English.


_Quaker Non-Participation._

During the period preceding the Revolution, important offices had been
bestowed on the Friends or Quakers of Loudoun and they exercised a
decided influence in the government of the County. They, however,
withdrew participation in public affairs on the approach of war; and,
to the determination of the American patriots to throw off the yoke of
British tyranny, they opposed their principles of non-resistance, not
only refusing to perform military duty, but also to pay the taxes
levied on them, as on all other citizens, for the prosecution of the
War of Independence.

This non-conformity to the military laws of the State from
conscientious motives, brought them into difficulty, as will be seen
in the annexed extract from Kercheval's _History of the Shenandoah
Valley_:

"At the beginning of the war, attempts were made to compel
them to bear arms and serve in the militia; but it was soon
found unavailing. They would not perform any military duty
required of them, not even the scourge would compel them to
submit to discipline. The practice of coercion was therefore
abandoned, and the legislature enacted a law to levy a tax
upon their property, to hire substitutes to perform militia
duty in their stead. This, with other taxes, bore peculiarly
heavy upon them. Their personal property was sold under the
hammer to raise the public demands; and before the war was