Frank Decker

Brooklyn's Plymouth Church in the Civil War Era: a Ministry of Freedom Frank Decker

As the financial capital of the nation, Manhattan had close ties and strong sympathies with the south. But across the East River in Brooklyn stood a bastion of anti-slavery sentiment--Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims--led by Henry Ward Beecher. He guided his congregants in a crusade against the institution. They held mock slave auctions, raised money to purchase freedom for slaves, and sent guns--nicknamed "Beecher Bibles"--to those struggling for a free Kansas. Plymouth Church was not only publicly important in the fight for abolition, but was also a busy Underground Railroad Station. Once the Civil War broke out the congregation helped raise troops and supplies for the US Army. Discover this beautiful church's vital role in the nation's greatest struggle.