THE "FISHING CREEK CONFEDERACY"

So that you can get an overview of this section, please carefully review this page before proceeding. We make no claims that everything represented here is not without an opposing viewpoint. And although this reference does not fully provide all the viewpoints, it is as good a place to start as any to get an overview of what many call the "Fishingcreek Confederacy."

William Appleman lived in Benton Township and was arrested by military authorities August 31, 1864, imprisoned at Fort Mifflin, and convicted by a military commission in Harrisburg.

There are some terms like The Knights of the Golden Circle that you should better understand. Knights of the Golden Circle was the name given to a secret order of Southern sympathizers in the North during the Civil War. Its members were known as Copperheads.

There are some places that you should know about. Fort Mifflin, on the Delaware below Philadelphia, is one of them. And you should also know that at Fort Mifflin prisoners were herded into an "underground unventilated, vermin-infested, bomb-proof chamber." They were "denied air, exercise and the light of day. They were denied free correspondence with friends or counsel, denied knowledge of the charges against them and of the names of their accusers." Peter Appleman's Sugar Grove, called "Camp Fishingcreek" and also referred to as "Appleman's Bottom," was directly below Benton and was the spot where 1,000 of "Lincoln's United States Troops, Cavalry, and Mounted Artillery with two Cannon" tented, posed for the arrest of about 70 local residents. Interestingly enough, Robert Kline, my father, always referred to land along Fishingcreek once owned by Peter Appleman as "the bottom." Today, that land is used as a private campground and is referred to only as "the campground."

And you should know that William Appleman and scores of other citizens simprisoned were prominent in their communities. George Turner wrote the introduction to his petition. The petition represents Appleman's view of what transpired after being arrested by military officials. The introduction, the petition, William Appleman's narrative about the facts in the case, and the charges brought against him before the military commission at Harrisburg. To read this document, click here.

You might want to consult this map of Benton dated 1876 to get a little better idea of what our area was like then. It is the closest map to the period that we could find. Additional content is in preparation and will be added later.