OBERLIN'S PART IN
THE SLAVERY CONFLICT
WILBUR GREELEY BURROUGHS, A. M.,
OBERLIN, OHIO.
Little did the Rev. John J. Shipherd,
pastor of the Presby-
terian Church at Elyria, Ohio, realize
that in the founding of
Oberlin he was to change the destiny of
a nation. He originated
the plan in 1832. In November of the
same year with his asso-
ciate Philo P. Stewart, formerly a
missionary to the Cherokees
in Mississippi and at this time living
with Shipherd at Elyria, he
selected the site for Oberlin. (11); (26).
At this time the question of slavery was
not a practical issue
before the people of the North. The
anti-slavery element was
not incorporated into the original
constitution of Oberlin. In-
deed, the "Oberlin Covenant,"
a document expressing the design
of the school and the settlement, has no
allusion whatever to
slavery. There was a deep seated feeling
against it4a but the
American Colonization Society was
supposed to present the only
practicable means of operating to rid
the land of the evil. The
early inhabitants little dreamed that
the discussion of slavery
would be the first topic to disturb the
quiet of their wilderness.
It was due in great measure to the
geographical location of
Oberlin that she was able to play such
an important part in the
events which were to follow. Ohio was an
influential State in the
Union. She formed the connecting link
between the East and
the West. On the South she bordered on
Slave Territory,-the
States of Kentucky and Virginia. Ohio's
sympathies were largely
with the South; in fact her counties
bordering on the Ohio River
and for fifty miles northward were
principally peopled from the
Slave States. The interior counties of
the State were occupied
mainly by a population which took slight
interest in public ques-
tions. It was therefore to the Western
Reserve, covering twelve
counties in the northeast part of the
State, that the destiny of
Ohio was committed. Here the Republican
party was all power-
ful. Of influential factors on the
Reserve, "no single, definite,
(269)
270 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
intellectual, and moral force could
compare with Oberlin." (28);
(312). The long southern boundary of
Ohio offered the escaping
slave a good chance to cross into free
territory, so that the people
of Ohio were afforded an exceptional
opportunity in aiding great
numbers of fugitives to freedom. The
cruelties of the system
were seen at first hand, and thus imbued
many against it more
deeply than any account of slavery could
ever have done.
I. THE ABOLITIONIZING OF OBERLIN.
Oberlin did not lack for Abolitionists,
however, even from
the first year of its establishment.
During the first year there
were three or four young men who
advocated immediate emanci-
pation on the soil, in opposition to the
colonization scheme of
the American Colonization Society. This
question was some-
times discussed in the Oberlin Lyceum
which embraced those
students and colonists who chose to
join. The older and more
influential men always upheld the
colonization plan, with the one
exception of Mr. Shipherd who was a
moderate Abolitionist
even at that early date.
Meanwhile the college was increasing.
One hundred stud-
ents, men and women, had already entered
the institution, a large
proportion coming from Eastern States. A
Freshman Class of
four members had been organized, the
first Commencement held.
At these exercises not a speech was made
on the subject of slav-
ery, nor the slightest reference to it
heard. Thus Oberlin com-
pleted its second year without taking
any prominent part in the
question of slavery. But she was not to
remain in the back-
ground much longer; the issue was to be
thrust upon her, and
once presented, she was to take up the
gauntlet, and spring into
the center of the conflict.
LANE SEMINARY.
Near Cincinnati, Ohio, at Walnut Hills,
was situated the
theological school of Lane Seminary. It
numbered somewhat
over one hundred students, some of whom
were in the theological
department, the remainder being
connected with a literary depart-
ment, in preparation for theology under
the charge of Prof.
Morgan. The theological professors were
Dr. Lyman Beecher,
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 271
Prof. Stowe, and a gentleman whose name
has passed into
oblivion. The students were men of
unusual ability and energy.
Many had come from Oneida Institute, N.
Y.; working their
way down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers
on flat-boats, thus
earning money for their college
expenses. Among these Oneida
men was Theodore D. Weld, later to
become an influence in the
cause of anti-slavery. Other students at
Lane were sons of
slave-holders, such as J. A. Thome and
W. T. Allen, whose
worldly prosperity was linked with the
continuance of slavery.
These men knew full well the
significance of the question into
which they soon were to plunge. As early
as 1833, Wm. Lloyd
Garrison and his "Liberator"
were agitating the people. The
students at Lane felt the excitement of
this topic. For eighteen
successive evenings, they held debates
in their Chapel. Though
at first there was diversity of opinion,
yet at the completion of
these meetings the sentiment was nearly
unanimous in favor of
Abolition. The young men, together with
ladies of the city,
gathered the negroes of Cincinnati into
Sunday Schools and Day
Schools, by this means doing much good.
The trustees, fearful
less this should damage the school,
passed a law (without con-
sultation with the faculty, except one
member, the others being
on their summer vacation), forbidding
any discussion of slavery
topics, either in private or public.
Prof. Morgan was dismissed
without any reason being given though it
was well known that
his anti-slave opinions had caused him
to lose his position. The
students protested against this rule
prohibiting them free speech.
Four-fifths of the student body then
left the institution of their
own accord. James Ludlow, a wealthy
gentleman, gave them
use of a building near the city where
they continued their studies
for five months.
In November, 1834, Mr. Shipherd, by
order of the trustees
of Oberlin started on a journey to the
East for the purpose of
securing money, a President, and a
Professor of Mathematics
for the Institution. He planned to
travel by the National Road
from Columbus, but guided by an inward
force, he went instead
to Cincinnati. He met Rev. Asa Mahan,
pastor of the Sixth
Street Presbyterian Church, and upon
several people recommend-
ing Mr. Mahan as fitted to be the head
of a college, the matter
272
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
was presented to him. Mahan was ready to
accept the appoint-
ment. He had been a trustee of Lane
Seminary, had protested
against the action that had been taken,
and when the law had
passed in spite of his opposition, he
had resigned. Between
Mahan and Shipherd the plan was formed
of taking the seceding
Lane students to Oberlin, and with them
as a nucleus, adding a
theological seminary to Oberlin. The
work of securing funds
for this addition to Oberlin was at once
started. Arthur Tappan,
a rich New Yorker, with several others,
promised the endowment
of eight professorships, and a loan
sufficient to build a theological
hall. The Rev. John Morgan was secured
as one of the seminary
faculty. Now arose a startlingly
formidable obstacle. Tappan
and his friends, Finney (pastor of the
Broadway Tabernacle
Congregational Church of New York, who
had been asked to
the chair of theology, but had declined
unless some solid financial
basis for the institution was assured),
Mahan, Morgan, and the
Lane students, all refused to have a
thing to do with the project
for which they all were so eager, unless
negroes were admitted
into all departments of Oberlin on equal
terms with the whites.
This aroused intense excitement at
Oberlin. The general senti-
ment was against admitting blacks. It
was thought that if they
were let into the college, the place
would be overrun with them
and that the consequences would be
terrible. Young ladies of
refinement declared that if negroes were
admitted, they them-
selves would return to their homes, if
they had to "wade Lake
Erie," to do it.
Due to the excitement prevailing in
Oberlin, the trustees of
the college held their meeting to
deliberate on this subject in the
Temperance House in Elyria, January 1,
1835. The principal
colonists of Oberlin and several
students sent a petition to the
Board of Trustees asking that they meet
in Oberlin. The peti-
tion read as follows:
To the Honorable Board of Trustees of
the Oberlin Collegiate
Institute assembled at Elyria:
Whereas there has been, and is now,
among the colonists and
students of the Oberlin Collegiate
Institute a great excitement
in their minds in consequence of a resolution of Brother J. J.
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 273
Shipherd, to be laid before the Board,
respecting the admission
of people of color into the Institution,
and also of the Board's
meeting at Elyria; now, your
petitioners, feeling a deep interest
in the Oberlin Collegiate Institute, and
feeling that every measure
possible should be taken to quell the
alarm that there shall not
be a root of bitterness springing up to
cause a division of interest
and feeling (for a house divided against
itself cannot stand);
therefore, your petitioners respectfully
request that your honora-
ble body will meet at Oberlin, that your
deliberations may be
heard and known on the great and
important question in con-
templation. We feel for our black
brethren-we feel to want
your counsels and instructions; we want
to know what is duty,
and, God assisting us, we will lay aside
every prejudice, and do
as we shall be led to believe that God
would have us to do.
(23: 57.)
The trustees did not know what to do, so
they ended by
doing practically nothing. Their record
reads as follows:
Whereas, information has been received
from Rev. J. J.
Shipherd, expressing a wish that
students may be received into
this Institution irrespective of color;
therefore, resolved, that
this Board do not feel prepared, till
they have more definite in-
formation on the subject, to give a
pledge respecting the course
they will pursue in regard to the
education of the people of
color, wishing that this Institution
should be on the same ground,
in respect to the admission of students
with other similar insti-
tutions of the land.
At this same meeting Pres. Mahan and
Prof. Morgan were
appointed to the positions Mr. Shipherd
had wished them to fill.
Mr. Shipherd sent urgent appeals to the
trustees and colon-
ists for them to change their opinions
and come over to the
Abolitionists' side. By his request,
another meeting of the trus-
tees was held at Oberlin, Feb. 9, at the
home of Mr. Shipherd.
This house was situated on the north
side of the College Square.
The outcome of the conference was looked
forward to with in-
tense interest.
The trustees met in the morning. The
debate that followed
was long and heated. The outcome was
uncertain. Mrs. Ship-
Vol. XX-18
274 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
herd gathered some of the ladies of the
neighborhood and spent
the time in prayer that the decision of
the trustees would be in
favor of the negro. At last the question
was put to vote. The
Board was exactly divided. The decision
rested with Rev. John
Keep of Ohio City (west side of
Cleveland), who was President
of the Board, and as presiding officer
cast the deciding vote in
case of a tie. He voted. It was in favor
of admitting colored
students. The die once cast Oberlin has
never taken action con-
cerning this matter from that day to
this. Though the effect of
the resolution which was drawn up was
decisive, the wording
was somewhat ambiguous. It ran as
follows:
Whereas, there does exist in our country
an excitement in
respect to our colored population, and
fears are entertained that
on the one hand they will be left
unprovided for as to the means
of a proper education, and on the other
that they will in un-
suitable numbers be introduced into our
schools, and thus in
effect forced into the society of the
whites, and the state of
public sentiment is such as to require
from the Board some
definite expression on the subject;
therefore, resolved, that the
education of the people of color is a
matter of great interest,
and should be encouraged and sustained
in this institution.
At this time there was but one colored
man resident in the
county. But as a result of this
resolution a tremendous influx
of negroes was expected. So when at
length a single colored
man was seen approaching the town, a
little boy, son of one
of the trustees, ran to the house,
calling, "They're coming,
father, - they're coming."
At this last mentioned meeting of the
trustees, Rev. Chas.
G. Finney of New York City, was
appointed Professor of The-
ology. Due to the anti-slavery attitude
of the college. Messrs.
Mahan, Finney, and Morgan accepted their
appointments. Prof.
Morgan was given the chair of New
Testament Literature and
Exegesis, instead of that of Mathematics
and Natural Philoso-
phy, as first proposed.
Arthur Tappan now pledged $10,000.00 to
erect a building
for the use principally of the
Theological Department, and also
promised to secure a loan of $10,000.00
more, for other neces-
sary buildings and other improvements.
Together with several
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 275
other gentlemen, the Tappans started the
"Oberlin Professorship
Association", engaging to pay
quarterly the interest on $80,000.00
to cover the salaries of eight
professors, at $600.00 each. It
was intended to finally pay the
principal, and thus permanently
endow the institution.
The coming of the Lane students in May,
1835, acted as a
stimulus to Oberlin. Also about this
time the Collegiate depart-
ment was increased by students from
Western Reserve College,
where there had been trouble similar to
that at Lane. This har-
boring by Oberlin of students from other
colleges, as well as
Oberlin's anti-slavery principles, drew
upon her the hatred of
many people.
Not all of the most prominent students of
Lane came to
Oberlin. Theodore D. Weld and Henry B.
Stanton were among
these. They devoted all their time to
public anti-slavery work.
A few weeks before the close of the Fall
term, Weld came to
Oberlin and gave a series of twenty
lectures on slavery. These
lectures dealt with the nature of
slavery and its relations and
bearings, personal, social, political,
and moral. He was a won-
derful speaker, and the house was
crowded every evening of
the three full weeks. Oberlin was
converted to Abolitionism.
(23: 67,
75); (30); (28: 32).
Some people in the United States thought
that the Church
was protecting slavery and that the
Church must be battered
down in order to reach the system of
slavery. These people
wished to treat the Christian Church as
a failure, and they urged
all Church members to leave their
Churches and have nothing
to do with them. But though the Church
was slow in adopting
the view that slavery was a sin, the
people of Oberlin would not
denounce it.31 However, in
1835, the (28: 193) Oberlin Church
did pass the following resolution:
"That as slavery is a sin, no
person shall be invited to preach or
minister to this church, or
any brother be invited to commune, who
is a slave holder."
OBERLIN'S RELATION TO SLAVERY; 1835-1850.
Near the close of 1838, the Oberlin
Evangelist was started.
It prospered and soon attained a
circulation of 5,000 copies.
The Evangelist was a semi-monthly of 8
quarto pages. With
276
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
the exception of the office editor who
received compensation
for his work, the labor of the
contributors was entirely free;
whatever profits there might be were
given to further the edu-
cational work at Oberlin, chiefly in
aiding men to prepare for
the ministry. The principal writers for
this paper were Finney,
Cowles, Mahan, Morgan, and Thome. Mr.
Finney was a regu-
lar contributor, almost every number
containing a sermon by
him, as well as other material. The
Evangelist continued for
24 years, until, during the Civil War,
it failed for want of sup-
port. It was largely of a religious
nature, though it dealt also
with current matters of secular
importance. The paper was one
of great influence. (23: 93, 94).
In 1845, the Oberlin Quarterly Review
was established.
Mahan and Wm. Cochran, and later Finney,
were the editors.
Its aim was a more thorough discussion
of religious topics, and
of other subjects of (23: 94) public
interest. It was never well
supported, and lasted only four years.
In 1839 the college was more than
$30,000.00 in debt. Bank-
ruptcy stared it in the face. In the
United States there was
no one to come to their aid. Therefore,
two trustees, Father
Keep and William Dawes, went to England
to endeavor to secure
funds to meet the indebtedness. They
were armed with letters
of recommendation from prominent
anti-slavery men in the
United States, such as Gerrit Smith,
Garrison, Whittier, and
others. Their work was carried on
chiefly among the Society
of Friends, on account of this sect's
common sympathy with
Oberlin on the slavery question, and the
education of women.
Other anti-slavery people also gave them
money and aid. Though
it was more difficult to raise funds due
to the remoteness of
the object, still they obtained above
expenses $30,000.00 in money
sufficient "to meet the most
pressing liabilities of the institution,
a large accession of books to the
library, with good provisions
for philosophical and chemical
apparatus". The gifts received
ranged from 100 lbs. the largest, down
to a few shillings. The
Common Council of the City of London
held funds in trust for
charitable purposes. The Oberlin men
went before that august
body and presented their cause. They did
this with such effect
that they came within a vote or two of
securing an appropria-
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 277
tion. Mr. Hamilton Hill of London with
his family returned
with Messrs. Keep and Dawes, to become
the secretary and
treasurer of the college. He held this
position for 25 years.
The two Oberlin trustees were gone about
18 months, returning
near the close of 1840. They had
accomplished their mission;
the college was relieved from its
imminent danger. (23: 208-
210); (10); (19).
Oberlin had several societies in its
early days which are
not in existence at the present time.
In the Oberlin Evangelist, January 8,
1850, we read of the
formation of "The Oberlin Peace
League". It held meetings
once a month. Jennings was elected
chairman on a board for
business; D. M. Ide, Sec.; Pease,
Treasurer. The object of
the society was to abolish the custom of
international war, and
to promote universal peace among the
nations of the earth.
On September 14, 1851, a meeting was
held in the chapel
to organize a Young Men's Anti-Slavery
Society. The meeting
was opened with prayer. A committee of
three were appointed
to draft a brief constitution and to
nominate officers for the re-
organization of the society. J. M.
Langston addressed the as-
sembly on the condition of education
among the colored people
of the state. By unanimous vote, Mr.
Langston was appointed
to visit the schools among the colored
people, to establish others
where needed, and to report on the
general conditions among
the negroes. The constitution of this
society, Art. II, reads:
"The object of this society shall
be the social and moral eleva-
tion of the colored man." Art. V,
states that, "Any person who
is practically opposed to slavery, may
become a member of this
society by annexing his name to the
constitution." On September
18, 1852, S. N. Hendall was elected
President, and Orin W.
White, Vice President.1
The ladies of Oberlin also had an
anti-slavery society, an
address before which by Prof. J. H.
Fairchild is recorded in the
Oberlin Evangelist, July 16, 1856. The
work done by the Fe-
male Anti-Slavery Society is well set
forth in the Oberlin Evan-
gelist, August 15, 1855. It states that
the society began in De-
cember, 1835. That the object of the
ladies was "to diffuse
light and knowledge on the subject of
slavery, to express our
278 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
sympathy for our oppressed brethren and
sisters, to elevate the
free people of color and emancipate them
from the oppression
of public sentiment, and equal laws. For
years the society held
meetings quarterly with appropriate
exercises." Funds were
collected and used to pay lecturers and
teachers, besides relieving
the wants of needy colored people both
bond and free.
THE LORAIN COUNTY ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY.
The sentiment of the people of Oberlin
regarding anti-
slavery is graphically shown in the
following quotation from
the Oberlin Evangelist, September 11,
1839: "On Commence-
ment evening, the Lorain County
Anti-Slavery Society met by
adjournment at Oberlin. The meeting was
large, probably more
than 1,000 people were in attendance.
Mr. C. C. Burleigh, of
Pennsylvania, addressed the Society for
an hour and a half in
his usual impressive manner, on the
practical duties of Aboli-
tionists. After the address the
following resolutions were passed,
first by the society, and then by the
entire congregation, no one
voting in the negative in either case.
We hope no abolitionists
will forget the principle of these
resolutions in the excitement
of the political campaign just now
commenced. Let them abide
firm and the disgraceful 'black laws',
of Ohio will be repealed
at the coming session of the
Legislature. Resolved, That we
will not vote for any man for President
or Vice President of
the United States, or for Congress, who
is not in favor of the
immediate abolition of slavery in the
District of Columbia and
in the United States Territories, and of
the abolition of the in-
ternal slave trade, and who is not
opposed to the admission of
new slave states into the Union. Resolved,
That we will not
support any man for the Legislature of
the State of Ohio who
is not in favor of the repeal of all
laws of said State which are
founded on a distinction of color."
"The exercises of the day were closed
by singing the Pas-
sage of the Red Sea."
Another society in Oberlin was the
Oberlin Lyceum, already
mentioned. It was the first literary society in Oberlin. Its
members embraced both students and
colonists. (23: 42).
When the Lane students arrived in
Oberlin, May, 1835,
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 279
they were followed by James Bradley of
Cincinnati. Upon
arriving at Oberlin he entered the
Institution, being the first
colored student admitted. (23: 74).
The Adult Colored School in Oberlin:
This school was
founded in about 1842, being
designed chiefly for colored per-
sons of adult age who had been debarred
in earlier life by slavery
or prejudice, from obtaining an
education. The public schools
of Oberlin were opened to colored
students, but the mode of
instruction for children and that for
adults was so different
that it was deemed advisable to have
them separate. The Oberlin
Evangelist, July 17, 1844, states that
the success of the school
is very encouraging. The scholars were
often heads of families,
but notwithstanding their age, they were
greatly interested in
their studies. Many of the more advanced
members were fitted
to enter Oberlin College; while the
younger or less proficient
ones were instructed so as to be able to
pursue higher courses
of study. To place the work on a
permanent basis, a Committee
of Trust was formed for seeking
financial aid. Its members
were: J. A. Thome, Amasa Walker, J. W.
Mason, Thomas
Brown, and Hamilton Hill. The negroes
did what they could
to pay their teachers, but they could
not help much as they, them-
selves, were poor.
In those early days, like an island in
the sea, the colony of
Oberlin was isolated from sympathy in
its work for the negro.
The neighboring towns were pro-slavery.
They were ever ready
to assist the slave-hunter, and to
injure Oberlin in any way pos-
sible. Often meetings were held and
measures discussed for
putting Oberlin out of existence.
Anonymous communications
were sent threatening to burn the town,
and for years an armed
patrol had to be kept to guard the
place. Students were egged,
stoned, and sometimes seriously hurt,
simply because they came
from this hated community. One man, an
evangelist noted for
his noble Christian character, while on
a journey had the legs
of his horse cut to the bone for the
sole reason that the animal
belonged to an inhabitant of Oberlin.24
Due to this reputation of Oberlin as a
stronghold of Aboli-
tionism, Wm. Lloyd Garrison and Frederick
Douglas, both noted
Abolitionists, came to persuade the
people that the anti-slavery
280
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
doctrine involved a withdrawal from all
political action; that
the Constitution of the United States
was pro-slavery and cor-
rupt, and that all who voted under it
shared in its wickedness;
that only those were doing their duty
who abandoned all po-
litical organizations and refused to
take any part in the affairs
of the government. A debate on this
subject was held. Presi-
dent Mahan led the discussion on the
Oberlin side which was
contrary to the views upheld by Garrison
and Douglas. In this
Mr. Mahan was aided by Prof. T. B.
Hudson, and others. The
outcome of it all was that the Oberlin
people continued to vote,
and the two Abolitionists went on their
way. Douglas soon after
changed his opinion and voted with the
other Abolitionists, the
same as the Oberlin men.
After this Stephen Foster and his wife,
Abbey Kelly Foster,
came to Oberlin on a somewhat like
errand. They tried to show
that it was compromising one's
anti-slavery position, and sharing
in the guilt of slavery to maintain any
correspondence or friend-
ship with churches whose members
believed in slavery. They
said that the continuous chain of
fellowship united the Oberlin
church with the slave-holding churches
at the South, and bound
all together in one "covenant of
Hell". This man and his wife
wished to divide the churches and
alienate Christian people from
each other. There was a public debate in
which the Fosters
were opposed by President Mahan, as
leader of the Oberlin side,
in the College Chapel for the evenings
of one entire week. The
result was that the church arrangements
remained as before.
Other prominent speakers at Oberlin were
Senators Chase
and Hale. Both these gentlemen spoke in
the First Church the
evening of October 1, 1852, on the Anniversary of the West
India Emancipation of Slaves. The time
was chiefly occupied
by Mr. Hale, whose subject was,
"Are you, the people of this
Nation, fulfilling the pledge on which
is conditioned the in-
heritance of your liberties?" He
faced a crowded house.
Later, in 1860, Cassius M. Clay, of
Kentucky, and Hon. H.
G. Blake unexpectedly passed through
Oberlin August 3d. A
hasty notice filled the First Church
with an eager audience. Clay
spoke for three-quarters of an hour;
Blake the remaining quar-
ter.4h
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 281
Oberlin was accused of being all talk
and theory; and though
as an Institution she did not favor
direct rescuing of slaves
from their masters on slave territory,
still there were men within
her portals who believed that God called
them to do this very
thing. And they obeyed their conscience,
though by so doing
they broke the laws of the Government,
were imprisoned, beaten,
starved. Some did this before entering
Oberlin, others after
being matriculated in the Institution.
Still others suffered simply
for their convictions.
Rev. Amos Dresser, Oberlin Seminary,
1839, though having
no intention to assist the slaves, yet
suffered merely for his
belief. On July 1, 1835, he left
Cincinnati, Ohio, for a trip
into the Slave States in order to raise
money so that he could
complete his education. He had for sale
a book called the
"Cottage Bible". In packing
his books he used pamphlets and
papers to prevent the books from
rubbing. These papers were
old religious newspapers, anti-slavery
publications, temperance
almanacs, etc.
He arrived at Nashville July 18. On the
way down most
of his publications regarding
anti-slavery had been distributed
at Danville, Kentucky, where there was
an anti-slavery society.
With the aid of a man, he carried his
books into the Nashville
Inn; but in so doing forgot the few
remaining papers used as
wrappers. The buggy in which he
journeyed needing repair,
was sent to a man to be mended. This man
discovered the
abolitionist papers. He spread the news,
and the excitement
grew more and more intense; for the
people feared that Dresser
was giving the negroes printed matter in
hopes of stirring up
an insurrection, the horrors of which
would be indescribable.
Mr. Dresser was arrested and brought to
trial before the Com-
mittee of Vigilance. The trial lasted
from between 4 and 5
o'clock P. M. till about 10 P. M.
Further evidence brought
against him were some letters, found in
his trunk, from friends
mentioning slavery; and this together
with the fact that he had
been a member of Lane Seminary, as well
as of the Anti-Slavery
Society formed there, convinced the
Committee that he was
guilty. Although absolutely innocent, he
was taken out doors.
the crowd forming a ring in the center
of which Dresser was
282
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
placed. There, in the wavering light of
the torches with a mul-
titude of hostile faces peering at him
from every side, this
Oberlin man received 20 lashes on his
bare back, given with a
heavy, cow-hide whip. He was then taken
to his lodgings. Next
morning, due to the excitement still
prevailing he left the city
in disguise. Unable to bring anything
along in his flight, he
abandoned $300.00 worth of unsold books,
and was obliged to
sell his horse and buggy at a $200.00 loss.
Neither did he ever
again hear of his trunk or any of his
personal property. Glad
to escape with his life, his sole
possessions, only those clothes
he wore, Dresser made his way toward the
North.32
George Thompson, at one time a student
in Oberlin, during
July, 1841, with two men, Alanson Work
and James E. Burr,
made an attempt to take slaves from
Missouri across the river
and start them on the road toward
freedom. Thompson waited
in the row-boat while his comrades went
ashore to get the
negroes. They were gone some time. At
last Thompson heard
men approaching. The next he knew, he
was covered by the
rifles of several Missourians. The
slaves whom they had come
to aid had turned traitor, informed
their masters of the plot to
rescue them, and the capture of the
three Abolitionists was the
result. After a trial before a
magistrate, which proceeding was
a farce, they were cast into prison to
await the sitting of the
court, two and one-half months distant.
Here they were chained
to the walls of their cell like
dangerous wild beasts. At last
their final trial took place. The
outcome was that they were
sentenced to 12 years in the
penitentiary. While imprisoned in
the penitentiary, Thompson and his
fellow sufferers did much
good to their companion prisoners by
preaching to them and also
helping them to become better men. Work
and Burr were re-
leased before their term was completed,
and left Thompson be-
hind them in prison. Shortly after, he
also was pardoned, after
being in confinement 4 years, 11 months
and 12 days.
During this
period he was treated with comparative
respect; he was never
beaten, though one of his comrades
received a flogging for not
conforming to a certain prison
regulation which his conscience
forbade him to do on the Sabbath. (34);
(4i).
And now we come to a man whose career
reads like some
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 283
romance of fiction; this man is Calvin
Fairbank. He came from
Hume, N. Y., and was enrolled in the
Oberlin Preparatory De-
partment from 1844 to 1845.11
Mr. Fairbank writes that "coming
within the influence of
active anti-slavery men at Oberlin,
Ohio, I was led to examine
the subject in the light of law and
justice, and soon found the
United States Constitution anti-slavery,
and the institution ex-
isting in violation of law." Thus
God, through the instrumen-
tality of Oberlin, used this young man
for untold good. As early
as 1837, he made his first rescue,
carrying a black man on a
raft from the Virginia to the northern
side of the Ohio River.
Having once dedicated himself to the
work of aiding escaping
slaves, he plunged with all his strength
into the struggle. He
says in summing up his achievements,
"forty-seven slaves I
guided toward the North Star, in
violation of the State codes
of Virginia and Kentucky. I piloted them
through the forests,
mostly by night,-girls, fair and (33:
10) white, dressed as
ladies; men and boys, as gentlemen or
servants -men in wo-
men's clothes, and women in men's
clothes; boys dressed as girls
and girls as boys; on foot or on
horseback, in buggies, carriages,
common wagons, in and under loads of
hay, straw, old furniture,
boxes, and bags; crossed the Jordan of
the Slave, swimming,
or wading chin deep, or in boats or
skiffs, on rafts, and often
on a pine log. And I never suffered one
to be recaptured. None
of them, so far as I have learned, have
ever come to poverty or
to disgrace." This work was carried
on principally in the vi-
cinity of the Ohio River, across which
stream Fairbank made
it his duty to convey the fugitives.
Among the many adven-
tures of his eventful career, with the
exception of his long im-
prisonment, he ranks the following
incident as the most extraor-
dinary.
One day during May, 1843, while walking in the
court-yard of the prison at Lexington,
Kentucky, his attention
was called to an upper window by someone
rapping gently on
the glass. Glancing up he saw a girl at
the window. Her face
was white. She beckoned to him and he
went to her cell. Being
allowed to speak to her, he learned that
her father was a white
planter; she, herself, one-sixty-fourth
colored; that her father's
legal wife becoming jealous of her
beauty and many accom-
284
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
plishments (for this 18-year-old girl
had educated herself, and
Fairbank states that he never saw a more
beautiful, genteel
and talented lady), had conspired to
sell the girl to the far
South; her father being hard pressed for
money, would be
unable to save her; and that unless Mr.
Fairbank, whom she
knew by sight, was able to rescue her,
her future would be
horrible in the extreme. Promising to do
what he could, Calvin
Fairbank left her, and made all haste to
Cincinnati, for he had
only a few days in which to prepare
before the girl was put
on the auction block. Once in the city
he visited a number of
influential abolitionists, among them
the Hon. S. P. Chase, and
raised $2,275.00 in cash. With this, and
a paper authorizing
him to draw $25,000.00 in case of dire
need, he returned to
the scene of action. He was met by the
girl's father who gave
him $100.00, saying it was all the money
he could raise, but
to use it in saving his daughter, if
such a thing were possible.
At last the critical moment arrived. On
a platform elevated
above the throng of 2,000 spectators,
with the noon-day sun
pouring down its pitiless rays upon her,
a white girl, in all
but name, was put up for public sale. At
first the bidding was
fast and furious, for the girl was very
beautiful; but as the
figures rose higher and higher, one
after another dropped out,
until only a half-breed French
slave-trader, hired by her father's
wife to get the girl and take her South,
and Calvin Fairbank re-
mained. Twice the brutal auctioneer
handled the girl roughly
in an endeavor to spur the buyers on,
handled her so roughly
that a murmur of disgust and rage swept
through that southern
crowd. The Frenchman wavered and with an
oath turned to
his rival. "How high are you going,
sir?" he said. "Just one
higher than you", Fairbank replied.
The trader cursing, walked
away. The girl was sold at a cost of
$1,485.00. She was taken
to Cincinnati where as soon as possible
freedom papers were
made out and given her. (33: 26-34).
But it was not possible for Fairbank to
aid so many fugi-
tives and go unharmed. He was caught,
tried and convicted
February 18, 1845, of helping slaves to
escape. The sentence
was for 15 years in the Frankfort,
Kentucky, penitentiary; his
head was shaven, he was dressed in
stripes and put to sawing
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 285
stone. On August 23, 1849, after an
imprisonment of 4 years,
10 months and 24 days, he was
pardoned. During these years
he preached and worked among the other
prisoners, holding
prayer-meetings and Sunday-schools. On
the whole he was
treated well. His father came to
Kentucky to petition for his
son's release. While there he was taken
with the cholera and
died. Calvin Fairbank, on being freed,
wished to take the body
of his father North for burial. He went
to Cincinnati, pre-
paratory to going to Lexington for the
body. The weather was
too hot for its removal, however, and
while waiting for the
temperature to moderate, he was appealed
to, to rescue a young
mulatto woman. Ever ready to help the
oppressed, he brought
the woman across the Ohio River in a
leaky skiff, and took her
to a place of safety. He then returned
to Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Sunday, November 9, 1851, he was
attacked and kidnapped into
Kentucky by A. L. Shotwell, owner of the
girl, and Marshals
Ronald and Hamlet, of Kentucky. He was
lodged in jail; his
name was not yet known. When brought to
trial before a pro-
slavery jury, he was sentenced to 15
years at hard labor for
aiding the colored woman to escape. The
entire proceedings
were illegal, added to which was the
fact that this court had
no right to try the case as it came
under the jurisdiction of
the District Court of the United States
for the District of In-
diana. Fairbank was again taken to the
penitentiary at Frank-
fort, Kentucky. The jailor was this time
harsh in the extreme.
He sent Fairbank to the hackling-house,
keeping him there four
weeks. Here the hemp was dressed. The
room was filled with
poison dust, so full that on a still day
it was impossible to
make out a person from a block of wood
even in a window or
door. He saw six men out of twenty-four
in one week taken
from this place, only to die inside
another week from the effects
of the dust. Another man took charge of
the prison. Under
this brute, whose name was Ward,
conditions were worse yet.
He increased the amount of work
required, making it so great
that it was impossible to accomplish
it. Fairbank, who was
put at weaving, could not do all that
was set him; therefore
he was beaten each clay cruelly. He was
a very noted prisoner,
so noted that on February 14, 1858, he
addressed an assem-
286
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
bly of the elite of Kentucky. In the audience were Gov.
Morehead, of Kentucky, State officers,
both Houses of the
Legislature, and many other
distinguished personages, in-
cluding a number of ladies. Mr. Fairbank
spoke on the text,
"Righteousness exalteth a nation;
but sin is a reproach to any
people." In his address, he
prophesied the coming of a Civil
War. This statement caused quite a
sensation. When the war
did come the penitentiary was now in the
hands of the Federal
now in those of the Confederate
forces. Sometimes in the
latter case Rebel soldiers sought to
kill him. At one time he
had to defend himself with an axe. Most
of his imprisonment
he suffered cruelties such that it is
scarcely believable that a
man could endure and live. He says,
"During the eight years
from March 1, 1854, to March 1, 1862, I
received 35,105 stripes
from a leather strap 15 inches to 18
inches long, one and one-
half inches wide, and one-quarter to
three-eighths inches thick.
It was of half tanned leather, and
frequently well soaked so
that it might burn the flesh more
intensely. These floggings
were not with a rawhide or cow-hide, but
with a strap of leather
attached to a handle of convenient size
and length to inflict as
much pain as possible with as little
real damage as possible
to the working capacity." The
number of beatings he received
were 1,003. The number of blows
administered at each flog-
ging ranged from 5, 10, 20, 50, 60, to
108. He says that every
10 stripes were as bad as a living
death. His ordinary weight
was 180 pounds; he was reduced to 1171/2
pounds. Once he
was struck over the eye with a piece of
wood by a brutal over-
seer, knocking him senseless and gashing
his forehead above
the eye. For many years after he had a
feeling of vertigo
due to this blow. During the last six
years of his imprison-
ment the noble girl to whom he was
engaged, leaving her New
England home and securing a position as
a teacher in Oxford,
Ohio, visited him whenever she was able.
She not only en-
couraged Fairbank during those awful
days, but she petitioned
the Governor of the State for his
release. Finally Lieutenant-
Governor Jacob came into power. He was
friendly to Fair-
bank, and at once wrote his pardon. His
second imprisonment
had lasted 12 years, 5 months and 6 days. This brought the
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 287
total period of his confinement to 17
years and 4 months.
Shortly after his pardon he was married
to the lady, Miss Man-
dana Tileston, who had waited so long
for his release.
He died at Angelica, N. Y., October 12,
1898, and went to
meet his wife who had passed on before
him.33
In 1836, Hiram Wilson, a Lane student on
graduating,
went to Upper Canada to commence work
among the 20,000
freedmen who had fled there for refuge.
He found them very
poor, and becoming vile and depraved. He
devoted his life to
teaching and Christianizing them. At the
end of two years
14 teachers from Oberlin were assisting him, at an actual28
cost of $1,000.00, but with only $600.00
received to carry on
the task. In 1840, thirty-nine Oberlin
people were teaching
schools in Ohio; one-half of them being
Oberlin women who re-
ceived only their board in pay. As many
more were in Canada.
(28: 323).
In 1846, a meeting of the "Friends
of Bible Missions," was
held at Albany, N. Y., and the
organization of the "American
Missionary Association", took
place. This society took the work
of the then existing Western Indian
Committee of N. Y., the
Union Missionary Society of Hartford,
and the Western Evan-
gelical Society of Oberlin. Lewis Tappan
was appointed Treas-
urer, and the next year Prof. George
Whipple, of Oberlin Col-
lege, became Corresponding Secretary of
the new society.
From the earliest moment that Oberlin
became abolition-
ized, her students commenced to spread
the belief far and near.
During the winter vacation following the
addresses in Oberlin
by Mr. T. D. Weld (already referred to),
twenty or more stu-
dents went out as lecturers through Ohio
and Pennsylvania,
under the auspices of the American
Anti-Slavery Society. Their
receptions were varied. At some places
they found friends; at
others mobs.23
Oberlin students, also, went to the
South as teachers, partly
through curiosity, partly through the
chance of better salaries,
for the scarcity of teachers in the
South made a demand for
their services. But those traveling in
the South ran great danger
of personal violence if it were once
learned that they were
from the hated Oberlin.31
288
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
In speaking of the wide scope of
Oberlin's influence, Gen.
J. D. Cox, an Oberlin alumnus, in his
address at the Oberlin
Semi-centennial upon, "The
Influence of Oberlin College on
Public Affairs during the Half Century
of its Life," said, "I
unhesitatingly assert that there is
hardly a township west of
the Alleghanies and north of the central
line of Ohio, in which
the influence of Oberlin men and Oberlin
opinions cannot be
specifically identified and traced. It
was a propaganda of a
school of thought and action having
distinct characteristics, and
as easily recognizable in its work as
was that of Garrison and
the American Anti-Slavery Society in
their methods and work."
He also says: "Their uncompromising
devotion to reforms of
all sorts, so far as they thought them
true reforms, was really
based on this principle- fighting with
might and main against
all wrong. Slavery only happened to be
the demon wrong at
that moment in the way." 31
The early inhabitants of Oberlin were
Whigs. Then Ober-
lin on becoming anti-slavery, took a
rather active part in politics.
Dr. N. S. Townsend, a trustee of the
College, was in the Ohio
State Legislature. He with two other men
held the balance
of power between the two parties. They
sent Salmon P. Chase
to the United States Senate. At the
Presidential election in 1840,
a Liberty candidate for President was
voted for by the majority
of the Oberlin people. A portion still
hoped for anti-slavery
from the Whig party. In 1844, almost the
entire Oberlin vote
was cast for the liberty party
candidate, James G. Birney. In
1848, a large majority voted for Van
Buren, the Free Soil can-
didate. After this the Oberlin vote was
with the Republican
party. (23: 109-111).
OBERLIN'S RELATION TO SLAVERY, 1850-1861.
Oberlin not only took part in politics
by voting, but the
Oberlin Evangelist for January 30, 1856,
tells us that a petition
was circulated in Oberlin regarding
slavery. It was then sent
to the Senate and House of
Representatives at Washington.
This paper urged the enactment of laws
as necessary for se-
curing the privileges of Habeas Corpus
to any person in the
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 289
United States who was restrained from
his liberty under pre-
tense of his being property.
In 1850, by act of the State
Legislature, the name of the
College8 was changed from
"Oberlin Collegiate Institute", to
"Oberlin College".
In 1842,
the hatred for Oberlin grew so strong that
the
State Legislature once more thought of
repealing Oberlin's
charter. Judge Harris, Representative
from Lorain county, was
not only a fair-minded and honorable
man, but he had also mar-
ried an Oberlin lady. He sent to Oberlin
for 20 or
so catalogues
to distribute among his fellow4k
Democrats that they might see
what kind of a place it was that was
threatened with the loss
of its charter. They changed their
viewpoint and the scheme
was quietly dropped. Thus Oberlin
escaped. A Democratic
Legislature four times in all agitated
the question of repealing
the charter. The last attempt was in
1843, when the bill was
indefinitely postponed by a vote of 36
to 29. (23: 368-370).
The enactment of the Fugitive Slave Law
of 18- ushered
in a new era of slave-hunting on the
part of the South in the
North. This period extended through the
Fifties. "The Fu-
gitive Slave Enactment became the means
of pushing the two
laws, moral and statutory, to their
sharpest point of contradic-
tion." The conscience of the time
was aroused to strong oppo-
sition to this law. The chief scene of
the clash between these
warring parties was in Ohio, due in a
measure to its geographical
position. The chief spot in the state
where the slave-hunter
and the men who believed in doing as
their conscience directed,
came in collision was in Oberlin. Here
was located what was
known as the Higher Law, a belief that
it was one's duty to
follow what one's conscience dictated,
irrespective of the law of
the land. (36: 244-261).
The Editor of the Canadian Independent
says the Oberlin
Evangelist for January 30, 1856,
declared that "Oberlin is per-
haps the most important station along
the whole line of the
Underground Railway. It has rendered the
most important ser-
vices to Freedom. It is second only to
Canada as an asylum for
the hunted fugitive."
Vol. XX- 19
290
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
The fugitives who reached Oberlin were
conveyed to some
lake port between Cleveland and
Sandusky. There the captains
of certain sailing vessels would let the
negroes steal aboard, and
when the slave once more stepped on
land, he was in Canada.
There were at all these ports people who
sent word to Oberlin
when a friendly boat came in.
But in all the good work that Oberlin
did, she never re-
sisted the capture of her colored
friends with force; no violence
ever occurred. And she can say that no
fugitive on once reach-
ing her protection was ever carried back
into bondage. A cer-
tain law greatly helped the Oberlin
people in preventing the re-
capture of a fugitive. This law was that
only one warrant at
a time, to search one house at a time,
could be issued in Elyria.
So that by the time an officer was able
to investigate the house
in which the negro was hidden, the slave
had been conveyed
to some other part of the town, or was
on his way towards
Canada.
On all sides of Oberlin were towns and
country-people in
opposition to her belief in the Higher
Law. On Middle Ridge
Road, 6 miles north of Oberlin, a guide
post was erected by the
authorities there. This post had on it
the life size figure of a
fugitive negro running with all his
strength towards Oberlin.
The sign on a tavern, 4 miles east of
town, was decorated
on the side facing Oberlin with the
scene of a slave pursued
by a tiger.
As early as 1841 a negro and his wife
were caught by the
slave-hunters in a house in the forest
one mile east of Oberlin.
It was a Friday evening in the Spring. A
public meeting was
taking place at the College Chapel, when
word of the seizure
was brought. The meeting broke up at
once; the people in a
body pursued the slave-catchers, and
though the Oberlin men
were unarmed they, on overtaking the
Southerners, induced them
to go to Elyria. Their papers were found
to be irregular; the
negroes were placed in jail until the
hunters could go and return
from Kentucky with evidence. A warrant
was served on the
slave-hunters for assault and battery
with deadly weapons, and
threats towards the members of the house
in which the slaves
were found. The Kentuckians were bound
over to appear in
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 291
court. Before the trial took place one
of them had died; the
other returned to the trial to find the
slaves had broken jail and
escaped; that this escape was due to the
fact that another prisoner
in the jail, a basket-maker, had broken
out, and that the negroes
had followed him. The Kentuckian was
released without trial.
(23:
118). (28:38).
Sometimes the ruse was accomplished of
sending off a load
of make-believe fugitives with a great
show of carefulness; while
the real negroes would be quietly taken
in another direction.
Sheffield, an Oberlin student, rode on
horseback in daylight
to Huron with a negro man attired as a
woman, with face chalked
white and veiled.
Another rescue was effected when the
fugitive was in the
sorest need; a capture seemed
inevitable. The slave-hunters were
watching the house in which the negro
was concealed, and to
leave was impossible. Mr. Pease, the
Oberlin artist, was sent
for. He brought with him his paint and
brushes. For an hour
he worked on the visible portions of the
man. When he ceased,
there was no more before him a negro
slave escaping from bond-
age, but a white man to all appearances
the same as other white
men. In this disguise the negro left the
house, entered a car-
riage, and was driven safely away, all
being accomplished in
plain sight of the slave-hunters.24
A rescue was carried to a successful
conclusion by trans-
ferring the fugitives from the
old-boarding hall where they were
concealed to a load of hay in which they
were covered. Then
the next morning the load was hauled to
the lake, and the slaves
embarked for Canada.24
One Sabbath a beautiful octoroon sat in
church beside an
Oberlin lady, Mrs. Holtslander. The girl
was tall and slender
with black hair slightly waving over a
broad white forehead,
large pensive eyes, a small mouth, and
Caucasian features. Her
story was as follows:
"That her mother was a house
servant of her father and
master, and that she had had the same
educational advantages
as were given to her white half-sisters.
They had lived together
in perfect harmony. There was an
abundance for all. Her
mother had been housekeeper for 20
years. Several other chil-
292
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
dren were born to her, and were equally
well treated, but this
one's love for music and ability to
learn had been even a value
above the others. One evening she
overheard a discussion in
which it was said that 'Minerva,'
calling her by name, would
bring a very high price in the New
Orleans market. She was
now at an age to be appreciated, and no
man but a man of
wealth could afford to buy her. She
would not be knocked
down for less than $2,000.00, and that
would release the mort-
gage on the farm. 'It must not be,'
cried the mistress. 'She is
too good a girl. I would rather take
one-half and know where
she is, and if she is well treated.
Remember she is attached to
us and it might cause her death. Do not
think of it for the
present, I beg of you.' To this the
master and father of the
girl replied, 'Think of it! I can think
of nothing else. What
are we to do? We shall be sold out at
Sheriff's sale if nothing
is done. What have I had these people
here for but to fit them
for the slave market, do you suppose?
That is what makes
our expenses so great, and we can keep
it up no longer. Do
you think I am a fool?"
Minerva did not stop to listen longer.
She knew her fate
was sealed. She was to be sold. A
journey to see the world
and finish her education, was to put her
on the auction block to
be the mistress of some brute. "No,
never," she soliloquized,
"I will go to-night. I will tell no
one, not my mother or sisters
or brothers. Where shall I go? To the
North. Follow the
North Star. Which is it I wonder?"
and she peered into the
heavens and said, "even that I must
not ask or they will suspect
me. My clothes, where are they? Oh I am
so dazed, but I
will go. I will need rubbers, and my
woolen underskirt and my
black dress and my mother's black shawl.
I will try to find a
little money, for that is a good
friend."
Hastily she put a few things in a black
silk reticule, and
with a thick veil, ran down towards the
boat landing, just as a
boat anchored at the wharf. She hid away
in a state-room
until the boat whistled to leave, and
after she heard the engine
rotate regularly, she ventured out and
asked for a berth and a
passage to Cincinnati. She was closely
veiled, and it was towards
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 293
midnight. She was given her ticket by
the captain and no ques-
tions asked.
When she awoke the sun was shining in
her room, and
the boat was passing farms and villages.
She was very hungry,
and had but a piece of corn cake in her
pocket, which she ate
and felt better. She watched the
passengers as they passed her
state-room. Now and then an old
gentleman with gray hair and
benevolent countenance stood on deck
alone. "Would he be a
good one to ask for the North Star, or
for some place to go
in Cincinnati?" thought Minerva.
"I have no one else to ask,
so God go with me and shape his thoughts
toward me." About
noon she ventured to approach him, and
said, "Do you know
anyone in Cincinnati ?" He replied,
"I should hope so for I have
lived there for forty years."
"Could you tell me where to go on
the Underground Rail-
way? I want to get to Canada. I wish I
knew which was the
North Star."
"Ah yes," he replied, "I
will write the name on a paper
and my own. You can give it to the
cab-driver and he will take
you without any questions. You have
asked the right person
this time, but you had better rely on
names given you, for all
along the line are enemies and only a
few friends. Out of this
boat load I do not know of another. For
there is money in
betrayal, and few can resist money. I
have helped many a one.
Do not speak to me again. Go right out
to the busses and give
your destination and they will take you,
for they too work for
money."
"I have money," said Minerva,
"I brought a little with me."
"Pay the hackman two dollars; it is
a good ways out of
town. He will ask that and you pay it,
and you will need no
more."
She returned to her room and counted her
money. She had
more than enough. "I am
hungry," she said to herself. Just then
some one tossed into her window a paper
of crackers. It was
enough, life so intense did not need
more. It was the hour of
nine, in the evening, when the boat
anchored at Cincinnati. She
watched for a hack-driver whom she
thought kind and careless,
294 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
and he came, read her paper and said
"All right," put her in, shut
the door, and was off before the others
had come from the boat.
When she alighted, two grave Quakers
came to the door and said,
"This is the right place; the
driver is paid; no trunk of course.
Come right in," and she did; and in
the stately home she felt
safe from blood-hounds, whether in human
or brute form.
They heard her story, and said,
"The papers are full of it.
That boat was too well loaded to come
fast, and the water is low,
and thus you have escaped detection. We
have a room in here,
cheerful and bright." They took
down a painting, pushed the
wall paper, and it swung back as a door.
Within was a fire-
place, a cupboard to be filled with
food, a closet, and sky-lights.
It was evidently kept for just such
occasions. After a light
supper, she slept as sound as a young
woman could who had
been running for life, and reached a
place of comparative safety.
For three weeks she made this place her
home. To and fro the
detectives had gone, but there was no
one to reveal it but the
aged couple, and they said nothing, not
even to their friends.
With two more stops of a day each,
Minerva had reached Ober-
lin. At midnight the carriage had
brought her from Wellington,
the nearest railway station in 1859.
After a week in Oberlin
she had ventured to Church. She came for
several Sundays,
and then disappeared."9 She
had doubtless gone to Canada.
This story has been told in full, to
show more distinctly the
kind of work which Oberlin did; the kind
of folks whom she
often helped to life and freedom.
Numerous other stories could be told of
escaping slaves
who, but for the help received at
Oberlin, would have been
retaken and severely punished, in
addition to being once more
enslaved. But enough has already been
related to give the reader
a conception of the practical good that
Oberlin did in those days
before the War.
Oberlin had a goodly number of resident
colored folk. They
lived mostly on one street, and had
their own social set. They
were allowed privileges, and were not
treated with disdain. A
few rose to distinction.9
In 1854, Mr. Chambers, a wealthy planter
of Salisbury,
North Carolina, freed his slaves. Seventeen
he sent to Oberlin
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery Conflict. 295
to settle. He gave each family money to
start themselves on;
to at least onehe gave $500.00 in gold.
Mr. Patton, of Kentucky, liberated his
slaves after his wife's
death; the negroes having come to him
through his marriage.
This act of kindness so angered his
neighbors that he was thrown
into prison for inciting a negro
insurrection. The slaves he had
sent to Oberlin. Once in his prison
cell, he looked around him
for some means of escape. He saw a
bucket hanging from a
hook on the wall. Seizing this hook he
finally managed to wrench
it free. When night came and the prison
had been locked, he
made his escape by opening the locks on
the doors by means of
his hook. He scaled the outer wall of
the jail, and fled for the
ferry. He was conveyed into Indiana
where for a time he lay
in hiding. Then he made his way to
Oberlin. When it was
safe he returned to Kentucky, but came
back to Oberlin every
few months to see how his former slaves
were getting on.9
One little slave boy of Kentucky thanks
his Creator that there
is such a place as Oberlin. The Sabbath
School children took
part in raising money to buy Henry's
freedom. He cost $210.00.
All funds received over that amount were
to be used for his
education.4m
Some of the escaping blacks liked
Oberlin so well that they
made it their home, in spite of the
danger of detection and cap-
ture. So in one way and another the
number of these colored
folks increased; they became part of our
town.
The enrollment of negroes in the college
was not large.
From 1840-1860, there were only
4% or 5% of this race in the
Institution. Soon after the War the
percent rose to 7% or 8%.
The courses of study were never altered
to suit these people.
No white person was obliged to sit
beside a negro in the class-
room, or elsewhere. It is not known
definitely how many colored
students have attended Oberlin, as no
separate list, or any dis-
tinction regarding color, has ever been
made. The only reliance
that can be placed on the past is by
taking the word of instruc-
tors and others, who tell us what they
can remember. (23:
111-112).
That these negroes who studied here were
not educated
in vain is shown from the work which
they did on leaving Ober-
290 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
lin. A circular soliciting funds for the
college, issued in 1860,
states: "Instruction is invariably
given equally to black and
white persons. A large number of the 500
colored students
already instructed there, are now
engaged as teachers of their
own race in the Western States and
Canada." The education
imparted (at Oberlin), is of a high
order, students in Classics,
Mathematics, etc., obtain degrees
irrespective of color." It
goes on to say that, "The College
is not intended to be a school
for the education of the colored race
exclusively; its great object
in educating the colored and white races
together, is to break
down that cruel spirit of caste which
unhappily prevails so exten-
sively throughout the Northern States of
America."
One colored student rose to National
prominence. This
was John M. Langston. He was born a
slave in Virginia in
1820; at the age of six years he gained
his freedom. He studied
at Oberlin during the first days of its
colored members. After
a noted career, in which he was United
States Minister and
consul-general at Haiti, during
1877-1885, he was elected to
the 51st. United States Congress. He is
now dead. (28:421).
Due to the friendly way in which the
white students treated
their negro classmates, reports became
prevalent among those
of the pro-slavery sentiment in Ohio,
and elsewhere, that amal-
gamation between the two races was
practiced at Oberlin. An
example of the strength of these
accusations is seen in the fol-
lowing instance: Mr. Shipherd had a
black servant girl who
was in poor health. At the advice of a
physician, Mr. Shipherd
had Henry Fairchild, a brother of
President Fairchild, take the
girl for a carriage ride. On this the
county-paper published an
extra giving a vivid account of their
version of the affair. In
the next Cleveland paper's issue was an
article headed, 'Marriage
Extraordinary," with a story of the
same character as the head-
ing. This was copied in 40 other
newspapers all over the United
States. (25); (28).
A dismissed student wrote a book
entitled, "Oberlin Un-
masked." It contained a choice
collection of venomous lies; lies
of the filthiest order. It was believed
by many, and aided in
setting up a hatred of Oberlin on other
grounds than those of
anti-slavery. But Oberlin went calmly on
her way, and in time
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 297
these false accusations were shown to be
without support, and
the good name of Oberlin flourished.
The only time blows were struck in the
peaceful town of
Oberlin in regard to slavery was when a
negro struck Deputy
United States Marshal Daton.
Slave-catchers while stopping in
Oberlin took up their lodgings at Wack's
Hotel. This building
was situated on the corner of South Main
and Mechanic Streets.
Wack, himself, was a strong Democrat and
pro-slavery man.
While these hunters were there, the
anti-slavery people of the
town kept a sharp watch on their
movements. On even a hint
that the Southerners were here, the
streets would be patroled
at night; sometimes from 15 to 25 men
would be on guard.
They kept a watch on Marshal Daton for
he was a Democrat
and friend of the South. Any visitor of
his received attention.
A mulatto, named Smith, so near white
that one would not have
known of his colored blood unless told
of the fact, had escaped
from bondage and taken up his abode in
Oberlin. He obtained
information that Marshal Daton was
endeavoring to secure his
recapture. One day while walking along
the street near where
now stands the Electric Car Waiting
Room, Smith turned and
spoke to Daton who happened to be behind
him. An exchange
of words ensued. Smith was carrying a
heavy stick. Suddenly
he struck the Marshal with this club. He
continued to shower
blows upon him till Daton turned and ran
into the hotel where
the present Park House is located. Smith
was arrested. At
the trial he produced letters from the
South showing that Daton
was in correspondence with slave-traders
regarding the recapture
of Smith. The Justice of the Peace let
Smith go free, for said
he, the mulatto had a right to protect
himself. Smith continued
to live in Oberlin for a time after the
fight-the only fight that
ever occurred in Oberlin over the
slavery question.12
When Congress declared the Missouri
Compromise void,
Oberlin organized an emigrant-aid
society, and sent forward
several companies of emigrants from
Oberlin and the surround-
ing country to pre-empt Kansas as a Free
State. These people
went prepared for troublesome times, and
they did their part
in making the State of Kansas a Free
State for the Union.
Several Oberlin ministers were in the
rough scenes of the border
298 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
warfare. (23:157). They were sometimes
hunted over the
prairie like wild beasts.
The Oberlin Evangelist, June 4, 1856,
states how a great
mass meeting was held in the Chapel on
the news reaching here
that Lawrence, Kansas, was in ruins.
"A hasty call on three
hours' notice was sent out for a public
meeting; the Chapel was
crowded to its utmost capacity; a series
of resolutions were
adopted, expressive of the sense of the
meeting in regard to the
recent outrages,"-the assault upon
Senator Sumner on the floor
of the United States Senate; and the
destruction of Lawrence,
Kansas. The meeting was addressed by
Rev. J. C. White, of
Cleveland, Prof. J. Monroe, H. E. Peck,
and T. B. Hudson.
The father of John Brown, of Harper's
Ferry, was a trustee
of Oberlin College. John Brown's younger
brothers and a sister
were students at Oberlin. John Brown,
himself, surveyed lands
belonging to the College in West
Virginia. He was more or
less associated with the Oberlin men in
Kansas; but his raid at
Harper's Ferry came as a total surprise
to the majority of the
folks of Oberlin. (23: 57).
Shields Green, a colored man, once a
student and citizen
of Oberlin, was secured by Brown to aid
in his undertak-
ing. With Brown were two other Oberlin
colored men, Leary
and John Copeland. Leary was killed in
the fight; John Cope-
land died on the gallows a few days
after his leader. Green
could have escaped but remained faithful
to the man who had
led him to the scene of death. It
happened this way: When
Brown surrendered, Green and one
companion were in the
mountains on some errand. On returning
to the Ferry, they
found that to effect a rescue would be
impossible. Green's com-
panion advised flight, and did himself
escape; but Green replied
that he preferred to "go down and
die with the old man," and
he died. He was executed at Charlestown,
Virginia, December
2, 1859, the same day that John Copeland offered up his
life in
payment for his endeavor to help the
people of his race to be
freed from the bondage in which they
suffered.24
Prof. Monroe made a journey to secure
the remains of
Copeland but was unsuccessful in his
mission.28
In pro-slavery circles, Oberlin was
suspected of complicity
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery Conflict. 299
in the Harper's Ferry Raid. The
"Pennsylvanian," of Phila-
delphia, Penn., gives a good example of
the Democratic opinion
of Oberlin. It said: "Oberlin is
located in the very heart of
what may be called 'John Brown's tract,'
where people are born
abolitionists, and where abolitionism is
taught as the 'chief end
of man,' and often put in practice.
* * *Oberlin is the nurs-
ery of just such men as John Brown and
his followers. With
arithmetic is taught the computation of
the number of slaves and
their value per head; with geography,
territorial lines, and those
locations of slave territory supposed to
be favorable to emanci-
pation; with history, the chronicles of
the peculiar institution;
and with ethics, and philosophy, the
'higher law,' and resistance
to Federal enactments. Here is where the
younger Browns
obtain their conscientiousness in
ultraisms, taught from their
cradle up, so that while they rob
slave-holders of their property,
or commit murder for the cause of
freedom, they imagine that
they are doing God service." (23: 157-8).
The sentiment of Oberlin upon the raid
of John Brown was
set forth in the Oberlin Evangelist. It
read: "We object to
such intervention, not because the slave
power has any rights
which mankind, white or black, are bound
to respect, and not
therefore because it is properly a moral
wrong to deliver the
oppressed from the grasp of the
oppressor; but entirely for other
reasons. We long to see slavery
abolished by peaceful means,
and as a demand of conscience, under the
law of righteousness,
which is the law of God. Such a result
would be at once glorious
to Christianity, and blessed to both
slave-holders and slaves. It
is especially because an armed
intervention frustrates this form
of pacific, reformatory agency, that we
disapprove and deplore
it. Perhaps the day of hope in moral
influence for the abolition
of slavery is past already; we cannot
tell. If so, it is a satisfac-
tion to us to be conscious of not having
unwisely precipitated
its setting sun. If a mad infatuation
has fallen upon Southern
mind, and they will not hear the demands
of justice, nor the
admonitions of kindness, let the
responsibility rest where it be-
longs. We would not have it so. 'We have
not desired the
woeful day, 0 Lord, thou knowest.'
" (23:158-159).
In the Oberlin cemetery, near the
southeast corner, stands
300 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
a monument of clouded marble, about 8
feet in height. On it
is the inscription:
S. GREEN,
Died at Charlestown, Va., Dec. 2, 1859.
AGED 23 YEARS.
J. A. COPELAND,
Died at Charlestown, Va., Dec. 2, 1859.
AGED 25 YEARS.
L. S. LEARY,
Died at Harper's Ferry, Va., Oct. 20,
1859.
AGED 24 YEARS.
These Colored Citizens of Oberlin,
The heroic associates of the immortal
JOHN BROWN,
Gave Their Lives for the Slave.
Et Nunc servitudo etiam mortua est, laus
Deo. (28:439); (24).
OBERLIN-WELLINGTON RESCUE CASE.
From 1835 to 1860, Oberlin was an
important station of the
Underground Railroad; but in all this
time only two overt at-
tempts were made at Oberlin to recover fugitives.
The first of
these occurred in 1841; the outcome of
which was that the
slaves, a man and his wife, escaped from
the Elyria jail through
an opening made by another prisoner, and
the slave-hunters, one
of whom died, gave up the pursuit. (This
incident has already
been told in detail in this article).
The second endeavor to retake a fugitive
at Oberlin led
to the following celebrated trial; a
trial National in its importance.
A very ordinary event was the beginning
of the whole affair;
-John Price, a slave, escaped from
Kentucky. He came to
Oberlin where he lived six months or
more without attracting
any special notice.
Some time in January, 1856, a slave
called John, a boy of
about 18 years of age, escaped from the
plantation of John G.
Bacon. Bacon lived in the northern part
of Mason County,
Kentucky.
Late in August, 1858, Mr. Anderson
Jennings, a neighbor
of John's master, while pursuing some
runaway slaves belonging
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery Conflict 301
to his uncle's estate, stopped a few
days in Oberlin. While here
he learned of John Price. The astute Mr.
Jennings at once saw
that here was a good chance to secure an
able-bodied slave at
practically no expense. He forgot,
evidently, that he was in
Oberlin. From Richard P. Mitchell, a
former employee of Mr.
Bacon's, Jennings received a document
purporting to be a duly
drawn and certified power of attorney
for capturing John. Jen-
nings also went to Columbus, Ohio, and
obtained a warrant for
John from a man named Sterne Chittenden
who certified him-
self to be a United States Commissioner.
Jacob K. Lowe, a
deputy for the United States Marshal of
the Southern District
of Ohio, was intrusted with the
execution of the warrant. Lowe
secured the assistance of Samuel Davis,
an acting deputy-sheriff
of Franklin county, and these three men
with R. P. Mitchell,
set out for Oberlin where they arrived
Friday evening.
They took up their lodgings at an
obscure inn where they
would attract little attention; and the
frequenters of this inn
would favor their mission. They at once
set about the work
of capture. About 4 miles from town they
found a man who
would help them. This man had a son, a
lad of about 13 years,
who was to be the principal actor in the
snaring of John. The
scheme was arranged on Sunday. Monday
morning the boy came
into Oberlin with a horse and buggy. He
found John and offered
him large wages to go with him into the
country to dig potatoes.
It was now September the 13th, 1858.
John accepted and rode
off with the boy. They had proceeded but
a mile or two out
of town and were driving along at a
leisurely gait, when a car-
riage driven at a fast pace overtook
them. In the carriage were
three men. They stopped the buggy,
pulled John out and with
threats and a great pointing of weapons,
compelled him to enter
their carriage, which was then driven
rapidly off along the
diagonal road two miles east of Oberlin
which leads to Welling-
ton nine miles south. The three men were
the gallant Kentuc-
kian, Mitchell, and his two official
assistants. The boy was
paid $20.00 for his share in the
cowardly proceedings. So far
their plan had worked out to a nicety;
but from now on they
were doomed to failure. Two men coming
from Pittsfield met
the carriage with its helpless victim.
They reported the fact
302 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
in Oberlin. Some of the colored people
had already been sus-
picious of the three strangers, and now
the news spread like
wild-fire; and without concerted action
whites and blacks alike,
started on a mad race toward Wellington.
Every manner of
conveyance was pressed into service.
Probably 200 or 300 people
went to Wellington that afternoon.
Wellington also furnished
its share of the crowd, so with those
who fell in with the Oberlin
folks along the way, the throng that
surrounded the hotel of
a Mr. Wadsworth, where the kidnappers
held their prey, was
of such numbers that it might well
strike the slave-hunters with
fear. They took John to a room in the
garret to await the
coming of the first train south. Though
no gun was fired, quite
a number appeared. The Kentuckian later
claimed at least 500
guns were in evidence; other people to
whom the weapons would
have brought no harm estimated the
number as about fifty. It
is not certain that any of the weapons
were loaded. The crowd
had no leader and did not act in unison;
but thronged the hotel
rooms, as well as completely surrounding
it outside. Some of
them wished to let the man-hunters
proceed with their captive;
but the great majority insisted on a
rescue. Different persons,
among them a magistrate and a lawyer of
Wellington, were
shown the warrant in the hands of the
marshal for the arrest
of John. Patton, an Oberlin student,
read the warrant of Lowe's
to the crowd. Not one word of the power
of attorney was heard
of at Wellington. The throng still
surrounded the hotel. The
train for the south came. It puffed away
again, and still the
southerners with their prisoner were in
the Wellington hotel,
around which the crowd surged and
murmured. The sun was
about to set as a little group of men
who had gathered around
John in the garret of the hotel, started
down the stairs. In their
midst was John. Once outside the crowd
passed him on to a
buggy standing near, he was lifted in,
the buggy started rapidly
off towards Oberlin.
President Fairchild had been out driving
with his family
that afternoon. He never had seen or
heard of John, but he
too was now to be implicated in the
affair. James Monroe and
James M. Fitch went to Mr. Fairchild and
asked him to take
the poor fellow in. He did so. For three
days and nights John
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 303
was hidden in a back room; but no
suspicion fell upon the house
and no United States Marshal ever made a
call of inquiry. John
Price was then sent on to Canada.
The Fugitive Slave law was supposed to
be vital to the
maintenance of the Union. This law had
been violated; and
since the Union must be upheld, the
government at once set
about to punish the offenders. A trial
in the United States
Court at Cleveland was determined on.
Judge Willson brought
the case before the grand jury with an
elaborate charge. In
conclusion, he said: "The Fugitive
Slave law may, and unques-
tionably does, contain provisions
repugnant to the moral sense
of many good and conscientious people;
nevertheless, it is the law
of the United States, and as such should
be recognized and exe-
cuted by our courts and juries, until
abrogated or otherwise
changed by the legislative department of
the government." The
grand jury, influenced by this charge,
made out 37 indictments
against 24 citizens of Oberlin and 13 of
Wellington. In both
towns some of the leading men were
included in these indict-
ments. Among the Oberlin names were
those of Prof Peck, of
the College; J. M. Fitch, superintendent
of the large Sunday-
School; Ralph Plumb, a lawyer; and
others of good standing.
No time was wasted. That same day,
Marshal Johnson
appeared in Oberlin to make the arrests.
He went first to Prof.
Peck and asked him to introduce him to
the other men whose
names were on his list. This was done,
and the Marshal received
the promise of each one to appear in
court at Cleveland the next
day. In Wellington, without the aid of
Prof. Peck, the Marshal
found but few of those he sought. These
few he requested to
appear in court the next day, and
himself left for Cleveland
empty handed.
At 10:40 A. M., December 7th., fifteen of
the Oberlin men
left the station amid the cheers of a
large throng of ladies and
gentlemen who had assembled to see them
off. "A considerable
number of the most prominent men of the
village, including
Mayor Beecher, volunteered to accompany
the prisoners and see
them comfortably quartered or safely
returned. Marshal John-
son was in waiting when they left the
cars, and pointing the
prisoners to omnibuses bound for the
Bennet House, directed
304 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
them to take good care of themselves and
be ready for a call
at 2
o'clock. After dinner, the Hon. R. P.
Spalding, the Hon.
A. G. Riddle, and S. O. Griswold, Esq.,
who had volunteered
their services for the defense, free of
charge, were called in for
consultation. Soon after 2 o'clock, the
parties proceeded to the
courtroom." 3
The trial was begun. Judge Spalding,
acting for the defense
entered a plea of not guilty, in behalf
of all. He gave notice
that the accused were ready, and
requested trial immediately
The District-Attorney, Belden, (he was
assisted in the prosecu-
tion by Judge Bliss), begged that the
trial be postponed till he
could send to Kentucky for witnesses. He
would need at least
two weeks. "Judge Spalding thought
that citizens of Ohio might
think two weeks some time to lie in jail
for the convenience of
citizens of Kentucky." 3 The defendants
declined to give bail
and were finally allowed to leave upon
their own recognizance
of $1,000.00 each. The case was
adjourned, first to March 8th,
and again to April 5th.
The "Felons' Feast" was the
next event of public interest
The Cleveland Morning Leader said of the
affair: "A strange
and significant scene for this
enlightened and Christian age, and
in our boasted Free Republic, transpired
at the peaceful and
God-serving village of Oberlin on the
afternoon of Tuesday, the
11th of January, 1859. It was literally
the 'Feast of Felons,
for the 37 good citizens of Lorain
county, indicted by the Grand
Jury of the United States District Court
of Northern Ohio under
the Fugitive Slave Act, for the crime of
a conscientious and faith
ful observance of the Higher Law of the
Golden Rule, sat down
with their wives and a number of invited
guests to a sumptuous
repast at the Palmer House (in Oberlin).
It was in the best
sense a good social dinner, followed by
a real 'feast of reason
and flow of soul.' The entertainment was
given by the indicted
citizens of Oberlin to their brethren in
bonds, as will be seen
by the following card of invitation: At
a meeting of the citizens
of Oberlin who had been indicted by the
Grand Jury of the
United States District Court at
Cleveland, charged with rescuing
the negro boy John Price, held on the
evening of January 4, 1859,
it was Resolved, That it is
expedient for the whole number of the
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 305
citizens of Lorain county who have been
thus indicted, to meet for
the purpose of consultation, and
agreement as to the course to
be pursued in the present emergency and
for mutual comfort, and
for this purpose to meet at the Palmer
House on Tuesday, Janu-
ary 11, at 2 o'clock P.
M., for dinner, and such other good things
as may follow, and that we invite the
citizens of Wellington
implicated with us, to participate on
the said occasion as our
guests.3
"JAMES M. FITCH, Chairman.
"JACOB R. SHIPHERD, Secretary."
On the 5th of April, the trial
commenced, and continued
with slight interruptions up to the
middle of May, when the
cases were put over to the July term.
At 10 o'clock in the forenoon the case
of Simeon Bushnell
was called.
Before the organization of the jury, the
District Attorney
told the court that he should need a
writ of habeas corpus and
testification in behalf of Jacob K.
Lowe, a witness for the gov-
ernment. For Lowe had been arrested at
Grafton the evening
previous on his way from Columbus to
Cleveland, by Richard
Whitney, a deputy-sheriff of Lorain
county, under a warrant
issued by the Lorain County Court of
Common Pleas on an
indictment for kidnapping which was
found by the Grand Jury
of Lorain county at its last session.
Lowe was at this time
confined in the Lorain county jail at
Elyria. While the court
was considering this matter, Lowe walked
in, having been dis-
charged on the bond of Mayor Sampsel, of
Elyria. This bond
was for $1,000.00, and Lowe was to
appear for trial on the
17th of May following.
"The political aspect of the trial
was very obvious in the
fact that, with the exception of three
members of the petit jury,
every person connected with the court
and prosecution, from the
judge on the bench down to the claimants
of the fugitive, was
a member of the predominant party in the
government. Within
the court room the Fugitive Slave Law
had full sway. Without
Vol. XX-20
306
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
in the city and the State, the
sympathies of the people were with
the men in jail." 20 The prisoners
were tried separately.
Some striking evidence in favor of the
defense brought out
by the lawyers for the prisoners was the
following: Mr. Riddle,
one of the Oberlin lawyers, said:
"And will you mark it well,
gentlemen, that this man Jennings, being
only an agent and not
the actual owner, although clothed by
his power-of-attorney with
full authority to arrest the boy with
his own hands, or by posses,
in his immediate presence, had no power
to confer upon another,
either by parole, or writing, the
authority vested in himself to
seize and arrest this boy John."
"I know, gentlemen, that this
man Mitchell, sent to Ohio for the
express purpose of acting
as a witness, says that the power of
attorney was actually shown
to John. A most gracious favor that,
indeed, especially since in
the next breath he tells us that he
thinks John didn't read it,
because he couldn't and hadn't time if
he could; and Mr. Jen-
nings swears positively that, at the
time Mitchell avers he showed
it to John (when the arrest was made),
it was in his own (Jen-
nings), breast pocket, in the Russia
House (a hotel run by a
Mr. Wack), at least two miles from the
affecting interview be-
tween John and his old friend Mitchell.
But who seizes John?
It matters nothing in law, to be sure,
since it is not Jennings,
the only man who could seize him, or
direct it to be done for
him." "Can there be a particle
of a reasonable doubt concerning
the real capacity in which Lowe acted?
He came as a marshal
armed with a warrant to be served by a
marshal, went out with
his assistant and did serve it, and
arrested John and held him
as a marshal; which he cannot and dare
not deny."
"The owner comes up here and swears
that when he (John),
left Kentucky at the age of 18, he was 5
feet, 8 or 10 inches
high, and would weigh 165 or 170 pounds, and was
copper colored.
At Oberlin they arrest a John who is
positively sworn by a
number of unimpeachable witnesses, who
have the best means
of knowing, to have been not over 5
feet, 5 or 6 inches tall,
weighing 135 to 140 pounds, and so black
that he shone. Even
Jennings swears the John they captured
was black. If they
say the Kentucky boy and the Oberlin boy
were both Johns, they
don't come any nearer; for the Kentucky
boy was simply John,
Oberlin's Part in
the Slavery Conflict. 307
while the Oberlin boy was John Price. In
no solitary point do
the descriptions agree. Slaves never
have more than one name.
They are all Boys till they get to be
Uncles. Do we then, gentle-
men of the jury, claim too much in
claiming that the boy cap-
tured at Oberlin by no means answers to
the description of the
boy who ran away from John G. Bacon in
1856? Certainly, if
evidence is worth anything, it has most
clearly established a
glaring discrepancy here."
In spite of all this evidence and a
great deal more to the
contrary, Bushnell, the prisoner who
first came up for trial, was
found guilty, convicted and sentenced.
He received in sentence
60 days' imprisonment, a fine of
$600.00, and costs of prosecu-
tion. This latter fine (cost of
prosecution), was understood to
be about $2,000.00 more. Charles
Langston was the next case
called. The same jury was kept to try
all the cases. The lawyers
for the defense made a great outcry at
this outrageous ruling, but
the Court would not change. The defense
then said that they
would not call any more witnesses for
the defense, and that they
would not appear by attorney before such
a jury, that the District
Attorney could call up the accused as
fast as he pleased. The
Court then ordered the marshal to take
the prisoners into custody.
The Oberlin men agreed to give no bail,
enter no recognizance,
and make no promises to return to the
court. They were there-
fore taken to the Cleveland jail where
they were confined. They
were well cared for, provided with
apartments in that part of
the jail kept as a private dwelling,
were well fed, and treated
kindly.
Indeed, Sheriff Wightman treated them
with every
courtesy. Great numbers of people
visited the prisoners. On
Sunday afternoon April 17th, Prof. Peck
spoke to the other
prisoners and a throng of visitors who
packed the jail yard and
every point of vantage. Prof. Peck read
his text from Matthew
9:9, then preached an able sermon.
The next conviction that was made before
the cases were
put over till the July term, was that of
Charles H. Langston, a
colored man. When asked if he had
anything to say for himself,
he made an eloquent speech, so thrilling
to all those who heard
that the courtroom thundered with the
applause, and the sentence
was made a light one. He concluded his
speech with the fol-
308
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
lowing fiery declaration: "And now
I thank you for this leniency,
this indulgence, in giving a man
unjustly condemned, by a tribunal
before which he is declared to have no
rights, the privilege of
speaking in his own behalf. I know that
it will do nothing
towards mitigating your sentence, but it
is a privilege to be al-
lowed to speak, and I thank you for it.
I shall submit to the
penalty, be it what it may. But I stand
up here to say, that if
for doing what I did on that day at
Wellington, I am to go in
jail 6 months, and pay a fine of
$1,000.00 according to the Fugi-
tive Slave Law, and such is the
protection the laws of this country
afford me, I must take upon myself the
responsibility of self-
protection; and when I come to be
claimed by some perjured
wretch as his slave, I shall never be
taken into slavery. And
as in that trying hour I would have
others do to me, as I would
call upon my friends to help me; as I
would call upon you,
your Honor, to help me; as I would call
upon you (to the District
Attorney), to help me; and upon you (to
Judge Bliss), and upon
you (to his counsel), so help me God. I
stand here to say that
I will do all I can for any man thus
seized and held, though
the inevitable penalty of 6 months'
imprisonment and $1,000.00
fine for each offense hangs over me. We
have a common hu-
manity. You would do so; your manhood
would require it and
no matter what the laws might be, you
would honor yourself for
doing it; your friends would honor you
for doing it; your chil-
dren to all generations would honor you
for doing it; and every
good and honest man would say, you had
done right." 3 There
was great and prolonged applause, in
spite of the efforts of the
Court and the Marshal, as Langston
finished.
Langston was sentenced to a fine of
$100.00, to pay the
costs of prosecution, and to be
committed to the jail for 20 days.
Langston's trial completed, the cases
were, as has already
been stated, postponed to the July term.
Several of the indicted
from Wellington entered a plea of nolle
contendre, and were
sentenced to pay a fine of $20.00 each, costs of
prosecution, and
an imprisonment of 24 hours in the jail;
the same being con-
siderable less than Langston had been
sentenced to. One old
man from Wellington wished to stay by
the other unjustly im-
prisoned men so much, that it was nearly
with entreaties that he
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 309
was at last prevailed on to go home.
Thus all that remained
were 14 Oberlin men, and those
convicted. From the 15th of
April on, they lay in jail.
The unjust ruling of the Court regarding
the calling of a
new jury, was afterwards recalled, and
the prisoners were notified
that their own recognizance would be
accepted as before; but a
false record had been made which put the
defendants in the
wrong and the court would not correct
it. The discussion arose
concerning the placing in jail of the
prisoners (already de-
scribed), when they were fulfilling what
was expected of them
when they gave their recognizance; for a
person who has given
his recognizance is not supposed to be
placed in custody. The
Oberlin men would not give bail or renew
their recognizance,
and therefore they remained in jail.
During the recess of the court an
attempt was made to free
the prisoners by appealing to the State
courts. One of the Judges
of the Supreme Court, granted a writ of
habeas corpus ordering
the sheriff to bring Bushnell and
Langston before the court,
that the reason for their imprisonment
might be considered. For
a week the case was argued before a full
bench, at Columbus;
but the court in a vote of three to two declined
to grant a release.
President Fairchild points out that if
the vote had gone in
favbr of the prisoners, Ohio would have
been placed in conflict
with the general government in defense
of State Rights, and that
"if the party of freedom throughout
the North had rallied as
seemed probable, the War might have come
in 1859 instead of
in 1861, with a secession of the
Northern instead of the Southern
States.
A single vote apparently turned
the scale." (23:
127, 128).
During this recess of the court, a mass
meeting was held in
Cleveland on May 24th, to express the
sympathy that was felt
for the imprisoned Oberlin men, and
their condemnation for
the Fugitive Slave Law. A great
procession, with banners,
passed through the streets, around the
square, and in front of
the jail. Many noted men addressed the
people. Among these
speakers were Joshua R. Giddings, and
Salmon P. Chase. Mr.
Chase was at this time Governor.
Numerous resolutions were
adopted in favor of State Rights. The
closing feature of the
310 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
day were speeches in the jailyard by
Langston, Peck, Fitch, and
Plumb, in behalf of the prisoners. The
meeting had no immediate
result in favor of the prisoners, and no
result was expected;
but it was simply a declaration that the
Fugitive Slave Law
would no more be executed in Northern
Ohio.
The Oberlin prisoners now settled down
to the monotony
of their confining life.
THE 'RESCUER.'
This publication was edited and printed
in the Cleveland
jail by the Oberlin prisoners. It is a
paper about the size of
the 'Saturday Evening Post;' (the exact
dimensions are 18
inches x 12 1/2 inches); there are four pages in all; the print
is clear and black; the letters are of
medium size; the style of
its contents is witty, bright, and very
much in earnest; it makes
interesting reading.2
Regarding the foundation of this paper
let us quote from
its own pages: "After the
'political prisoners' had remained in
jail for 75 days, they began to find
themselves possessed of
'thoughts that breathed and words that
burned.' We not only
wished to utter them, but we wished to
print them. Could the
thing be done? We looked around for
printers and found among
the prisoners two rusty and dilapidated
'typos,' one of whom
had not handled a 'stick,' for 15 years.
Would the sheriff allow
us a corner of the jail for a
printing-office? We asked him.
Generous as ever, he replied, 'certainly
and I'll help you too if
I can.' 'Oh, where shall type be found?'
we next inquired. The
generous purchasers of our old printing
office responded by
lending us a font of small pica, and the
liberal publisher of the
Cleveland Daily Leader, (the very paper
which would please
you, gentle reader), added more, with
other things. For a 'plane,'
we used a carpenter's with the irons
knocked out. A policeman's
club answered for a 'mallet,' in taking
'proof,' and for other
purposes we would select a pounding
instrument from a large
pile of shackles which lay at our feet.
A fellow prisoner supplied
us with 'side sticks,' 'quoins,' and
'reght,' made from a white-
wood board. Another prisoner sawed up a
fence board to make
a 'rack,' (quite like a felon that, but
we must settle it with the
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 311
Commissioners). For a 'shooting
stick'-not the dangerous kind
which we have understood 'rescuers,'
sometimes use, but a simpler
instrument,-we hewed out a piece of
stone, and the door-stone
answered for a 'table.'
"Thus furnished and with the ample
space of just 5 feet
by 10 feet for a printing-office, we
proceeded to establish the
'Rescuer.' If we labor under
difficulties it is but appropriate for
'Rescuer,' always do. We forgot to
express regret that we could
not procure italics. Many were
needed. We must ask our
readers to supply the emphasis according
to taste."
The front page of the Rescuer, is like
this:
THE RESCUER.
DELIVER HIM THAT IS SPOILED OUT OF THE
HAND OF THE OPPRESSOR.
Vol. 1. Cuyahoga County Jail, July 4th, 1859. No. 1.
THE RESCUER
will be published at the
Cuyahoga County Jail,
every alternate Monday, by the
Political Prisoners there confined.
Five thousand copies of the first number
will be issued. Price 3 cents per copy.
The Rescuer was thus named,
"because we rather like the
idea it conveys. To be rescued is to be
saved, often from serious
evil, and even death. Many an innocent
man would have gone
into helpless slavery, but for the
timely and determined aid of
some friendly 'rescuer.' Indeed there is
so much rescuing to be
done, that we intend to spend our lives
at the business."
In another part of the paper is an
article by one of the
prisoners which shows clearly what the
imprisoned men thought
of the people who were striving for
their conviction. This gentle-
man writes: "That the Marshal and
District Attorney felt re-
freshed when they fancied they could
procure the indictment
of 37 citizens of Lorain county, we
cannot doubt, since the
expected fees accruing to these great
sticklers for obedience to
law must reach thousands of
dollars." He goes on to say,
"it
is well known that the names of such
persons as it would be
desirable to have indicted were
furnished by a certain govern-
312 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
ment official, and that the names of
Messrs. Peck, Plumb, and
Fitch were on the lists, and further,
that the Grand Jury took
a recess for some ten days, after
agreeing to inflict all except
these three, to gain time to find some
testimony against them.
Not one of these men, viz., Peck, Plumb,
and Fitch, were within
nine miles of the spot when the rescue
took place that day. Nor
is there truthful testimony in existence
on which any of them
could be convicted by a court of
justice. But the plan would
utterly fail of its object if these
devoted men should escape
indictment, so the faithful jury met
again, and one Bartholomew
(a tin peddler, who has since been
indicted for perjury committed
in these trials, and left the State),
was produced and furnished
the required testimony, and thus the
great object of the honorable
court was secured, and these 'Oberlin
Saints', as the District At-
torney called them, were indicted. We
cannot close this article
without alluding to the fact, that
Democrats were well known
to have been actively engaged in the
rescue, and were not in-
dicted, while two of the indicted
proving to be good Democrats,
were nolled, on motion of the District
Attorney. We should
also state that the suits were commenced
without the knowledge
of the kidnappers, if their own
statements can be relied on."
It thus appears that the trial was
merely a political move
of the Democrats against the Republicans
and was not conducted
solely in upholding the Fugitive Slave
Law, as was claimed by
the Democrats.
Regarding the life of the prisoners, the
Rescuer tells us:
"Our quarters are in the third
story of the prison. We have
a sitting room 18 feet by 12 feet; two
bedrooms about 12 by 10
feet; and three cells of about the same
size. Unfortunately for
us, Ohio is guilty of keeping her
incurably insane in her jails,
and we have upon the same floor, with,
and separated by a thin
partition from ourselves, six lunatics,
who, for a habit, 'bay
the moon', early and late with howlings
and ravings which do
not promote the sleep of those who are
near. Our lodgings are
kept as neat as they can be by ourselves
and our excellent jailer.
Our food is good and is served with
neatness. Our 'landlord',
Sheriff Wightman is as noble a man as
ever drew breath, and
has treated us with fraternal kindness.
Jailer (Henry R.) Smith
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 313
is like the sheriff. We daily maintain
morning and evening
prayers and divine worship twice on the
Sabbath. We add to
reading, writing, and waiting on our
abundant company (which
together has made an army not less than
4,000 strong), useful
labor. Our shoemaker makes shoes; our
saddler, harness; our
cabinet makers, furniture; our lawyers,
'declarations'; and our
ministers, sermons. Occupation keeps us
contented".
On July 2d, 400 Oberlin Sunday-school
children made a visit
to the prisoners in the jail. Mr. Fitch
was their superintendent
and had held this position for 16 years.
Now he was in jail
his faithful little flock came loyally
to him. The Oberlin Sab-
bath School was the invited guests of
the Plymouth Church
Sabbath School of Cleveland. There were
brief addresses by
the prisoners, and music. The program
lasted for an hour.
The little people not only expressed
their sentiments by
visiting the prisoners in the jail, but
they wrote their superin-
tendent notes of indignation at his
imprisonment and hope for
his speedy release. Sixty letters were
received by him in a
single day. The contents of all these
notes were much like the
following examples: "I think it is
very wrong for those horrid
men to keep you there." Another
wrote: "I have often won-
dered if those wicked men ever had such
a faithful teacher as
you have been to us to teach them the
'Golden Rule'."
The Rescuer had accounts of all the
foregoing, and also
many articles dealing with anti-slavery
in other parts of the
country. Only the one number was ever
published as the pris-
oners were released before another
alternate Monday, which was
their day of publication, had come
around.
The release of the Oberlin prisoners
came about in the fol-
lowing manner: The four men who had
endeavored to kidnap
John Price were indicted in Lorain
county for kidnapping. Their
trial was set for July 6th, six days
before the resumption of
the trials in the U. S. court at
Cleveland. The four slave-hunters
were out on bail till near the time of
their trial at Elyria. "Then
a writ of habeas corpus was obtained
from a judge of the United
States court and an attempt was made to
deliver up the four
men to the sheriff of Lorain county that
the writ might be served
upon him, and his prisoners be released
by order of the U. S.
314 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
judge." Various circumstances
hindered this plan. The hour
of trial was at hand, when the writ
would be useless. The four
men became frightened. Through their
counsel, Hon. R. H.
Stanton of Kentucky, the U. S. attorney
was asked to capitulate
with the counsel of the Rescuers. It was
finally agreed to pro-
pose to the Oberlin lawyers that the
suits on both sides should
be dropped. This was consented to; the
marshal went to the
Cleveland jail and told the Oberlin
prisoners that they were
free. This took place on July 6th.
In the afternoon of the same day the
Rescuers prepared
to leave the jail. But just before they
went out into the street,
they stepped into the parlor of the
jail, where were present their
attorneys, Messrs. R. P. Spalding, A. G.
Riddle, F. T. Backus,
S. O. Griswold, Sheriff D. L. Wightman,
Jailer J. B. Smith,
and H. R. Smith who had rendered the
Oberlin men so many
services. With these gentlemen were
their wives and numerous
friends. Mr. Plumb, in behalf of the
prisoners, presented the
ladies for their husbands, each a
beautiful silver napkin ring,
fork and spoon, engraved with the
initials of their husbands,
and "From Rescuers; Matthew 25:
36."
About 5 o'clock a hundred guns were
fired on the square,
and several hundred people gathered at
the jail to escort the
Oberlin men to the depot. "At half
past 5 the whole company,
headed by Hecker's Band, marched two and
two to the depot,
through Superior and Water Streets, the
band playing 'Hail
Columbia', 'Yankee Doodle', etc."
After speeches at the depot,
the train pulled out for Oberlin amid
the cheers of the great
crowd who had come to see them off.
At Grafton, for in those days the
railroad passed through
that village, the wives of Peck, Plumb,
Fitch, and Watson
boarded the train, while the returning
prisoners gave them cheer
after cheer. As they drew into Oberlin
the whole town appeared
to be out to meet them. "A sea of
heads could be seen extending
for a long distance on both sides of the
track."3
Nearly 3,000 people joined in the great
shout of welcome
that went up as the Rescuers came down
the steps of the train.
There were speeches and much cheering.
Then the returned
prisoners were escorted to the Church
where until midnight the
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 315
people gave vent to their feelings in
song, prayer, and talking
over what had just transpired
The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue was a
thing of the past,
but its effects remained, for no more
did the slave-hunter ever
venture to pursue his victim into the
domains of these people
where Jennings and his associates had
fared so badly. (2); (3);
(23: 119-132); (20).
OBERLIN IN THE CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865.
The quiet of Oberlin was not to be left
unbroken for many
months to come. Fort Sumpter was fired
upon. The United
States Government issued a call for
troops. The enemies of
Oberlin tauntingly declared
"Oberlin has been valiant in words,
let us see how she will stand when it
comes to deeds." They
were not left long in doubt. Though the
college authorities never
urged the students to enter the army,
still when the time came
they offered no obstacles to their doing
so of their own free
will. The first act of the Faculty was
to suspend the law, long
in force, which stated that no student
should be a member of
any military company.27
Friday evening, April 19th, 1861, a
meeting of the students
was called in the College Chapel, and
was addressed by speakers
from each of the regular college classes
who urged their fellow
classmates to rally to the defense of
the Union. A committee
of five were appointed to get
volunteers.
Saturday Prof. Monroe arrived from
Columbus, for at this
time he was a member of the State
Senate. A meeting was
called in the First Church and was
addressed by Prof. Monroe
and Col. Sheldon from Elyria. At the
close of the meeting the
muster-roll which lay on the pulpit, it
was announced, was opened
for enlistments. The great, crowded
church was very still. It
was no easy matter to enlist. To go from
a town where peace
and quiet reigned supreme, to the
horrors of the battle field, and
to go calmly, knowing what was before
them, required a sublime
devotion to the cause in which they were
asked to enlist. If
they went up there to the pulpit and
placed their names on that
roll of paper, they would do it not
because honor and advance-
316 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
ment lay before them, but because they
saw it to be God's Will.
*
* * And now a man got to his feet and started towards
where lay that roll of blank paper. Then
from all over the
Church the boys came, and as they passed
down the aisles friends
leaned forward, some urging them on to
do their duty, others
to persuade them to stay at home by
mention of parents whose
sole support were these boys who, it was
thought, were going
to their death. The first to enroll was
Lester A. Bartlett. Forty-
nine names were secured that evening;
$10,000.00 were pledged
to equip and sustain the Company.
During the next day, Sunday, the
enlistment continued and
people thought it nothing strange that
this should be so. At 8
o'clock, Monday morning, it was
announced that no more could
be received. Before noon the Company had
become partially
organized. The Faculty required all
under 21
who wished to
enlist, to first secure the consent of
their parents or guardians.
One hundred and thirty names had been
enrolled but the num-
ber was cut down to 100 as that was the
number of men required
to form a single company. For two days
college exercises were
suspended and the class-rooms were
occupied by ladies from
the college and town who made such
things as a soldier was
supposed to need.
Copy of a letter written by W. W.
Parmenter, Sergeant in
Company C, to his mother telling of his
enlistment, and of the
sentiment of the college boys toward the
war:
OBERLIN, April 22, 1861.
MY DEAR MOTHER:
Saturday evening the people here raised
about $5,000.00 for the
benefit of those who go from here, and
agreed to take care of all fam-
ilies of persons who go. Mary (his
sister) says you were afraid I
would volunteer, and urged me not to do
so. Your feelings are the
main thing which hold me back, and so I
wrote Saturday, before I re-
ceived Mary's letter, asking the opinion
of all of you at home upon this
subject. Now I wish to say a little more
about it.
The Government, which has protected our
family for thirty years
and has furnished the means for all our
material prosperity and happi-
ness, now calls for help, and calls
loudly, too.
If you had stayed in England, some of
your family would have
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 317
been obliged to go in the service of the
Government long before this.
Here only those are wanted who are
willing; because it is expected all
will be willing. Now, when the best men
throughout the land are volun-
teering, would you wish a son of yours,
no better than other sons
everywhere, should stay at home, through
fear or through your feeling
on his account? I really would not
disgrace you by thinking such a
thing. This is not a mere sentiment of
patriotism, either. Christian
people throughout the North have been
praying for this time, and God
has answered their prayers. The conflict
is now between Liberty and
Slavery, Christianity and Barbarism, God
and the Prince of Darkness.
There never was a time when Christians
were so united in one common
cause, and there never was a cause which
received so many prayers
from praying people. No man is worthy
the name of Christian, who
shrinks from any duty which the Lord
places before him. The Lord
holds all nations in his hand, and will
surely bring good out of these
times, but He will try the faith of His
people.
One company has been formed in Oberlin
composed mainly of stu-
dents and another is nearly formed.
These two will contain about 160
men. A half dozen or more Theologues are
going, as many Seniors,
Juniors, also Sophomores and Freshmen,
preparatory, and everybody.
Now, I have been wanting to know your
opinion, but I cannot
doubt what it would be. "Go, do
your duty to your country, and God
speed the right." I have long ago
consecrated my life to the service of
God, to do anything, to be anything, to
suffer anything, for the further-
ance of His cause upon earth. Now, when
duty plainly calls, I cannot,
I will not shrink, and I am going. This
is just what I want to tell and
have not known how. Now, rejoice, my
mother, that you are able to
do your share, and I know I shall have
your prayers.
Our company is the first one formed, and
is composed mainly of
Christians.
Tutor Shurtleff (at that time an
instructor in Oberlin College, later
made Brevet Brigadier General), is our
Captain.
I was the twenty-fourth to enlist. I
subscribed Saturday night.
About a hundred first joined, and then a
committee of the Faculty cut
off the number down to go.
Notwithstanding my size, (he was short),
I was kept on, which I consider somewhat
of an honor. We have en-
listed for three months, when we can be
discharged if we wish it. The
Seniors will be graduated just the same
as if they stayed. We
will first go to "Camp
Taylor," Cleveland, where we will stay several
weeks. There is where you may direct to
me. Institution is doing
nothing now. Those few who stay will
organize and go when wanted.
We have a brave, strong, God-fearing
Company, and we are all in the
best of spirits. We go to Cleveland,
Wednesday morning. May God
be with us and sustain us, and may His
cause be glorified through us.
Now I hope you will not be cast down by
what I am doing, but rather
318 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
be thankful. Everyone will be
comfortably furnished by the people here.
I have no time to write more now. Write
to me every day or two,
some of you.
Your affectionate son,
WILLIAM.
On Thursday, April 25, the Company took
the cars for
Camp Taylor, Cleveland, Ohio. About the
entire town went to
the depot to see them off. Prof. Ellis
and others made speeches,
the sad farewells were said, and the
train pulled out of the
station, which in those days was
situated a little east of where
the freight depot now stands.
A second Company had been formed,
composed of those
who had not been able to enroll in this
first Company. This
second Company was not accepted and it
soon disbanded.
The Company that left for Camp Taylor
was mustered into
the U. S. service for three months at
Camp Taylor, April 30,
1861; that being the length of time for
which they had enlisted.
G. W. Shurtleff, a tutor of Latin in
Oberlin College, was elected
Captain. The Company was assigned to a
place as Company C
in the 7th Regiment of Ohio Volunteer
Infantry. This regiment
was put under the command of Col. E. B.
Tyler, Lieut. Col.
Wm. R. Creighton, and Maj. Jno. S.
Casement.
Sunday morning, May 5th, the regiment left
Cleveland for
Camp Dennison, Cincinnati. It reached
Columbus at 4 P. M.
and spent the night there; Company C,
quartering in the State
House. The following day at noon it
arrived at its final destina-
tion, Camp Dennison. This camp occupies
a beautiful valley on
the line of the Little Miami Railroad,
about 17 miles northeast of
Cincinnati. The valley is slightly
curved, more than a mile in
extent, with the railroad bordering it
on the east, while on the west
lies a line of hills rising to 100 or
200 feet. Near the foot of
these hills were the barracks, in a
triple, compact row, with the
kitchens for the soldiers immediately
behind the barracks. Farther
back were the tents of the officers. In
front of the barracks was
the parade ground; while on the east was
an irregular range
of hills.40 In this valley
were gathered about 8,000 men - Ohio
Volunteers -undergoing drill,
preparatory to the work which
lay before them. The letters written
from this camp to their
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery Conflict. 319
friends at home by the soldiers, have
printed on the envelopes
pictures of camp life, pictures of
soldiers marching, of soldiers
standing guard, etc.; making a rather
striking contrast to the
envelopes of to-day.
Although far from the influences of
Oberlin, the Company
held daily prayer-meetings, usually in
the street between the
barracks. Often men from outside
companies would gather
around, and much good was done to men
other than of Company
C. The Company was as a whole in favor
of religion. It was di-
vided into messes of about 16 men each.
A chaplain was ap-
pointed to each mess. He saw to it that
morning and evening
service were observed. This practice was
continued in most
of the messes throughout the war. The
Oberlin boys were ridi-
culed by a great number in the camp for
their religious customs.
The sneers of "There goes an
Oberlinite," or, "There is one
of that praying-company", were
often heard. The Company
was nick-named "The Praying
Company". Indeed the contrast
between the Oberlin men and the mass of
the others in the camp
was striking; the former, educated,
cultivated; with genteel,
polished manners; none of them drank,
only a few smoked or
chewed; and the majority of the
volunteers from the other com-
panies, common, uneducated, crude and
rough of manner, swear-
ing, drinking, smoking, chewing. But
despite the jeers hurled
at them, the Oberlin men continued to
live upright, Godly lives.
One of the statements made of Company C,
was that, "such
soldiers could never be valiant in
battle, nor endure the severities
of military service, in the camp and on
the forced march." (7: 6,
7). These statements were never made
after the first battle,
and the first few marches, however.
In the latter part of May, the Governor
of Ohio, invited the
7th Regiment to re-enlist for a three
years service. He promised
to date their muster roll back to their
first enlistment for three
months. This promise was later broken by
the Government, the
regiment not being allowed to be
mustered out until July 6, 1864.
On May 23d, at 9 P. M., the
Company was marched out of
the lines and up the grassy hill at the
east of the camp. Here
they were addressed by Gen. Cox and Prof.
Monroe with re-
gard to entering the service for three
years. The question was
320
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
a serious one, for to re-enlist meant to
give up one's aims and
chances of the success in life which
were only just opening to
them. The Seniors were to be graduated
the same as though they
had remained in Oberlin; this had been
promised on the first en-
listment. But some had parents dependent
on them; some were
not fitted physically to endure the
hardships of a prolonged cam-
paign; and thus for one reason and
another some of the men
did not re-enlist when they were a few
days later given the
chance. Most of these men who did not
re-enlist in Company C
did so in some other company before the
war closed. Those who
did re-enlist were given a furlough of
10 days. When they re-
turned to camp they brought with them
enough new recruits
to fill the company to the required
number. In the re-election
of officers that took place, G. W.
Shurtleff was once more made
Captain. (7: 9).
The Regiment remained at Camp Dennison
until June 26,
when they were ordered to Western
Virginia. Then commenced
for Co. C the hardships of a field
campaign. They made many
forced marches, but with the exception
of the wounding of Cor-
poral Adams while on picket, the Company
had not come under
fire when on the 15th of August it
encamped at Cross Lanes
on a beautiful, sloping meadow.
Here the regiment remained drilling
until August 21st, when
in the evening an order was received to
march to Gauley Bridge.
In an hour they were on the way. At 10
A. M. of the next day
they reached Twenty-Mile Creek, where a
halt was made. At
this place the 7th Ohio encamped until
the 24th, notwithstanding
the fact that Gen. Cox, at Gauley
Bridge, ordered it back at
once to Cross Lanes.
The reason for these marches and
counter-marches was this:
Cross Lanes was the point of
intersection of the road from Sum-
mersville to Gauley Bridge with one from
Carnifex Ferry which
is on the Gauley River near the mouth of
Meadow River. The
7th Ohio was withdrawn to Twenty-Mile
Creek to guard a road
passing to the rear of the force under
Gen. Cox. As soon as
the attack which had been made on Cox
was repulsed, the 7th
had been ordered back to Cross Lanes to
watch the roads and
river crossing there. Tyler, Colonel of
the 7th Ohio, delayed
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 321
fulfilling this last command by
remaining at Twenty-Mile Creek
to issue shoes and clothing to his men.
When he did approach
his former position at Cross Lanes he
found that Floyd, the
Confederate general, was reported to
have crossed the Gauley
River at Carnifex Ferry. Without waiting
to reconnoitre, Tyler
retreated several miles to Peter's
Creek. It was afterward
learned that Floyd had crossed by
raising two small flatboats
which Tyler had sunk but had not
entirely destroyed. He used
these as a ferry, crossed the river and
entrenched where he was
afterward attacked by Rosecrans. In the
hope that only a small
force had made a crossing, Cox ordered
Tyler to "make a dash
at them". Cox writes, "I
added, 'It is important to give them
such a check as to stop their crossing.'
Meanwhile my advance-
guard up New River was ordered to
demonstrate actively in front
and on the Sunday Road, so as to
disquiet any force which had
gone towards Tyler; and I also sent
forward half a regiment to
Peter's Creek, (6 miles from Cross
Lanes), to hold the pass
there and secure his retreat in case of
need. But Tyler was new
to responsibility and seemed paralyzed
into complete inefficiency.
He took nearly the whole of the 25th to
move slowly to Cross
Lanes, though he met no opposition. He
did nothing that even-
ing or night, and his disposal of his
troops was improper and
outpost duty completely neglected."
(29: 78-97).
Regarding the final advance of the 7th
Ohio to Cross Lanes,
Sergt. W. W. Parmenter writes in his
diary: "We went on
and reached Cross Lanes just before
dark. Several companies
were already there. In the advance a
hanger-on to the regiment,
who was ahead, was shot by the enemy's
pickets. At Cross
Lanes seven or eight slaughtered oxen
were captured. This to
me was sufficient evidence that there
was a large force of the
enemy somewhere near. When our companies
all came up, we
had a force of about 600 men. Company A
went up a hill near,
and exchanged several shots with some of
the enemy on a neigh-
boring hill. Soon after dark, pickets
were sent out, and the com-
panies were lodged around, several
companies in a church, and the
rest scattered around in little log
houses some distance from each
other. It was difficult keeping warm.
The house our company
Vol. XX-21
322 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
was in was overflowing, and some had to
stay outdoors. These
last built a fire along towards midnight
and afterwards were
comfortable. In the morning we were up
bright and early. Two
wagons had come on in the night, and we
had pilot bread, beef,
and roasted ears of corn for our
breakfast. While we were in
the midst of this work, some roasting
pieces of beef, others cook-
ing corn or filling canteens and all as
little prepared as could
be, firing was heard in the direction of
the river. Shots which
at first were scattered, soon became
rapid and continuous, and
evidently near at hand. We had no time
to form the Company,
but pushed off rapidly towards the
firing in any order we chanced
to fall in. Company A was ahead of us on
the same road a few
rods, having slept near us in this
direction. We had gone but a
short distance, when we began to receive
the fire of the enemy who
were advancing at a double quick through
the open fields and
woods to the northeast of the
road." 15 (End of Parmenter quo-
tation.)
In the gray light of the dawn the lines
of gray clad men,
moving swiftly forward in perfect order,
could be distinctly seen.
Over the sombre ranks a battle flag,
slanting forward, gave a
touch of color to the grayness of the
scene. Down the road came
Major Casement, riding at breakneck
speed. "Company A, take
that hill"; "Company C, take
that hill", he cried, pointing to two
hills about 200 yards distant
from the road. Company C turned
off the road, and at a run made for the
ridge. Across an open
field they rushed, here receiving the
first severe fire from the
enemy. They climbed a fence and started
to ascend the hill which
had a gradual slope towards the road. A
battalion of rifle-men,
concealed in a cornfield on the same
side of the road as Company
C, and close at hand, opened with deadly
effect. The bullets which
before had whizzed by their ears, now
rained on them in a con-
tinuous stream, tearing the ground all
around them, and wound-
ing many. Jeakins was the first one
struck. He had his arm
shattered. Almost immediately, Sheldon
staggered backward,
a bullet through his breast. Kellogg
caught him and helped him
and Jeakins part way up the hill to a
wheat stack. "Sheldon,
when last seen, was lying on his face
spitting blood. He was no
doubt mortally wounded." (18a).
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 323
The rebels had set up a fiendish
yelling, and this added to
the deafening roar of the musketry, made
the din indescribable.
Biggs of Elyria, dropped part way up the
hill. Burns, though
with a ball through his body, struggled
to the crest of the ridge
and fired his gun. Here and there a man
would stop, turn, and
with deliberate aim, return the fire of
the enemy. At last the
crest was reached. The Company took
shelter behind what few
trees and stumps there were; many laid
down on the further
side of the crest, thus escaping to some
extent the storm of
bullets which was continuously poured
into them. And now
they added to the uproar, their muskets,
loaded with one bullet
and three buck-shot, making a great
crash at each discharge. A
wall of grayish smoke rose before the
Company; now and then,
a gust of air rent the cloud apart,
sending it drifting upward in
feathery, fog-like streamers. Through
the rift the dense masses
of the enemy could be plainly seen. They
fired by battalion,
pouring in a ceaseless hail of lead.
Then the smoke would settle
down; a wall of gray, pierced and
slashed by yellow flame, would
rise before the regiments. Avery,
squatting behind a stump,
was just aiming his musket when a bullet
hit his shelter, sending
chips of wood flying in his face. He
went white with fright,
but fired his gun. Collins was shot
through the body, and fell
mortally wounded. A detachment opened
upon the little band
from a hill close on their right. At
first it was thought to be
Company A, mistaking Company C for the
enemy, but it soon
became apparent that Company A had
retreated and their places
been taken by the Confederates. While
ascending the hill, heav-
ing firing had been heard over by the
church where the other
companies had bivouacked, but this had
now ceased, and all
was still save where on the hill Company
C withstood the Rebel
Army. The men dropped oftener now. Jones
received a bail
through the lungs and fell severely
wounded; Sergt. Morey was
struck by a ball on the side of the
head, cutting through the flesh
but not injuring the skull; Noble, of
Bowling Green, received a
flesh wound in the leg; Claghorn had the
face of his thumb shot
away; Stephen Cole had a slight flesh
wound in the thigh. Lieut.
Cross was hit in the left arm, wounding
him severely. He cried
out, "Boys, I'm hit; but fire away,
don't mind me." Sergt. Orton
324 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
while stepping from behind a tree to
fire, was shot through the
thigh, and fell, dangerously though not
mortally wounded. He
shouted to Captain Shurtleff that the
enemy were coming over
the hill to the right. Shurtleff stepped
out from behind the
tree which a minute before had sheltered
Orton. A volley of
bullets whizzed by him on every side;
one passed through his
blouse. But the brief glance was enough.
On an eminence to
the right was a detachment of the enemy
who were advancing,
firing as they came. The position was
now well nigh untenable.
Advancing on their front was one
regiment; on the right an-
other, together with a battery of
artillery; still another over on
the left at the corners cutting off
retreat by the road; and sev-
eral companies over by the church to the
left of their rear. They
were nearly surrounded. The rest of the
7th Ohio had retreated,
and were entirely separated from Company
C, who were keeping
back a full regiment commanded by Col.
Heath, an old army
officer. In a moment more the position
would be swept by the
cannon of the foe. Shurtleff turned to
Sergt. Parmenter, whom
he considered the best drilled soldier
in the Company, and one of
the best in camp. "Sergeant, the
enemy are pressing upon our
right flank, the regiment I think must
be retreating, what do you
advise, shall we hold our position and
all die, or shall we retreat ?"
Parmenter was as cool as though at
drill. "I see no advantage,
Captain, in fighting so strong a
force." He spoke very calmly.
Without waiting longer, Capt. Shurtleff
ordered a retreat. "So
great was the din, and so much were the
boys interested in what
was going on, that after the captain had
started with most of
the Company,"15 Parmenter
had to run over to the left and call
several by name to induce them to leave.
They retreated in
good order through the woods to the
rear. The enemy suppos-
ing they had gone to the left fired
several rounds of grape-shot
in that direction, wounding slightly one
of their own men.
On the field of battle were left Cross,
Orton, Jeakins, Shel-
don, Collins and Jones, all severely
wounded. The Company,
with Shurtleff and Parmenter at the
head, wandered for some
hours in the woods. At length about noon
(the Company re-
treated into the woods about 6 A. M.),
while going along single
file up a moderate hill, they came
suddenly upon half a regi-
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 325
ment of the enemy, and were within four
paces of them before
they made them out. They were ordered to
surrender. After
parleying a sufficient length of time to
enable those of Company
C hidden by the hill to escape, Capt.
Shurtleff surrendered with
14 of his Company. The men not captured
made their way
back to the main Union Army as best they
could. They suf-
fered extreme hardship and in spite of
the greatest carefulness,
some of them were taken prisoner.
Joseph Collins died the day after the
battle. He was buried
on the field. Burford Jeakins lived
until 10 o'clock Sunday even-
ing, Sept. 22d., when he, too, passed
away. Lieut. Cross, Sergt.
Orton, Sheldon, and L. J. Jones were
recaptured by Gen. Rose-
crans in the battle at Carnifex Ferry,
Sept. 10.
After the stragglers had all come into
camp, it appeared
that 29 of Company C had been taken
prisoner. In the entire
Union forces engaged in this battle 15
were killed and 50 wounded,
the latter with some 30 others falling
into the enemy's hands.
The Confederates had in the action about
4,000 men. They
claim a loss of 125. (13); (27);
(4p); (4q); (18a); (21);
(29: 78-97); (15); (7: 12-14); (23:
164).
The "Dispatch", a Richmond
newspaper, in its Sept. 7th
issue, had the following letter from a
correspondent with Floyd's
Command. It is dated Camp Gauley,
Floyd's Brigade, Aug. 28,
1861. "On yesterday, I attended one
of our Yankee captain
prisoners to the hospital to see the
wounded men. It is on the
opposite side of the Gauley, distant,
two miles. His meeting
with his men was quite affecting.
Shaking them by the hand,
he said he was glad to see them, 'under
any circumstances.' He
was a tutor in one of the Ohio colleges,
and among the most
dangerously wounded were four of his old
scholars. One of
them died before we left, and some of
the rest will".
The prisoners not in the hospital were
put in an enclosure
of rails, like so many cattle. August
28th, the day of their Col-
lege Commencement, officers tied their
arms preparatory to the
journey to a southern prison. They were
poorly fed and suf-
fered from exposure. They were marched
on foot, and trans-
ported by rail to Richmond, Virginia.
Many of their guards
wanted nothing better than a chance to
shoot the Oberlin men.
326 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
As Mr. Stephen Cole expresses it,
"They thought we had horns,
and hair on our teeth." But before the journey was com-
pleted these guards were the best of
friends with their pris-
oners. They admitted they did not know
what the principle
was for which they were fighting. All
they knew was what
their politicians had told them, and
that the Northerners were
invading their land.
In Richmond they were put in tobacco
houses where they
remained until they were taken to more
Southern prisons. A
good number of the Oberlin boys were
sent to Parish Prison,
New Orleans.
It is interesting to note the difference
in account of the
version in Parmenter's diary, and that
in a New Orleans news-
paper, concerning the entrance of the
Union prisoners into New
Orleans. Sergt. Parmenter writes, and we
can easily believe
his story to be the true one: "At
the depot was a battalion of
soldiers, a large force of police, and
an endless crowd of people.
We were mustered from the cars and
arranged in fours, a rank
of soldiers marching each side of us. In
advance was a troop
of cavalry, followed by a body of
infantry. In the rear was
a large force of infantry. Outside of
the soldiers were the
police. In this order they marched us
under the broiling sun,
through a number of the principal
streets, so as to give the
immense crowds a chance to look at us. I
noticed in passing,
the famous St. Charles Hotel and other
buildings. The sol-
diers who escorted us were men finely
uniformed and well
drilled, in fact the best appearing body
of soldiers I had seen
in the Confederacy. There was a good
deal of hurrahing and
jeering at us. Many looked at us as the
most arrant cowards,
and thought they could see in our
features marks of all kinds
of depravity. One Texas ranger remarked
that he could whip
fifty such as we were. Before we reached
our destination we
were heartily tired of the turn out.
After some time we ap-
proached a large grey building with
grates to the windows which
we soon learned was the famous Parish
Prison, our destination.
We were marched in through a grated
door, into a vestibule,
thence through a door with 'Assault and
Battery' over it, into
a yard about 100 feet long by 25 feet
wide. At one end was
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 327
an apartment labelled 'Kitchen'; in
another was a hydrant and
tank. In three sides were galleries, 3
stories high, opening into
cells. The fourth side is a wall as high
as the building. So we
seem to be in a pit, the only opening
being at the top. We
were soon sent to our cells. In the one
I occupy, there are 24.
The size of it is about 12 x 18 feet.
There are two little semi-
circular ventilators (grated), and a
grated hole in the heavy
door. The walls are solid, apparently
stone." In this place
the men remained from Oct. 1, 1861, to
Feb., 1862, when they
were removed to Salisbury, N. C., for
exchange.
Let us now consider the viewpoint of the
people of New
Orleans as expressed in one of their papers,
a clipping of which
was brought North in Parmenter's
pocket-book after his death,
when his belongings were carried to his
relatives. The item in
brief is the following: An enormous
crowd waited all morning
at the depot to see the arrival of the
Yankee prisoners. At last
a train drew in. Among the ordinary
passengers were several
Confederate soldiers in uniform. The
crowd took these to be
the guard, and the passengers to be the
prisoners. They began,
forthwith, to yell at the passengers and
to make uncomplimentary
remarks about their looks. They soon
learned, however, that
this train contained entirely Southern
people and that their re-
marks had been wasted on their own
partisans. As the morn-
ing wore on some bales of cotton caught
fire, the crowd not
being careful where they threw their
cigars. The fire department
was called, but before they arrived the
fire was extinguished.
They waited with the others to see the
prisoners, and thus helped
swell the numbers of the crowd. The
special train arrived
about noon; and under a heavy guard the
Yankees were marched
through the streets to the prison. On
their debarkation from
the train, the people crowded forward to
get a glimpse of these
curious men. The crush became terrific.
The newspaper states
that "Numerous hoops exploded"
in the jam. It further says
that as the Yankees passed, a silent
decorum was maintained
by the onlookers. This last is somewhat
different from the ac-
count given in Parmenter's diary. It
illustrates, however, the
difference in the point of view between
the spectator and the
captive.
328
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
While in Parish Prison the men were not
half fed. They
were so crowded in their cells (where
they were locked during
the night, in the day they were allowed
in the court), that they
had to lie spoon fashion. There were
hardly any blankets among
them, and their bodies became nearly raw
from lying on the
hard floor. In the morning besides
washing in the tank in the
yard, one of the necessary things to do,
was to turn one's clothes
inside out and kill the vermin which had
collected since a like
operation the day before. The
surroundings were unhealthy.
Parmenter died of typhoid fever, and was
buried in the cemetery
of St. Vincent de Paul in New Orleans.
While in Parish Prison the Oberlin boys
helped edit a paper.
They wrote on any piece of paper they
could find, then these
slips were kept after being read, and on
being restored to free-
dom they were published in a book,
called "The Stars and
Stripes", which was the name it
bore while only written on
fragments of paper. It was published in
the prison weekly.
The organization getting this paper out
was the society of the
"Union Lyceum of Parish Prison, New
Orleans". This society
held debates. These debates were on
subjects such as "Resolved,
That the present war will be ended by
the Spring of 1862." In
the Nov. 28, 1861, issue, we find this
announcement: "There
will be a prayer-meeting in cell No. 4
on Sunday A. AM., at 9
o'clock; and in cell No. 2 Wednesday at 2
P. M. A Bible-class
is held in cell No. 8 each Sunday at 1
o'clock P. M. All are in-
vited to attend." We read in a
later number, "One of the most
beautiful sights we have ever witnessed
is to be seen every Sun-
day morning in one of the cells of this
prison where formerly
nothing but blasphemy and vileness
ascended and reached the
ears of the Recording Angel; now in this
place a band of de-
voted disciples of Christ meet and adore
their Redeemer where
the name of the Deity is only mentioned
with reverence and
love."
We thus see that even in prison, Oberlin
did not cease in
its works of good to her fellow men.
Some of the Oberlin men studied French,
German, etc.,
from books which they had been able to
secure. They made
bone ornaments for which the more
wealthy Southerners paid
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 329
a high price. Military companies were
formed to give the men
exercise.
The heading of the "Stars and
Stripes", in one of the issues
is the following: "The Stars and
Stripes. A Weekly Publica-
tion Devoted to Literature, Science, the
Arts, and General In-
telligence. Published every Thursday in
the Parish Prison, New
Orleans. Price, Attention."
On May 21st, at Salisbury, N. C., they
were paroled, prom-
ising not to fight against the
Confederacy in any way whatsoever
until they had been exchanged. The war
went on and it was not
long before these men had been exchanged
and joined their
Company or one in some other regiment.
In the fighting that
ensued Company C was ever in the
fiercest of the action, always
bearing itself with marked credit.
Let us take a look at what was
transpiring in Oberlin while
her boys were engaged in the desperate
struggle with Slavery.
The first war funeral in Oberlin was for
a member of the
class of '65. His class-mates, such as
were there, sat in a body
behind the mourners; and his intended
bride, in deep mourning,
sat with the family. In the next few
years, death was to be
a not unfrequent visitor to the quiet
town.
The girls of the town and college, as
well as the older ladies,
did their share towards the winning of
the conflict. They made
woolen socks, in the toe of each of
which they tucked a piece
of paper bearing the name, address and
some message to the
boys so far away.6 They also
scraped lint for the wounded,
of whom there were far too many.
One day while the ladies were thus
working in the Chapel,
a great commotion suddenly started out
of doors. It was the
only mob that Oberlin has ever seen. A
man shouted, "Hurrah,
for Jeff Davis". He was seized. A
crowd sprang up from no-
wheres. A rope was called for, but
fortunately for him, a flag
was brought instead. He was made to
carry the flag, and hur-
rah for Lincoln, much to the delight of
the crowd.6
The girls of those days had privileges
such as have never
been granted before or since. There were
nights when not only
the 7 o'clock rule was suspended but 10
o'clock had no meaning
to them; when great mass-meetings in the
First Church or
330
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
demonstrations in "Tappan Hall
Yard", held the crowds till near
mid-night.6
While these events were occurring in
Oberlin, Company C
was rapidly becoming a veteran body of
troops. Among the bat-
tles in which they took part are
Winchester, Port Republic, Cedar
Mountain, Chancellorsville, Antietam,
Gettysburg, Lookout
Mountain, Mission Ridge, Ringgold, and
Resaca. (27). During
these three years 150 students were
at various times members
of this Company. (23: 167). Of
these only three died of
disease; two of them of typhoid fever in
Parish Prison, New
Orleans. Twenty-eight fell in battle and
15 were discharged on
account of serious wounds. It was their
temperate habits and
upright lives that kept them so free
from the ravages of disease.
They remained in action as well as in
name throughout the en-
tire war, "The Praying
Company". The history of this com-
pany in summary is this: "The whole
number of names on the
three-months and three years rolls, is
179. The number on the
three years roll, is 148. The Company
marched 2,400 miles,
and traveled by rail and steamers 4,800
miles. It encamped 194
times. Thirty-one men lost their lives
by battle, 7 by disease
and one was drowned." (7: 83). This
death by drowning was
especially sad. Trembley, Company C, had
fought in every battle,
except one, in which his regiment had
been engaged, and had
suffered no harm. He was on his way
home. He had written
to his mother telling her to worry no
more, for their fighting
was all over, and he would soon be with
her at home. A few
miles below Cincinnati, he slipped on
the deck of the steamer,
fell into the river and was drowned. His
comrades recovered
the body and bore it to his mother. (23:
172).
Others beside those in Company C. went
from Oberlin and
did their full share in the war. A
company from Oberlin joined
the 41st Ohio Volunteer Infantry; and about this same time,
quite a number of Oberlin townsmen and
students entered the
Second Ohio Cavalry. Among these men was
A. B. Nettleton.
He started as a private, rose to the
command of his regiment,
and helped win the battle of Five Forks.
In 1862, another company went from
Oberlin. They joined
the 103d O. V. I. This same year, when
Kirby Smith threatened
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 331
Cincinnati, nearly all the college
students who were able to bear
arms, with many of the Preparatory
students and citizens of
the town, marched on a few hours' notice
to the defense of the
city. When the peril had passed they
returned to Oberlin. The
year that Gen. Banks was driven down the
Valley and Wash-
ington was in danger, a company went
directly from Oberlin
to the scene of action. They had several
skirmishes, and at last
were included in the surrender of Gen.
Miles at Harper's Ferry.
In 1864, when Grant was smashing his way
toward Rich-
mond, Oberlin sent a second Company C
into the field. They
formed part of the 150th Regiment of
National Guards. They
were almost the only company of the
National Guards in Vir-
ginia who were under fire, for the
Oberlin Company helped repel
Gen. Early's attack upon the
fortifications near Washington.
Besides these companies which went from
Oberlin, every call
for troops was answered by students and
citizens. They went
as privates and as officers. The alumni
of the college enlisted
from all over the land. They served as
officers, chaplains, and
privates. One, J. D. Cox, rose to the
rank of Major General.
During 1861, the first year of the war,
out of 166 men in
the four college classes, 100, or 60%,
were in the army as sol-
diers. Of alumni and undergraduates 197
were in the army.
Among these were two Major-Generals, one
Brig.-General, ten
colonels, and officers of lower rank in
larger proportion. Taking
graduates, undergraduates, and
preparatory, it is estimated that
at least 850 Oberlin College and Academy
men served at one
time or another in the army.
Of those who went from Oberlin, about
one in every ten
never returned.
We have spoken of Trembley's death as he
was nearing Cin-
cinnati on his journey home. Another
loss at the final moment
should be mentioned. It is that of
Tenney, of the Second Ohio
Cavalry, who was killed by almost the
last shell that exploded
in the vicinity of Richmond. (27); (23:172).
The Chapel bell tolled ceaselessly. Hour
after hour, hour
after hour, it sent its solemn message
out over the town. The
flag on the corner was at half mast.
Still the bell tolled on, and
332 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
the people of Oberlin with one accord,
unsummoned, gathered
at the Church to weep and pray. Lincoln
was dead.6
And now the War was over. The armies
disbanded. The
men came home.
At Oberlin the number who returned were
pitifully few
compared to those who had gone, and of
these few many were
maimed and crippled for life. But they
did not complain; they
had saved the Union; they had freed the
slave, and in so doing,
had completed Oberlin's part in the
Slavery Conflict.
REFERENCES TO OBERLIN'S PART IN THE
SLAVERY
CONFLICT.
PRIMARY REFERENCES.
Reference
Number.
1. Oberlin Young Men's Anti-Slavery
Society Records, Sept. 14,
1851-Aug. 13, 1853.
2. Oberlin -Wellington Rescue Case: The
Rescuer, Vol. 1, No.
1, July 4, 1859. Cuyahoga County
Jail. Published by the Prisoners
who assisted in the rescue of a fugitive
slave at Wellington in 1859.
3. History of Oberlin-Wellington Rescue,
By J. R. Shipherd.
4. Oberlin Evangelist, Vol. 1-21.
The Oberlin Evangelists, from which
material has been especially
procured are the following:
4a. Oberlin Evangelist, July 16, 1856;
An address before the La-
dies' Anti-Slavery Society of Oberlin,
delivered May 13, 1856, by Prof.
J. H. Fairchild.
4b. Same as 4a.
4c. Oberlin Evangelist, Jan. 8, 1850.
4d. Oberlin Evangelist, Sept. 11, 1839.
4e. Oberlin Evangelist, Aug. 15, 1855.
4f. Oberlin Evangelist, Aug. 15, 1855.
4g. Oberlin Evangelist, Aug. 18, 1852.
4h. Oberlin Evangelist, Aug. 15, 1860.
4i. Oberlin Evangelist, Dec. 20, 1843.
4j. Oberlin Evangelist, Jan. 30, 1856.
4k. Oberlin Evangelist, July 16, 1856.
41. Oberlin Evangelist, Jan. 30, 1856.
4m. Oberlin Evangelist, Jan. 19, 1848.
4n. Oberlin Evangelist, June 4, 1856.
40. Oberlin Evangelist, June 5, 1861.
Oberlin's Part in the Slavery
Conflict. 333
Reference
Number.
4p. Oberlin Evangelist, Sept. 11, 1861.
4q. Oberlin Evangelist, Aug. 27, 1862.
5. Oberlin Church History (Early Annals
of the Oberlin Church),
By Rev. D. L. Leonard.
6. Reunion of the War Classes, Held at
Oberlin, Ohio, June 20-24,
1903. "The Women of the War,"
pp. 5-8. By Mrs. L. A. M. Bosworth.
7. History of Company C, 7th Regiment,
Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
By Theodore Wilder.
8. Oberlin and Its College (A newspaper item
of Aug. 9, 1876).
9. Newspaper Articles on Early Oberlin,
By Mrs. M. E. P. Rose.
10. Soliciting Circular issued in 1860.
(Soliciting funds for Ober-
lin College).
11. General Catalogue, 1833-1908;
including an account of the prin-
cipal events in the History of the
College.
12. Interview with Mr. W. T. Henderson
of Oberlin, on the Col-
ored People of Early Oberlin.
13. Interview with Mr. Stephen Cole of
Oberlin, on Company C,
of which he was a member.
14. The Stars and Stripes in Rebeldom. A
Series of Papers writ-
ten by Federal Prisoners (Privates) in
Richmond, Tuscaloosa, New Or-
leans and Salisbury, N. C.
15. Diary of Sergt. W. W. Parmenter of
Co. C, 7th Reg. O. V. I.
(Written in prison in Richmond and New
Orleans).
16. Letter from Sergt. W. W. Parmenter
to his mother, telling of
his enlistment in Co. C, at Oberlin; and
interview with Miss Parmenter.
17. Clipping from a New Orleans
newspaper giving an account of
the arrival of the first Yankee
prisoners in that city. (Among these
prisoners were many from Co. C, of
Oberlin). This clipping was found
in Sergt. Parmenter's wallet after his
death, and brought North with
his wallet.
18. Items in the Oberlin News, regarding
events in the war in
which Oberlin men took part. (These
items were printed at the time).
18a. In Oberlin News, a letter dated
Gauley Bridge, W. Va., Sept.
1, 1861, written to the Junior Class of
Oberlin College, by J M. Ginn.
19. Interview with Prof. Root of Oberlin
College.
20. The Underground Railroad, By J. H.
Fairchild. Tract No.
87, Vol. 4, Western Reserve Historical
Society, Cleveland, Ohio.
21. A newspaper clipping, a letter dated
Charleston Jail, Dec. 1,
1861, written to Tutor Merrell, by Capt.
Shurtleff.
22. Clipping from the
"Dispatch," a Richmond newspaper, in the
Sept. 7, 1861, issue of this paper.
334 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Secondary References. Reference Number. 23. Oberlin: The Colony and the College, By Rev. J. H. Fair- child. 24. Oberliniana, By Shumway and Brower. 25. Historical Sketch of Oberlin College, By Fairchild. 26. Oberlin: Its Origin, Progress and Results, By Fairchild. 27. Oberlin and the American Conflict. An address delivered be- fore the Alumni of Oberlin College, at their reunion, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 1865. By Prof. J. M. Ellis. 28. The Story of Oberlin, By Leonard. 29. Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, Vol 1. By J. D. Cox. 30. Jubilee Notes, 1883-1884. 31. Oberlin Jubilee, 1833-1883, Gen. Cox's address. 32. Oberlin Jubilee, 1833-1883, Narrative of the Personal Expe- riences of the Rev. Amos Dresser. 33. How the Way Was Prepared, By Calvin Fairbank. 34. Prison Life and Reflections, By George Thompson. 35. Oberlin Unmasked, By De'lazon Smith. 36. The American Ten Years' War, By Snider, D. J. |
|
OBERLIN'S PART IN
THE SLAVERY CONFLICT
WILBUR GREELEY BURROUGHS, A. M.,
OBERLIN, OHIO.
Little did the Rev. John J. Shipherd,
pastor of the Presby-
terian Church at Elyria, Ohio, realize
that in the founding of
Oberlin he was to change the destiny of
a nation. He originated
the plan in 1832. In November of the
same year with his asso-
ciate Philo P. Stewart, formerly a
missionary to the Cherokees
in Mississippi and at this time living
with Shipherd at Elyria, he
selected the site for Oberlin. (11); (26).
At this time the question of slavery was
not a practical issue
before the people of the North. The
anti-slavery element was
not incorporated into the original
constitution of Oberlin. In-
deed, the "Oberlin Covenant,"
a document expressing the design
of the school and the settlement, has no
allusion whatever to
slavery. There was a deep seated feeling
against it4a but the
American Colonization Society was
supposed to present the only
practicable means of operating to rid
the land of the evil. The
early inhabitants little dreamed that
the discussion of slavery
would be the first topic to disturb the
quiet of their wilderness.
It was due in great measure to the
geographical location of
Oberlin that she was able to play such
an important part in the
events which were to follow. Ohio was an
influential State in the
Union. She formed the connecting link
between the East and
the West. On the South she bordered on
Slave Territory,-the
States of Kentucky and Virginia. Ohio's
sympathies were largely
with the South; in fact her counties
bordering on the Ohio River
and for fifty miles northward were
principally peopled from the
Slave States. The interior counties of
the State were occupied
mainly by a population which took slight
interest in public ques-
tions. It was therefore to the Western
Reserve, covering twelve
counties in the northeast part of the
State, that the destiny of
Ohio was committed. Here the Republican
party was all power-
ful. Of influential factors on the
Reserve, "no single, definite,
(269)