Dublin Core
Title
Preacher Arrested in Florence for Praying
Subject
Union Occupation; Florence, AL; Civil War; Dr. W.H. Mitchell; Union Colonel John Marshall Harlan
Description
After the Union forces captured Florence in 1862, the Union military officials issued an edict that forbade praying for the Confederacy. The pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Florence was arrested for violating this decree on Sunday, July 27, 1862. The pastor’s name was Dr. W.H. Mitchell, who had received a doctorate in divinity from Princeton. He came to Florence in 1847 after serving as pastor in Prattville, Wetumpka, and Montgomery.
On the morning of July 27, Dr. Mitchell surveyed his congregation from the pulpit. He noticed that several Union soldiers were seated in the pews. Knowing that the edict had been issued and incensed at the affront to religious liberty, he prayed for President Jefferson Davis and the success of the Confederate Armies.
As soon as the amen was called, Union Colonel John Marshall Harlan, Provost Marshal of the 10th Kentucky and future Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, marched up the aisle and arrested Dr. Mitchell, informing the congregation that the service was over. Mitchell was placed under guard, marched across the Tennessee River, and placed on a train bound for Federal prison in Alton, Illinois.
Mitchell remained in prison for three months. A group of relatives and friends were able to secure his release in early October. He returned to the pulpit on October 12, 1862. He remained the pastor of First Presbyterian until he retired in 1871. The congregation jokingly called him the “prison pastor” and placed a memorial window in the sanctuary after his death in 1872.
On the morning of July 27, Dr. Mitchell surveyed his congregation from the pulpit. He noticed that several Union soldiers were seated in the pews. Knowing that the edict had been issued and incensed at the affront to religious liberty, he prayed for President Jefferson Davis and the success of the Confederate Armies.
As soon as the amen was called, Union Colonel John Marshall Harlan, Provost Marshal of the 10th Kentucky and future Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, marched up the aisle and arrested Dr. Mitchell, informing the congregation that the service was over. Mitchell was placed under guard, marched across the Tennessee River, and placed on a train bound for Federal prison in Alton, Illinois.
Mitchell remained in prison for three months. A group of relatives and friends were able to secure his release in early October. He returned to the pulpit on October 12, 1862. He remained the pastor of First Presbyterian until he retired in 1871. The congregation jokingly called him the “prison pastor” and placed a memorial window in the sanctuary after his death in 1872.
Creator
Michael Williams, University of North Alabama
Source
McDonald, William Lindsey. A walk through the past : people and places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. n.p.: [Killen, Ala.] : Bluewater Pub., 2003., 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015).
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015).
Debra Glass, MAed and Military Historian, Heath Mathews. n.d. "Civil War's Western Theater." armyoftennessee.wordpress.com. Accessed April 19, 2015. https://armyoftennessee.wordpress.com/two-martyrs-robin-lightfoot-and-w-h-mitchell/.
McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015).
Debra Glass, MAed and Military Historian, Heath Mathews. n.d. "Civil War's Western Theater." armyoftennessee.wordpress.com. Accessed April 19, 2015. https://armyoftennessee.wordpress.com/two-martyrs-robin-lightfoot-and-w-h-mitchell/.
Publisher
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
Date
July 27, 1862
Rights
Photo from following websites: http://kynghistory.ky.gov/history/2qtr/addinfo/john+marshall+harlan+bio.htm
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Photo of Union Colonel John Marshall Harlan