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- The Waterford News, 11 Mo. 26th, 1864, Vol. I, No. 6

When Barbara Black was a very little girl, her grandfather would sit her upon his knee and tell her the story: [1]

On a road in the heart of Virginia, a handsome soldier in Confederate uniform approached a pretty young miss. The fellow's name was J. William Hutchinson, and he was actually a Union officer with the 13th New York Cavalry, but he was acting as a Scout in enemy territory. Soldiers weren't allowed out of uniform, but he needed to be mistaken for a Rebel soldier in order to gather information. So he became a turncoat, literally turning his blue cavalry jacket inside out to let the muslin lining be taken for Confederate homespun.

In this "disguise," Lieutenant Hutchinson approached the young lady and politely asked directions.

From there things took an interesting turn.

Although Virginian, the girl was a Quaker from the town of Waterford, and she and her village were faithful to the Union cause. Her name was Lida Dutton, and, she was soon to become the editor of an underground newspaper.

While it was against the tennets of Lida's faith to knowingly lie, it was against her nature to knowingly help a Confederate get where he was going any faster than he should. Her solution was to give the fellow directions only a local could understand: "Left at Brown's stump, right at Uncle Harmon's well, left at Zilpha's Rock..."

As the end of these impossible-to-follow instructions, Hutchinson quietly asked, "Miss, which side would you like for me to be on?"

She blurted, "If you're a Rebel, I hate you; if you're a Northerner, I love you!"

At that point, he was pleased to introduce himself as Lieutenant John William Hutchinson of the 13th New York Cavalry, followed by a presentation of the "lining" of his jacket: the brass buttons and navy wool of a Union officer.

Then he told her he planned to hold her to her promise.

Lida Dutton

Lieut. John W. Hutchinson, 13th NY Vol. Cav.

(Photos courtesy of descendents and The Waterford Foundation)

In the first three years of the Civil War, Emma Eliza (known as Lida), sister Lizzie Dutton and cousin Sarah Steer cared for wounded Union soldiers[2], hid them from marauding Rebel troops,[3] and managed to hold together the farms and businesses their fathers and brothers had left behind in order to avoid being forced into the ranks of the Confederacy. But in the spring of 1864, these three stalwart young souls decided they could do more, and that nothing - not the lack of goods nor the abundance of Confederate soldiers - could thwart efforts.

By the spring of 1865, they'd written and published at least eight issues of The Waterford News, a newspaper for Union soldiers. In each edition's four, small pages the soldiers found a tidy sampling of patriotic editorials, poetry, riddles, local news and humor:

... The next day or two the rebels again visited this district and appropriated to their own use several horses and two wagons loaded with corn, belonging of course to Union citizens. They also visited the tannery of Asa M. Bond and arrested thirty-five dollars worth of leather.

WANTED: A few stores... with Dry-Goods, Molasses Candy and other stationery, suited to the tastes of the community. Young and handsome Clerks not objectionable.[4]

The Union soldiers ate it up.

The Waterford News, January 28, 1865: We are gratified to receive the repeated assurance from the soldiers, for whose amusement our little paper was intended, that our efforts have not proven unavailng, but that it is a welcome visitor to their camp.

In fact, some soldiers were so amused, they offered to leave the bachelor life on their behalf.

Not only did it boost morale, it brought in subscription fees - monies which the girls turned right around and sent back for soldiers' aid.[5]

The Waterford News was even perused by President Lincoln. Private Schooley of the 11th Rgt., Maryland Volunteers sent a letter to the President with this introduction, "To His Excellency Abraham Lincoln. Will your excellency please accept the two enclosed copies of 'Waterford News' and excuse me for taking the liberty of sending them to you... You will see by the Sending, the intention of the Fair Editresses in editing the Paper under the difficulties which they do. 'Tis for to aid the 'Sanitary Commission.' They have already made up nearly 1000$ [sic] for the same purpose!"[6]

To understand the nature of these exceptional young women, we must understand their social context: the history of Quakers (also known as "The Religious Society of Friends") has been marked by unusual bravery and strength of character. Students of Quaker history find evidence of the persistent influence of a people of faith who helped change the course of American history, but evidence also shows the course of American politics influencing the nature of Quakerism.[7] These competing influences are best exemplified in the history of Loudoun's Quakers - a people who found themselves struggling to maintain a pacifist tradition in the midst of Confederate Virginia.