Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War

CHAPTER 3. Conscription, Combat, and Virginia’s “War of Self-Defense”

K฀chapter 3฀L Conscription, Combat, and Virginia’s “War of Self-Defense” Public Pressure on Peace People A lready by the summer of 1861 the pressure on Mennonite young men in Virginia to participate in the war had intensified. The Confederate victory at the first Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) buoyed Southern spirits, but the months that followed also made it clear thatthefederalgovernmentinWashington,D.C.,wascommittedtocrushing rebellion no matter how much time, money, or effort it took. And for Virginians, it became obvious that Northern strategy would focus, in large part, on subduing the Old Dominion. If Virginians soon learned they had less to fear from Union Maj. General George B. McClellan than they first believed, owing to McClellan’s cautious military style, they also realized that the weight of war would press down especially upon them. For Mennonites and other peace people in the Shenandoah Valley, this context proved critical. The mixture of anxiety and optimism heightened popular patriotism and eroded tolerance for those who dissented from the cause,evenintheShenandoahregionwhereenthusiasmfortheConfederacy had been tempered in the conflict’s opening months and nonresistants might have hoped to receive a measure of sympathy. Instead, men unwilling to fight found themselves in difficult straits, no longer able to be excused from the state’s militia by way of the small fines that had gained them exemption in the early nineteenth century, when drilling with arms on militia day had been as much a social event as a civic duty. Now, three possibilities lay before them: accept forced service against conscience, face court-martial (and perhaps death) as deserters, or go into hiding.1 Nor was there much time to reflect philosophically on their narrowing options. One Sunday morning in June, for example, as minister Samuel Coffman was preaching at the crowded Weavers Mennonite Church west of Harrisonburg, the sound of hoofbeats coming into the churchyard distracted the preacher. Two uniformed men entered the meetinghouse, and an officer strode to the front, sat down, and listened to the rest of the sermon. When Coffman finished and called for a closing hymn, the officer rose and ordered every man between the ages of 18 and 45 to report immediately for military training. The officer then marched out, leaving the shocked and soon sobbing congregation unable to sing the hymn the preacher had announced. Pale and shaken, Coffman himself could only rise and dismiss a group that was coming to realize more intensely the immediacy of war.2 Confederate officers were not the only ones issuing public directives to Virginia’s peace churches. Only days later, the Rockingham Register carried alongpieceaddressed“TotheTunkers,Mennonites,andOthersOpposed to War.” The pseudonymous author, “Ne Qui Nimis,” opened with professed respect for those who lived “orderly and honest lives” and admitted “the honest religious convictions of all men.” But, he noted, Virginia had been forced into war. True, war is hardly consistent with the principles of Christianity, “Nimis” conceded, attempting to score rhetorical points with nonresistant readers. “All wars and fighting are opposed to the spirit of the gospel . . . [since] Christ is the prince of peace.” But does the scripture prohibit defending oneself? No, “Nimis” insisted, asserting that the right of self-defense is the first law of nature, and one confirmed by the Bible. Yes, “Nimis” knew that Jesus talked about turning the other cheek, but that was “absurd” and was not to be taken literally. Moreover, if peace people really did intend to follow Jesus’ directive and “go the second mile,” then they should respond to state conscription by agreeing to twice the length of usual conscripted service. If the state drafts one son, the father ought to send a second son as a volunteer.3 Turning to political argument, the author contended, “In this war of self-defense, preaching peace weakens the hands of the very government youhelpedtoputinplacebyyourvotes!”4 Attheleast,said“Nimis,”when ฀ K฀conscription and virginia’s “war of self-defense” L฀ 57 58฀ K฀mennonites, amish, and the american civil war L฀ Virginia requests your service, “you ought to go and be shot at, even if you cannot conscientiously shoot.”5 A month later, pseudonymous “Justice” replied with a defense of the nonresistants. Responding to the suggestion that those with “religious scruples” be taxed two or three dollars a day, “Justice” contended such a courseofactionwouldreduce“hundredsoffarmersandothers”topoverty, because the peace people of the Shenandoah...