Baptists and the American Civil War: March 25, 1861
Gathering war clouds do not keep the wedding bells from ringing: Woodson Reilly Cummings (born January 8, 1838) marries Elizabeth Mann Houchins in Monroe County, Virginia. In February 1862, the couple’s first child is born. Calls for enlistment conflict Cummings, whose Baptist religious convictions are opposed to fighting. His wife and young son don’t want…