stores; bed was put in close custody at Petersburg, where his hardships refusing to participate in any way in the work of war . cun were great; water to wash with being refused him for three @ 9 ’ was fastened to his back, and he was tied to a guard post weeks. But the surrender of Lee’s army at Appomattox In writing of this to a friend, he sp punishment he had had the ble Christ’s sake.’’ Court House followed, and he was discharged, after bearing his testimony for conscience sake, through seven months ssed privilege of enduring for | | of great trial and suffering. 3 Often the curious crowds gathered around him to witness what in their eyes, as naturally in his own 3 obtained employ sible, to keep fro m the army, was oe ? it isa} Priends, He had obtained Sit admission to ¢ The Sergeant who was 100lmate, w! a discharge fro he Society of m the army which ordered io arrest 10, while endeavoring him from abuse ) to pro- Le S. W. L. of Randolph Co. N. C. was another of the number who proved faithful unto death. He had been a member of our Religious Society but a few months, when he was arrested as a conscript and sent to the Camp near Peters- burg, Va. Upon his arrival he was ordered to take up arms. This he refused to do, and as a punishment, was kept from sleep for thirty-six hours. As this did not move him, for about a week after he was daily bucked down for some length of time and then suspended by the thumbs for an hour and a half. Being stil] firm in his refusal to fight he was court- martialed and ordered to be shot. A little scaffold was pre- pared on which he was placed, and the men were drawn up in line ready to execute the sentence, when he prayed, - ‘Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.’’ Upon hearing this, they lowered their guns, and he was thrust into prison. Not long after he was sent to Winder Hospital, at Richmond, Va. where after a long and suffering illness the end came in his peaceful release for a mansion in heaven. A few lines from an officer in the Regiment to which he has been assigned closed the suspense of an afflicted family, when his widow and his seven children were left with little other legacy than the like precious faith. ‘‘It is my painful duty to inform you that 8S. W. L. died in Winder Hospital, at Richmend, on the 8th of December, 1864. He died as he had lived, a true, humble and devoted Christian, true to his faith and religion....... We pitied him and— sympathized with him...... but he is rewarded for his fidelity and is at rest.’’ | J.M.J., A. J. and D. J. were three brothers, who joined Friends after the passage of the Exemption Act. After their names were placed upon the list of conscripts in 1863, they still remained quietly at home, not even hiding in the woods. Their protest against bearing arms was unheeded, and they were arrested and sent on to the army at Orange Court House, Va. There they were ordered into ranks but on refusing to obey, J. M. J. was knocked down with a gun, and a long gash cut in his head. On attempting to rise, the 6) 9) 19 18 : itizen&, re- zens and property-holders, in ee , yi sos 4 , to whom trl Fg ‘ing the injunction, tribute api Sie Re — nea .? vat we cannot Sao ne me eres tax, it being imposed upon us on cea Liberty. rinciples, being the price exacted of = ee members Yet dy appreciate the good intentions of t sit oe of Congress who had it in their hearts to do Sa by our relief: and we recommend that those paren PAS A inonk sitive or young men themselves, dreading Fhe pence camp who have availed themselves of this law, a m ' a2 er. be treated in a tender mann Wand J.D.H. for three days ease N is ee fe Being allowed at i and taken to le 7 and nights, without food or drink, making it a court-martial were — vial oon days they faithfully pede . ee return hom verre uired to ‘ = i were soon sent to Weldon, where they fe: ae if they Ape rill, and were warned of their liability to be s t in close cai refractory. They were, however, only Si és dis- O ~ bn WwW , ne Pe in the gnard-house, and the next ae 7 a ena and sent home. About a year after egrie tata AtA iealuiad in the Conscription. 7 a aan were He at Kinston, and after ve moe Geis. Be who declared that his Ean me sent to ned in carried out at all hazards. set ie gan es were al- upper room without food or drink. nies p Seeded bts on lowed to converse with them, and, aes day Bney d their little far from sinking under the suffering, they used pace! ae strength gladly in explaining their set af this mre of their inward consolation. at = aha iti: “wii % to them for a ) trial, this did indeed turn hoger eae owen etiow the promise fulfilled. ‘‘It piel aoli | af 4] “ ps in that same hour what ye — ies t] ae night gs from thirst were the most acute. On the ings undergoing onet to the depth of nearly ugh severely tried, suffered after sent. to the Rapid Ann re new trials awaited them. their efforts to fail in subdu- § pierced with a bay The third brother tho in to them a little wate this trial found them stil] unwavering, They were then all] or four hours, This cruel punishment, by the sound the brothers were wakened ae : Lice amici eae : . ‘ had been left in ’ the subject ieaiaos inn er - ads aca they could soon have refreshed themselves. e subject: ‘We have had the subject under serious consideration and while U K 21 orders were, they said, to thrust them in four inches deep; but, though much scarred and pierced, it was not so severely done as they had threatened. One of the men, after thus wounding him, came back to entreat his forgiveness. In the various changes of the next four months, some kindness was occasionally shown to them, but mingled with much cruelty. It was not till seven months had been passed in these fiery ordeals, that their release was obtained—another Friend thinking it right to pay their exemption money for them. The value of this tax, at that time, was only equal to a little more than a barrel of flour—a small sum indeed, could they have felt themselves easy to avail themselves of this provi- sion. It was no small addition to their sufferings that their families at home were sharing in it. In the extreme scarcity of labor, their wives were compelled to toil hard in the fields to raise the food for the coming winter, and this proved not merely a passing hardship, but left one of them in greatly enfeebled health. Another brother of the same family, W. B. H. was arrested on the 8th of Sixth Month, 1863. The officers to whose division he was assigned, were unusually rough and severe. Finally, after a full explanation of his views and the necessity he was under of refusing all military duties whatsoever, the Colonel said he should be shot, and the only favor allowed should be the choice of time—that night or the next morning. After a little pause, W. H. replied, that if it was his Heavenly Father’s will that he should lay down his life, he would far rather do it than disobey one of his commands. Butif it was not His will, none of them could take his life from him; however, they might give the order to do so. He then spoke of the three men who were cast into the burning fiery furnace, and of Daniel in the lions’ den, who all trusted in God, and He delivered them. As to the time of his death, he could make no choice. The officer seemed greatly at a loss, and sent him to the wagon yard for the night. The next morning he was ordered out with a foraging party. He explained that he had two objections to this. It was, in the first place, military work, and 22 besi | des, it was taking the property of others now greatly excited, came forward | ground, while a gun was tied m, but they continue A squad of men wa to fire; but as the order was about bei his arms and said, ‘‘Father for what they do.” Nota gun w were heard * saying, The enraged officer st g struck at his head, but missed his unharmed. The officer then left done with him—but was himse day in the battle of Gett aa of this battle, no attempt was made to fo A ‘cee found in the retreat, with whi eep up, a shelter and kind ¢ ; saying, he was not yet , If killed the same or next ysburg. As W. H. was sick at the rce him into ch he was unable to are ata farm house, but was lon Cavalry and sent tu Fort He had been ill 7 ssage could reach Philad PONG be elphia, Applicat; a ‘ »plicat a ae Anes made at Washington, and a ra oe = promptly dispatched from the War Office we as ~_ release upon taking an a De Seabee ffirmation of allegia ’ : an t h United States. But loyal as he had ever been ee Pash y] not ise «4 faa. {0 Support, protect and defend’’ the Constitu é Overnment. He had already suffered aah, usly preserved to flinch now from close of the war. nature of his scrup the form of the affirmation. Was. 1@ war ved lamily. The God w] d been able to deliver him. sa allowed him to return to his be he served had indee The Colonel, and had him laid on the 8 then drawn up in readiness ng given W. H. raised give them, for they know not oe Pcs ie and some of the men o¢ shoot such a man.” 23 At the same time that W. B. H. was arrested, four others, having a birth-right membership with us, and opposed to the payment of the Tax, were taken by force from their homes in Randolph County, C. and A. B., brothers, and T. and J. H., also brothers, and cousins of the former. Although detained in the army for nine months, they suf- fered comparatively little from the cruelty of officers; yet the uncertainty of their lot, and the painful surroundings of camp life, kept them in constant dependance upon the care and loving kindness of their Lord. On their passage from Weldon to Camp French, near Blackwater, Va. the Con- scripts were packed standing so closely in a car, that they could only rest themselves by leaning on each other’s knees, and were kept in this way without water, and with only the little food a few-chanced to have with them for nearly twenty-four hours. They were assigned to the 52d N.C. Regiment. On declining to drill, they were entreated to pay the commutation tax, and were assured that their money should be used only for civil purposes. They steadily urged that liberty of conscience ought not to be purchased in any way. The Colonel then assigned them to Captain K and from him and his company their quiet and consistent course won unexpected favor. The Lieutenant, however, for a time was very harsh, and ordered his men to compel them with guns and bayonets to aid in clearing ground for a camp. He was just ordering two men to press steadily upon them with the points of their bayonets, until they moved, an order which they contrived to evade for a few moments, injuring them but slightly,—when Captain K. appeared, and reproving the Lieutenant, told them they might remain quiet for that time. As they trusted in the Lord, He often turned the hearts of their commanders, so that even this same Lieutenant became kind and considerate. All sorts of work were offered to them, cooking, waiting on the sick, &c. But though willing to do the work itself, they could not accept such labor as military service. At one time they were ordered to help bring in some fodder. On refusing, they were first fastened together and then tied behind a : 24 cart, so as to force them to run or be dragged three or four miles and back, through mud and water, upon a very cold day. If they still refused to load the fodder, the order was to pitch them into the river,—but such Eudes were more easily given than executed. Even the wagon master, who at first seemed fierce, relented, and after watching Waa pass through this humiliating trial, declared he could not help respecting men who stood up to their principles in that Pheir presen: in the army became more and more ppeples- ing. The wish was expressed that they would run awa but this they would not do. Furloughs were often ae and a written endorsement on one of these deviated as A reason for it, that ‘‘they were of no manner of use in the 9? never forced to go. They shared the same lot as their friend W.B. H. and eee were released from Fort Delaware by the written upon the impolicy and evils of War, but how feeb] are all words by the side of such quiet ddcde. wruiebi in oi Grace of their Blessed Leader. Most meekly, yet gloat nobl : did they keep the charge—‘Thou therefore endure hardn "2 as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’’ Let it be heel, they were in the hands of men whom slavery had long trai d in the exercise of almost irresponsible power The a ; lawless and cruel threatenings which they enced axhibit this most clearly. Such threat ; Ss were not cuted upon others. ot unfrequently exe- A single well authenticated instance may suffice: A young man, formerly a Friend, was feircod into th army, and, though reluctantly, entered upon military duti : One day he remarked quietly that he wished all “he North and South, would go home and leave the rulers li brought on the war to fight it out. This unguarded eas . ee He was tried by Court-Martial, and sentenced 0 be shot that day at noon. A few hurried trembling lines t 20 of farewell, endorsed by a Chaplain, bore the awful tidings to a stricken family, where the mother’s death, and a still darker cloud falling upon the mind of his desolate widow, were the after results. Among ali those who steadily refused to bear arms, and of whom many were imprisoned, not one suffered a violent death, which must surely be traced to the overruling Provi- dence of Him by whom ‘‘Eiven the very hairs of our head are all numbered.”’ The pecuniary loss sustained by Friends of North Caro- lina was not small. As they could not fight, and as they were charged with favoring the cause of the Union, they were frequently marked out for special plunder. In the few small Meetings in Tennessee, included in the limits of this — Yearly Meeting, the loss (in gold) was $35,000. In the vicinity of Goldsboro’, in a Quarterly Meeting of about forty families, the whole loss of property was estimated in official returns at $98,220 (in gold.) This resulted, in part, from the army being quartered upon them at various times during the four years’ struggle, but chiefly from the desolating march of General Sherman in the Spring of 1865. In nota few cases Friends were pointed out as very obstinate Seces- sionists and deserving of no mercy. Their homes were stripped of almost every comfort. Much of the bedding and ri ‘ture and food, which they could not carry off was wantonly destroyed. Their stock was generally swept away and scarcely a living animal, even to a chicken, re- mained. The sick were taken from their beds, that the soldiers might search for gold. So extreme was the destitu- tion that followed, that those who had lived in plenty were now seen upon the track of the army—searching for frag- ments of food to sustain life. A few old bones were counted a welcome treasure, and when this resource failed, and rations were distributed in Goldsboro’, delicate women and children had often to walk ten or fifteen miles to procure a few days scanty food. The seed placed in the ground had been mostly destroyed and they could obtain no more. at 26 The fellowship between members of other Christian De- nominations had been sundered by the War, whilst Friends had maintained their Christian love and brotherly confi- dence unbroken during these years of separation and trial. And no sooner had the tidings of this great suffering reached Friends of Baltimore, than the most prompt and generous measures were taken for their relief. Funds were also freely suggest were pre- d immediately; the Secretary of War promptly giving passes to those who were the bearers of this relief, the first we believe sent after the surrender. Though personally strangers, they were wel- comed with tears of joy and gratitude by Friends; and even others who still felt alien ated from fellow professors, and even kindred at the North, looked on in wonder at this exhibition of love unfeigned. Meantime the Friends living in the Counties of Alamance, Chatham, Randolph and Guilford* and comprising by far the largest portion of those in the State were placed in most imminent peril. After the fall of Richmond and the sur- render of General Lee, the army of General Johnston wag still near Greensboro, while the army of General Sherman moved on from Goldsboro to the other side of Raleigh, and with a day or two’s march between, demanded the surrender of the Confederate forces, While awaiting the answer, President Lincoln was assassinated. Roused by this to a still more determined spirit, the army of Sherman seemed prepared for the most utter devastation. Opposing forces, and indeed lay our peaceful homes, with destruction hanging over Between the two partially surrounded by them, an apparently almost certain them. We had neither weapon nor shield, save our prayers and our trust in the Arm of the Lord. But these were all we needed. The threatening cloud of battle rolled away and the surrender of the last of “Corresponding nearly with the limits of four Quarterly Meetings. Western, New Garden, Deep River and Southern. 27 the’ Southern armies was afiected without ee ek very midst. Through four years of danger ; rae Ae every hand, the Lord had been increasing ae al a people and now they Hig to rejoice in safety ove st, crowning and signal deliverance. : een die pliveical wants of ie haat vag ed ne ers aS important existed still. wshivell never at ae time large, had been almost agent suspended by the war, and our children for hee a ay many of them, the most important period ae ag ing) had been cut off from schools and boo - Mae ar more Association, which had received large . i ep other Yearly Meetings and ae oe - Cree i ne mee ollow up this higher need. eir efforts | ' te a widoncecet forty schools of the meg peep including a Normal School, embracing ee oe a a a scholars; and a Department of Agriculture; a nese p leges are shared to a large extent by our neighbors. In thus reviewing the trials to which our members a been exposed during the past four years, nek a ify the Grace which has sup commemorate and magnify . us through all. We rejoice that peace has again pes that the great curse and incubus of Slavery has been lifte the greé from off our land. We wish also gratefully to acknowledge our ae love of our Brethren of the other Yearly Meetings, both this country and across the Atlantic; i bad weal pele! he education of our children, and be our losses, promote the e eet av d, comforted and encourag ; our agriculture have cheered, ine of our members have passed through the ae ordeal of the War, without sharing somewhat the calami ties inseparable from it; but we record, with ae hearts, the merciful preservation, which has so manilestly ence was thei st in been extended to those whose only defence was i oe oe ae yes 3 oa the Lord; whereby our faith in His ever excellent ye been strengthened and our love for one another increased. A i Ae lees 28 He Himself has condescended to be with those whom He has permitted to suffer for His Name’s sake, enabling them tv bear a testimony for Him, and giving them, as we humbly believe, the assurance of His presence and love. To Him only be the glory! Signed by direction and on behalf of the Representatives of North Carolina Yearly Meeting of Friends, held at Deep River, N. C., Seventh Month 18th, 1868. NATHAN F. SPENCER, Clerk.