Roanoke CWRT Presents “The Unionist Underground Railroad in South West Virginia: A Story of Faith, Bravery, Non-Violence and Martyrdom During the Civil War”

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Kevin C. Donovan

Standing Guard Over a Civil War Battlefield

Roanoke CWRT Presents “The Unionist Underground Railroad in South West Virginia: A Story of Faith, Bravery, Non-Violence and Martyrdom During the Civil War”

They lived and farmed among our Civil War ancestors in this very region. Their story is but little known. But their fervent devotion to God and their religious duty as they saw it led them repeatedly to risk their lives in the cause of non-violence. South West Virginia was the site of the German Baptist Brethren – commonly known as the Dunkers – who organized and operated what became known as the Unionist Underground Railroad (“UUR”) during the Civil War. While startingly effective, the Brethren paid a heavy price for their activities.

Although initially designed to assist fellow Church members avoid conscription, the effort expanded to include any who resisted fighting for the Confederacy. Brethren actions in so successfully implementing their UUR were met with threats of violence from frustrated and angered local authorities, including one newspaper call for all Brethren to be run out of the region, their churches to be burned and their preachers to be hung.

Threats turned into action. A leading member of the UUR and Church Elder was murdered. Other Brethren were threatened, arrested, harassed, and subject to punitive confiscation of their crops and other property. Yet they persisted, heeding God’s call, not Man’s.

To present this compelling story, on Tuesday, October 14, the Roanoke Civil War Round Table—winner of a 2024 Kegley Award for Heritage Education [see https://roanokepreservation.org/preservation-awards/]—will host Dr. Sheilah Elwardani.

Dr. Elwardani is an Associate Professor of American History at Virginia Western Community College. She holds a Ph.D. from Liberty University. She specializes in American History with a strong focus in the history of Appalachia, American religious issues, and Colonial through the Civil War periods.

Date, Time & Location: Tuesday, October 14 (7:00 pm), Chapel of the Residents’ Center at Friendship, 397 Hershberger Road, Roanoke, VA, 24012. Admission $5.00 for Non-Round Table Members (and becoming a Round Table member is welcome).