I heard this song awhile ago and wondered if the story was true:




"One of the more interesting cases is that of a southern Quaker named Seth W. Laughlin, who, despite over a week of abuse, refused to go against his conscience and fight. Finally, he was ordered to be shot. As the firing squad prepared, Laughlin prayed the words of Jesus as he hung on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The men, affected by his courage, refused to kill him. Unfortunately, Laughlin died a few weeks later from injuries sustained when he had been beaten"

~ From http://www2.gol.com/users/quakers/abraham_lincoln.htm

"During the Civil War, the Quakers and Mennonites could be found in both the North and South, and are said to have numbered over 200,000. As conscientious objectors, these men presented problems for both Union and Confederate Governments. One such fellow, Seth Laughlin was drafted into the Confederate army in Virginia. After refusing to wear the uniform or obey orders, an officer determined to make an example of such conduct by various methods of punishment. Laughlin was kept awake for thirty-six hours straight, a guard ordered to bayonet him gently if he should fall asleep. When this didn't work, Laughlin was "bucked" and "gagged" for three hours each day, then immediately following this suspended by his thumbs for an hour an a half. When he still refused to fight after a week of this torturous punishment, he was sentenced to death by firing squad. Laughlin was granted one final request in front of his executioners. Calmly, he said a prayer, not for himself but for the souls of the firing squad. Officers realized their folly in executing a man like Laughlin, commuting his sentence to imprisonment. But in prison, Laughlin's prior treatment took its toll and Laughlin died less than a month later, leaving seven children and a wife. Though cases like Laughlin's were not extremely rare, most officers of both armies were somewhat more sympathetic to their religious beliefs."

~From http://ehistory.osu.edu/uscw/features/articles_new/display.cfm?NationId=15