With the war over and Reconstruction in the South underway, Baptist associations of the North emerge as the most “radical” Christians in terms of demanding racial justice. Throughout the Northern states, Baptists press the Johnson administration to make certain that racial equality is established in the states of the former Confederacy. Almost all Baptist associations…
A new Senate bill for reconstructing the South passes the House and Senate today, its origins hearkening back to a February 1863 plan proposed by U.S. Senator from New York, and prominent Baptist layman, Ira Harris. The plan as passed is based on presupposition that the Southern states would need to “re-join” the Union in…
The 112th New York, comprised of men from Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, was organized in September 1862. The 112th New York is now commanded by Colonel Jeremiah C. Drake, formerly pastor of the Westfield Baptist Church, New York. Born in 1824 and a native of Herkimer County, at the age of 16 Drake felt called…