James W. Hunnicutt, Free Will Baptist, Southern Unionist, Newspaper Editor
Fredericksburg, Virginia is under Union control. Today, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the city, an event witnessed by James W. Hunnicutt, a southerner who is a Free Will Baptist and a devoted supporter of the Union.
President Lincoln and Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, visited Fredericksburg on last Friday, the 23d instant (May). They rode in a carriage drawn by four fine iron-gray horses. They crossed the Rappahannock River on the canal-boat bridge, and passed up Princess Anne Street to the Farmer’s Bank, the head-quarters of General Patrick, where the carriage stopped about five minutes, and then moved off, as we were informed, to visit some camp of soldiers out of the town. A large escort accompanied the distinguished visitors. There were no demonstrations of joy, however, from any of the citizens. If they were met by the Honorable Mayor and Common Council, we have not learned the fact.
Hunnicutt’s observations are published in his locally-headquartered newspaper, the Christian Banner. As editor, Hunnicutt had suspended the paper a year earlier due to the war, but earlier this month, with the Union presence in Fredericksburg, had restarted the presses. In addition to making his name as a newspaper editor, Hunnicutt is known in Free Will Baptist circles for his advocacy of open communion, a practice rejected by many other Free Will Baptists.
Sources: “Lincoln in Fredericksburg,” Christian Banner, May 27, 1862, as cited in “The House on Caroline Street” (link); James W. Hunnicutt, The Conspiracy Unveiled. The South Sacrificed, or, the Horrors of Secession, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1863, pp. iii-x (including photo) (link); Charles C. Ware, Hookerton History, Wilson: N.C., 1960, pp. 8-9 (link)
