Benton in Columbia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Fishing Creek Confederacy
Photographed By Don Morfe, October 12, 2015
1. Fishing Creek Confederacy Marker
Inscription.
Fishing Creek Confederacy. . Alarmed about draft resistance, the federal government deployed 800 troops to the Fishing Creek Valley in August 1864 to suppress the opposition. Peace Democrats suspected of Confederate sympathies were questioned at the Christian church near this site; 44 were arrested and imprisoned at Ft. Mifflin without access to civil courts. While most supported the Union, they disagreed with Pres. Lincoln’s wartime policies. In 1866, the US Supreme Court declared military arrest and trial of civilians unconstitutional.
Alarmed about draft resistance, the federal government deployed 800 troops to the Fishing Creek Valley in August 1864 to suppress the opposition. Peace Democrats suspected of Confederate sympathies were questioned at the Christian church near this site; 44 were arrested and imprisoned at Ft. Mifflin without access to civil courts. While most supported the Union, they disagreed with Pres. Lincoln’s wartime policies. In 1866, the US Supreme Court declared military arrest & trial of civilians unconstitutional.
Erected 2009 by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Location. 41° 11.508′ N, 76° 23.016′ W. Marker is in Benton, Pennsylvania, in Columbia County. Marker is on Mill Street (Pennsylvania Route 487) 0.1 miles south of Shichshinny Road (Pennsylvania Route 239), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 80 Mill St, Benton PA 17814, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away);
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 24, 2015, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 604 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on October 24, 2015, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
