Excerpts That Will Leave You Wanting More: Part 1 of 5 - Jakey Enlists

Enslaving another human being disturbed Jakey immensely.

A deeply religious and devout Lutheran, Jakey was very outspoken

against slavery. He would give long speeches in church on the sin

of slavery and spur discussions on the subject with most people he

met. He even aided runaway slaves by helping to transport them to

Brookville, where Elijah Heath and his wife would harbor them and

then send them north. There was no question that Jakey was a true

abolitionist.

Jakey’s beliefs created a significant rift between him and his

father. It wasn’t that Jacob was for slavery. He didn’t see what concern it was of his. He owned no slaves and didn’t know anyone who owned slaves. He was quite content in their little corner of Knox Township and saw no need to disturb their lives with such concerns. Nor did he have any interest in discussing the matter. Indeed, every time Jakey would start talking in front of Jacob about the sins of slavery, Jacob would abruptly tell him to shut up or leave.

Eventually, Jakey took his father’s demands to heart. He had no

intentions of stopping his antislavery rhetoric and, therefore, made

a significant decision. He decided to enlist in the 105th Infantry

Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, a regiment founded in

Brookville by Mr. Amor McKnight. To do so, he had to lie about his

age, saying he was forty instead of telling his actual age of forty-nine

so he would be eligible.

Buy the book to learn what happens to Jakey!