Tilghman Vestal

Released
Gender:Male
Race:White
Era:1800s
State:Tennessee
Support
Anti-War Conscientious Objection
Tilghman Vestal

Biography

Tilghman Vestal was a young Quaker who refused to pay the Confederate exemption tax and was drafted. When he would not serve, fellow soldiers pierced him with their bayonets; in November 1863 he was sent to Castle Thunder — the Richmond, Virginia tobacco warehouse converted into a prison for civilians, spies, and political prisoners.

Case

Charges: Refusing military service as a Quaker conscientious objector (Confederate conscription).
Incarcerated: November 1863
Sentence: Bayonet-tortured, then imprisoned at Castle Thunder in Richmond, Virginia (from November 1863).
Convicted: Imprisoned as a political prisoner.

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