Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War

James O. Lehman is director emeritus of libraries at Eastern Mennonite University and an archivist for the Virginia Mennonite Conference. He is the author of several books, most recently A Century of Grace: In the Community and around the World. Steven M. Nolt is a professor of history at Goshen College and coauthor of Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits and Plain Diversity: Amish Cultures and Identities, both published by Johns Hopkins.

• List of Tables and MapsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Religion, Religious Minorities, and the American Civil War1. Politics and Peoplehood in a Restless Republic2. Our Country Is at War3. Conscription, Combat, and Virginia's "War of Self-Defense"4. Negotiation and Notoriety in Pennsylvania5. Patterns of Peace and Patriotism in the Midwest6. The Fighting Comes North7. Thaddeus Stevens and Pennsylvania Mennonite Politics8. Did Jesus Christ Teach Men to War?9. Resistance and Revenge in Virginia10. Burning the Shenandoah Valley11. Reconstructed Nation, Reconstructed PeoplehoodAppendixesA. The Sonnenberg PetitionB. Mennonites Identified on Roll of ExemptionsList of AbbreviationsNotesReferencesIndex

I found this book fascinating. It is an easy read, with lots of arresting stories of faith under test. Its amazingly thorough research, which comes through on every page, makes the book convincing. -- Al Keim Shenandoah Mennonite Historian 2007 Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War is well worth exploring. -- Jack Brubaker Lancaster New Era 2007 Fascinating even to the lay reader. -- Marcia Fulmer Truth (Elkhart) 2007 A valuable book that gives Brethren a source to turn to when considering the experiences of our own spiritual ancestors. -- James L. Benedict Brethren Life and Thought 2007 Enriches our understanding of the impact of the Civil War on Mennonites and Amish, and on American religious groups in general. In addition, the authors have enhanced our knowledge of the influence that religion had on the war. -- Thomas F. Curran Journal of American History 2008 By highlighting the struggles of these religious outsiders who strived to keep the church distinct from the world, Lehman and Nolt have produced an insightful study that further elucidates the centrality of religion for a proper understanding of the Civil War. -- Sean A. Scott Ohio History 2009 Civil War scholars can learn much from this book. -- Stephen Towne Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 2009 In this well-written and researched volume, Lehman and Nolt offer a much-needed analysis of the Mennonite and Amish experience of the Civil War. -- Jennifer Graber Mennonite Quarterly Review Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War is solid... the research is meticulous and admirable. -- Edward J. Blum Church History 2008 Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War should attract the attention of both serious religious scholars and anyone else interested in gaining a better understanding of the Anabaptists' wartime experience. -- David W. Rolfs Journal of Illinois History 2008 Lehman and Nolt have produced a valuable study that reminds scholars of, and would demonstrate for students of the Civil War or religious history, the religious pluralism in the nation and, to a lesser degree, in the South. -- James H. Tuten Journal of Southern History 2009 An impressive work in every way: gracefully written, broadly researched, careful and measured in its conclusions. It is likely to become the definitive work on its subject. -- Thomas D. Hamm Indiana Magazine of History 2008 In this fascinating study, Lehman and Nolt perform a miraculous feat: they find a small unexplored backwater in the immense sea of literature on the American Civil War. -- Perry Bush Michigan Historical Review 2009 A fascinating book... wonderfully written, flows well and offers fresh information and a new perspective on the home front in the Civil War that is rarely (if ever) covered in other works. -- Scott L. Mingus York Sunday News 2009 Without question, this work by Lehman and Nolt should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in 'peace churches,' or pacifists, regardless of the time period. -- Rev. Dr. David McDonald Federation of Genealogical Societies