Red Strings
Encyclopedia
The Red Strings were a group in the Southern United States
during the American Civil War
. They favored peace, an end to the Confederacy
, and a return to the Union
. They began early in the war as a group of Unionists
and Quaker
s in the Piedmont
regions of North Carolina
and Virginia
where slavery was largely nonexistent and the causes favoring secession were weakest.
of red strings worn on their lapels or hung outside of their windows to distinguish themselves from the rebels, a symbol derived from the Biblical story of Rahab
. The use of the red string in the coat lapel comes from the Biblical story of the harlot Rahab
, who had helped two spies of Israel escape from Jericho with a red cord, and was advised by them to hang a red thread on her window as a recognition symbol and to show her faith. Joshua
, Chapter 2, Verses 18, 21, and Chapter 6, verse 23: “..thou shalt bind this line of scarlet in the window which thou didst let us down by... ...and she bound the scarlet line in the window... ...And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had. And she dwellest in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers that Joshua sent to spy out Jericho
.”
The organization was completely decentralized, and most knew only one other member for certain; most of their anti-Confederate activities were carried out in secret. Some estimate that by the war's end, as many as 10,000 people belonged to the Red Strings. They were comparably as disruptive to the Southern war effort as the Copperheads were to the Union.
, southwestern Virginia
, and eastern Tennessee
, the Heroes protected deserters, aided spies and escaped prisoners, and supplied Federal authorities with information about Confederate troop movements and strength to bring about a Confederate defeat. Brig. Gen. John Echols
, who investigated the order in Virginia when it was discovered there in 1864, believed it had been formed at the suggestion of Federal authorities. Union civilian and military officials cooperated with the order by assuring its members safe passage through the lines and by offering them exemption from military service if they deserted, protection for their property, and a share or confiscated Confederate estates after the war. Both Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
and President Abraham Lincoln
belonged to the order. In addition to their signs and passwords, the Heroes identified themselves by wearing a red string on their lapels and thus were nicknamed the Red Strings” and the ‘Red-String Band.'"
In addition to the organized opposition groups such as the Red Strings and Heroes of America, there were other groups that were closer to bandits. Known as “Buffaloes,” these men and some women were a mixture of Confederate deserters, draft-dodgers, pro-Union men, escaped slaves and other men escaping the noose such as barn burners, rapists and murderers. Living in small groups in the swamps of Eastern North Carolina or the woods of central and western NC, they attacked isolated homes, often with impunity, since many of the men were away at war, and there was no protection from their lawlessness. "The correspondents in the war records seem unaware that North Carolina, like all Gaul, was divided into three parts- the Confederate, the Yankee and the Buffalo. It was easier to let the Yankee garrison the strip of coast and keep him there than have the expense of it ourselves, but it is amusing to read of “The Rebels Invading North Carolina.”
The “Red Strings” were also interested in forming blacks into soldiers and having them fight for the Union as well. There are miscellaneous accounts of these black companies being formed during the war, as are mentioned in Elizabeth Lee Battle’s autobiography, “Forget-Me-Nots of the Civil War.”
After the war, they actively opposed the Ku Klux Klan
. “One of the main causes for the organization of the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina was to combat the influence of the Union League
. Governor William Woods Holden
was the first president of the League in North Carolina, and James H. Harris
, a Negro, was Vice-president. “ Prof. Lefler later recounts: “If there had been no Loyal League in North Carolina, there would have been no Ku Klux Klan, or clubbing together of the white people there… Still the negroes [sic] operate upon each other, so that one dare not depart from the ranks; they are arrayed yet in a solid phalanx…” He later quotes from a Congressional investigation into the origins of the KKK in North Carolina: “It was at a time when the republican party had three secret organizations in operation in the state, the Union League
, the Heroes of America, and the Red Strings. They had a paper called the Red String, printed at Greensorough [sic], edited by Mr. Tourgee (Albion W. Tourgée
). Our friends thought it proper to organize a secret society for the purpose of counteracting that influence.- Ku Klux reports, North Carolina Testimony, pp. 8, 309-310, 318, 363.”
. They preferred to call them the Longtown boys.”
and in South Carolina
. The servants would be known "by a red string tied around their right wrist" and they would kill the white masters and escape to join Native Americans, escaped slaves and other runaway indentured servants.
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. They favored peace, an end to the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, and a return to the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
. They began early in the war as a group of Unionists
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
and Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
s in the Piedmont
Piedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
regions of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
where slavery was largely nonexistent and the causes favoring secession were weakest.
Origin
Their name comes from their insigniaInsignia
Insignia or insigne pl -nia or -nias : a symbol or token of personal power, status or office, or of an official body of government or jurisdiction...
of red strings worn on their lapels or hung outside of their windows to distinguish themselves from the rebels, a symbol derived from the Biblical story of Rahab
Rahab
Rahab, was, according to the Book of Joshua, a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city...
. The use of the red string in the coat lapel comes from the Biblical story of the harlot Rahab
Rahab
Rahab, was, according to the Book of Joshua, a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city...
, who had helped two spies of Israel escape from Jericho with a red cord, and was advised by them to hang a red thread on her window as a recognition symbol and to show her faith. Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
, Chapter 2, Verses 18, 21, and Chapter 6, verse 23: “..thou shalt bind this line of scarlet in the window which thou didst let us down by... ...and she bound the scarlet line in the window... ...And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had. And she dwellest in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers that Joshua sent to spy out Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
.”
The organization was completely decentralized, and most knew only one other member for certain; most of their anti-Confederate activities were carried out in secret. Some estimate that by the war's end, as many as 10,000 people belonged to the Red Strings. They were comparably as disruptive to the Southern war effort as the Copperheads were to the Union.
Activities
"The best developed of the peace societies, the Order of the Heroes of America, may have been organized as early as Dec. 1861, though by whom and where is uncertain. Active in North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, southwestern Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and eastern Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, the Heroes protected deserters, aided spies and escaped prisoners, and supplied Federal authorities with information about Confederate troop movements and strength to bring about a Confederate defeat. Brig. Gen. John Echols
John Echols
John Echols was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:Echols was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, and was educated at the Virginia Military Institute, Washington College and Harvard College. A tall imposing man, standing 6 feet 4 inches tall, Echols...
, who investigated the order in Virginia when it was discovered there in 1864, believed it had been formed at the suggestion of Federal authorities. Union civilian and military officials cooperated with the order by assuring its members safe passage through the lines and by offering them exemption from military service if they deserted, protection for their property, and a share or confiscated Confederate estates after the war. Both Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
and President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
belonged to the order. In addition to their signs and passwords, the Heroes identified themselves by wearing a red string on their lapels and thus were nicknamed the Red Strings” and the ‘Red-String Band.'"
In addition to the organized opposition groups such as the Red Strings and Heroes of America, there were other groups that were closer to bandits. Known as “Buffaloes,” these men and some women were a mixture of Confederate deserters, draft-dodgers, pro-Union men, escaped slaves and other men escaping the noose such as barn burners, rapists and murderers. Living in small groups in the swamps of Eastern North Carolina or the woods of central and western NC, they attacked isolated homes, often with impunity, since many of the men were away at war, and there was no protection from their lawlessness. "The correspondents in the war records seem unaware that North Carolina, like all Gaul, was divided into three parts- the Confederate, the Yankee and the Buffalo. It was easier to let the Yankee garrison the strip of coast and keep him there than have the expense of it ourselves, but it is amusing to read of “The Rebels Invading North Carolina.”
The “Red Strings” were also interested in forming blacks into soldiers and having them fight for the Union as well. There are miscellaneous accounts of these black companies being formed during the war, as are mentioned in Elizabeth Lee Battle’s autobiography, “Forget-Me-Nots of the Civil War.”
After the war, they actively opposed the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. “One of the main causes for the organization of the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina was to combat the influence of the Union League
Union League
A Union League is one of a number of organizations established starting in 1862, during the American Civil War to promote loyalty to the Union and the policies of Abraham Lincoln. They were also known as Loyal Leagues. They comprised upper middle class men who supported efforts such as the United...
. Governor William Woods Holden
William Woods Holden
William Woods Holden was the 38th and 40th Governor of North Carolina in 1865 and from 1868 to 1871. He was the leader of the state's Republican Party during Reconstruction. Holden was the second governor in American history to be impeached, and the first to be removed from office...
was the first president of the League in North Carolina, and James H. Harris
James H. Harris
James H. Harris was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions at the Battle of Chaffin's Farm.-Biography:...
, a Negro, was Vice-president. “ Prof. Lefler later recounts: “If there had been no Loyal League in North Carolina, there would have been no Ku Klux Klan, or clubbing together of the white people there… Still the negroes [sic] operate upon each other, so that one dare not depart from the ranks; they are arrayed yet in a solid phalanx…” He later quotes from a Congressional investigation into the origins of the KKK in North Carolina: “It was at a time when the republican party had three secret organizations in operation in the state, the Union League
Union League
A Union League is one of a number of organizations established starting in 1862, during the American Civil War to promote loyalty to the Union and the policies of Abraham Lincoln. They were also known as Loyal Leagues. They comprised upper middle class men who supported efforts such as the United...
, the Heroes of America, and the Red Strings. They had a paper called the Red String, printed at Greensorough [sic], edited by Mr. Tourgee (Albion W. Tourgée
Albion W. Tourgée
Albion Winegar Tourgée was an American soldier, Radical Republican, lawyer, judge, novelist, and diplomat. A pioneer civil rights activist, he founded the National Citizens' Rights Association and litigated for the plaintiff Homer Plessy in the famous segregation case Plessy v. Ferguson...
). Our friends thought it proper to organize a secret society for the purpose of counteracting that influence.- Ku Klux reports, North Carolina Testimony, pp. 8, 309-310, 318, 363.”
Red Strings Baseball Team
The term “Red Strings” became popular among different groups after the war. Indeed, during the next generation, there was an exceptional baseball team formed in Yadkin County with the name, “Red Strings.” They only lost three games out of some sixty games that they played in their brief career. Many of the players were trained in Quaker schools, although they denied any relation to the “Red Strings” of the Civil War. “How the name Red Strings originated is not known definitely. Members think Captain Gus Long, organizer and manager, gave the name… Elkin-ites didn’t like the name Red Strings- too much like night riding political group about this time, the Red Shirts, reminiscent of the earlier Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. They preferred to call them the Longtown boys.”
Red String Conspiracy
It is unknown if an earlier Southern conspiracy with a similar name, also organized by slaves and indentured servants, that took place in Georgia in the 18th century had any influence or association with the later Red Strings. In 1735 and 1736, a conspiracy among indentured servants was squashed in Savannah, GeorgiaSavannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
and in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. The servants would be known "by a red string tied around their right wrist" and they would kill the white masters and escape to join Native Americans, escaped slaves and other runaway indentured servants.