224 – Aug 12 – This Day in Baptist History Past

Baptists fight for Liberty in Virginia

1771 – The Following letter was written from Urbanna Prison, Middlesex County, Virginia. We find there were twelve Baptists in prison at one time.  Dear Brother in the Lord:   At a meeting which was held at Brother McCain’s, in this county, last Saturday, while William Webber was addressing the congregation from James 2:18, there came running toward him, in a most furious rage, Captain James Montague, a magistrate of the county, followed by the parson of the parish (Anglican) and several others who seemed greatly exasperated. The magistrate and another took hold of Brother Webber, and dragging him from the stage, delivered him with Brethren Wafford, Robert Ware, Richard Falkner, James Greenwood, and myself, into custody, and commanded that we should be brought before him for trial.  Brother Wafford was severely scourged, and Brother Henry Street received one lash from one of the persecutors, who was prevented from proceeding to further violence by his companions; to be short, I may inform you that we were carried before the above-mentioned magistrate, who with the parson and some others, carried us one by one into a room and examined our pockets and wallets for firearms, etc., charging us with carrying on a mutiny against the authority of the land. Finding none, we were asked if we had license to preach in this county; and learning we had not, it was required of us to give bond and security not to preach anymore in the county, which we modestly refused to do , whereupon after dismissing Brother Wafford, with a charge to make his escape out of the county by twelve o’clock the next day on pain of imprisonment, and dismissing Brother Falkner, the rest of us were delivered to the sheriff and sent to close jail, with a charge not to allow us to walk in the air until court day.  Blessed be God, the sheriff and jailer have treated us with as much kindness as could be expected from strangers. May the Lord reward them for it! Yesterday we had a large number of people hear us preach; and , among others, many of the great ones of the land, who behaved well while one of us discoursed on the new birth. We find the Lord gracious and kind to us beyond expression in our afflictions. We cannot tell how long we shall be kept in bonds; we therefore beseech, dear brother, that you and the church supplicate night and day for us, our benefactors, and our persecutors.   I have also to inform you that six of our brethren are confined in Caroline jail, viz Brethren Lewis Craig, John Burrus, John Young, Edward Herndon, James Goodrick, and Bartholomew Cheming. The most dreadful threatenings are raised in the neighboring counties against the Lord’s faithful and humble followers. Excuse haste. Adieu.  John Waller. [Lewis Peyton Little, Imprisoned Preachers and Religious Liberty in Virginia, (Lynchburg, VA.: J. P. Bell Co., 1938), pp. 275-76.]  Prepared by Dr. Greg Dixon