Today Charleston, Illinois, a small town sharply divided over the war, erupts in rioting. The trouble begins when Copperheads (Northern Democrats who want to sign a peace treaty with the Confederate States) assemble at the courthouse. Armed and ready for confrontation, the Copperheads wait for opportunities to assault soldiers and abolitionists. The wait is not…
John R. Bowles, born June 13, 1826 in Lynchburg, Virginia, is a free black and a Baptist minister. As a young man, Bowles settled near Chillicothe in Ross County, Ohio, marrying Sarah Jane Bryant in 1848. There the couple grew their family, in addition to participating in the Underground Railroad. At thirty years of age,…
The Imitation Free Will Baptist Church was founded in Pitts County, North Carolina in 1831. By 1845 the church had twenty-four members and was holding worship services the first Sunday of each month (the monthly meetings being typical for rural Baptist churches in the South). As is the case with many churches throughout the South,…