Abstract:
During the Civil War in Randolph County and adjacent areas, conflict between pro-Union residents and Confederate supporters occurred on a regular basis. The Randolph County area was populated by pacifists, abolitionists, Quakers, Wesleyans, Moravians, and Dunkards. The anti-Confederate sentiment appealed to army deserters and lower-class residents who were unaffected by the Confederacy's pro-planter and upper class policies. Local leaders John Hilton, Bryan Tyson, and William Owens utilized public appeals and guerrilla warfare to gain supporters and disrupt local affairs. The conflict between the two sides did not end with the Civil War but continued into the Reconstruction era.