As the year 1861 dawned, the United States was in somewhat of a turmoil. The recent presidential election had polarized the Northern states and the Southern states, where slaves were held. Before Lincoln's inauguration as president, South Carolina passed an ordinance seceding from the United States.
Sabbathkeeping Adventists had no sympathy with slavery and were aware, of course, of the tensions and excitement, but had kept aloof of matters relating to the political situation. Just at this time light concerning what was ahead was given to Ellen White in vision:
I was shown that many do not realize the extent of the evil which has come upon us. They have flattered themselves that the national difficulties would soon be settled and confusion and war end, but all will be convinced that there is more reality in the matter than was anticipated....
The North and South were presented before me. The North have been deceived in regard to the South. They are better prepared for war than has been represented. Most of their men are well skilled in the use of arms, some of them from experience in battle, others from habitual sporting. They have the advantage of the North in this respect, but have not, as a general thing, the valor and the power of endurance that Northern men have (Testimonies for the Church, 1:264-266).
Seventh-day Adventists, just moving into church organization, were, as the War Between the States opened, forced to find their way in a very difficult and sensitive area. They had no guidelines to follow. While the Ten Commandments prohibited the taking of life and the desecration of the seventh-day Sabbath, the history of God's people of old under the theocracy was not a paradigm. But God did not leave His remnant people to flounder. They prayed and studied, and when God gave counsel through His messenger, Ellen White, they listened.
Even before the first shots of the Civil War were fired, Ellen had been given a view of the coming conflict and its ferocity. The visions given at Parkville, Michigan; Roosevelt, New York; and Battle Creek, Michigan, put Adventists in the unique position of knowing, first, of the coming war and its long duration, and then, its philosophy, with the assurance that God had a controlling hand in the affairs of the nation.
Ellen said, "I saw that both the South and the North were being punished."
God is punishing the North, that they have so long suffered the accursed sin of slavery to exist; for in the sight of heaven it is a sin of the darkest dye. God is not with the South, and He will punish them dreadfully in the end (Ibid., 1:359).
She contrasted the guidance God would give with that of the great adversary, Satan himself:
The great leading rebel general, Satan, is acquainted with the transactions of this war, and he directs his angels to assume the form of dead generals, to imitate their manners, and exhibit their peculiar traits of character. The leaders in the army really believe that the spirits of their friends, and of dead warriors, the fathers of the Revolutionary War, are guiding them (Ibid., 1:364).
The Battle Of Manassas
In vision Ellen White was taken to the scene of the Battle of Manassas; she was shown God's hand in what took place there:
I had a view of the disastrous battle at Manassas, Virginia. It was a most exciting, distressing scene. The Southern army had everything in their favor and were prepared for a dreadful contest. The Northern army was moving on with triumph, not doubting but that they would be victorious. Many were reckless and marched forward boastingly, as though victory were already theirs.
As they neared the battlefield, many were almost fainting through weariness and want of refreshment. They did not expect so fierce an encounter. They rushed into battle and fought bravely, desperately. The dead and dying were on every side. Both the North and the South suffered severely. The Southern men felt the battle, and in a little while would have been driven back still further. The Northern men were rushing on, although their destruction was very great.
Just then an angel descended and waved his hand backward. Instantly there was confusion in the ranks. It appeared to the Northern men that their troops were retreating, when it was not so in reality, and a precipitate retreat commenced. This seemed wonderful to me.
Then it was explained that God had this nation in His own hand, and would not suffer victories to be gained faster than He ordained, and would permit no more losses to the Northern men than in His wisdom He saw fit, to punish them for their sins. And had the Northern army at this time pushed the battle still further in their fainting, exhausted condition, the far greater struggle and destruction which awaited them would have caused great triumph in the South.
God would not permit this, and sent an angel to interfere. The sudden falling back of the Northern troops is a mystery to all. They know not that God's hand was in the matter (Ibid., 1:266, 267).
Thus was revealed God's guiding hand in the affairs of the war.
Eyewitness Account
W. W. Blackford, a lieutenant colonel in the Southern army, in his book War Years With Jeb Stuart gave a stirring account of what happened at Manassas in the battle of July 21, 1861:
It was now about four o'clock and the battle raged with unabated fury. The lines of blue were unbroken and their fire vigorous as ever while they surged against the solid walls of gray, standing immovable in their front. It was on that ridge earlier in the day that Jackson won the name of Stonewall.
But now the most extraordinary spectacle I have ever witnessed took place. I had been gazing at the numerous well-formed lines as they moved forward to the attack, some fifteen or twenty thousand strong in full view, and for some reason had turned my head in another direction for a moment, when someone exclaimed, pointing to the battlefield, "Look! Look!"
I looked, and what a change had taken place in an instant. Where those well-dressed, well-defined lines, with clear spaces between, had been steadily pressing forward, the whole field was a confused swarm of men, like bees, running away as fast as their legs could carry them, with all order and organization abandoned. In a moment more the whole valley was filled with them as far as the eye could reach.
They plunged through Bull Run wherever they came to it, regardless of fords or bridges, and there many were drowned. Muskets, cartridge boxes, belts, knapsacks, haversacks, and blankets were thrown away in their mad race, that nothing might impede their flight. In the reckless haste, the artillery drove over everyone who did not get out of their way. Ambulance and wagon drivers cut the traces and dashed off on the mules. In [their] crossing Cub Run, a shell exploded in a team and blocked the way and twenty-eight pieces of artillery fell into our hands (pp. 34, 35 [see also DF 956]).
The War And The Work Of The Church
For a time to those in Battle Creek, the war seemed far away. Little was happening on the battlefields, and James and Ellen White were involved in the various church interests.
But as the war progressed, the president issued calls for more soldiers. Each state was required to furnish a certain quota of men for each call, and this in turn was apportioned to each county, city, and ward. If the number of those who freely volunteered failed to reach the required quota, it would become necessary to institute a draft. To avoid this, ways had to be found to encourage the enlistment of men to make up the required number. To promote enlistment, citizens' committees were formed in many municipalities; they arranged to offer bounties to be paid to recruits. Beginning at $25, they were soon raised to as high as $100 as more and more men were called to the front.
Because Seventh-day Adventists were particularly anxious to avoid the threatened draft, which would involve Sabbathkeepers, James White heartily participated in the matter of raising funds to pay attractive bonuses to volunteers. Seventh-day Adventists as a rule were conscientiously opposed to the bearing of arms, yet they felt it to be their duty to raise money for the payment of the bonuses offered to volunteers who had no religious scruples against bearing arms.
James White, J. P. Kellogg, and other leading Adventists attended and took part in a number of mass meetings of Battle Creek citizens. In these meetings there was free discussion of the activities of the war, but particularly the problem of furnishing the quota of men, if possible, without the necessity of the draft. White made it clear that Sabbathkeeping young men had not refrained from volunteering because they were cowards or ease-loving. Though they were generally poor, they would willingly contribute as freely as the well-to-do.
The perplexities incident to the war increased as the rate of the bounty was raised, necessitating still heavier calls for means from Seventh-day Adventists. Workers in the field reported difficulties in connection with attempts in evangelism. William Ingraham reported that the Illinois tent was laid up because it was useless to pitch the tent in new fields during the war excitement (The Review and Herald, August 19, 1862). In Iowa J. H. Waggoner and B. F. Snook were arrested under martial law and detained till they secured a certificate from the county judge "setting forth their place of residence, their present occupation and calling." The judge advised them to repair immediately to their homes, as they would be daily more and more liable to troubles and difficulties (Ibid., August 26, 1862). From Rochester, New York, M. E. Cornell reported:
The war excitement was so great we had to adjourn for two nights. Our tent was used for the war meetings. I never saw such an excitement as there is here in Rochester. The streets are blocked up with the tents of recruiting officers. The stores are all closed up 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., and all are trying to induce men to enlist. War meetings every night (Ibid., August 26, 1862).
The Tide Begins To Turn
With President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, effective January 1, 1863, the tide in the war began to turn. When a national fast was appointed for April 30, 1863, Seventh-day Adventists felt they could join in its observance, for the government was lining up more in harmony with the testimony of Isaiah
58. In early July a decisive battle was fought at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with the Union forces gaining the victory.
There were still many difficult days ahead, but the provision that by paying $300 a drafted Seventh-day Adventist could gain freedom from military service brought relief till well into 1864. The newly organized church had a breathing spell. Yet such a payment was equivalent to somewhat more than the wages for a year of employment, and James White saw the provision, as beneficial as it was, a threat to denominational income. He warned:
Should our brethren be drafted, they should if necessary mortgage their property to raise the $300, rather than to accept means that should go into the Lord's treasury. We would say this even of our ministers. The draft will probably come closer and closer (Ibid., November 24, 1863).
On March 3, 1863, the Congress of the United States passed a law calling for the enrollment of all men between the ages of 20 and 45; this would form the basis of a national draft. It now looked as if one man in three would be called to military service. Certain provisions of this act brought a sigh of relief to Seventh-day Adventists:
That members of religious denominations, who shall by oath or affirmation declare that they are conscientiously opposed to the bearing of arms, and who are prohibited from doing so by the rules and articles of faith and practice of such religious denomination, shall, when drafted into the military service, be considered noncombatants, and shall be assigned by the Secretary of War to duty in the hospitals, or to the care of freedmen, or shall pay the sum of $300, to such person as the Secretary of War shall designate to receive it, to be applied to the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers.
Provided, That no person shall be entitled to the benefit of the provisions of this section, unless his declaration of conscientious scruples against bearing arms shall be supported by satisfactory evidence that his deportment has been uniformly consistent with such declaration ("The Views of Seventh-day Adventists Relative to Bearing Arms," pp. 3, 4).
Under these liberal provisions, Seventh-day Adventist generally, if drafted, paid $300 and were excused from serving. In the light of the counsel given by God through Ellen White, it seemed consistent to take this course and thus escape the many problems of military service. But the law was amended on July 4, 1864; the $300 commutation provision was revoked, but with Quakers seemingly in mind, the amendment declared:
"Nothing contained in this Act is to be construed to alter, or in any way affect the law relative to those conscientiously opposed to bearing arms" (Ibid., p. 4).
This meant that the $300 commutation provision now applied only to those officially recognized as noncombatants. Up to this point Seventh-day Adventists, although firmly of that persuasion, had not publicly declared this fact, nor was their position officially recognized. The church had to act quickly to obtain official noncombatant status. Church leaders, working through proper channels, took immediate steps to achieve this. The first step was to gain the endorsement of the governor of Michigan, Austin Blair. Hence, on August 3, 1864, a communication was taken to him by three men of the General Conference Committee:
We the undersigned, Executive Committee of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, respectfully beg leave to present for your consideration the following statements:
The denomination of Christians calling themselves Seventh-day Adventists, taking the Bible as their rule of faith and practice, are unanimous in their views that its teachings are contrary to the spirit and practice of war; hence, they have ever been conscientiously opposed to bearing arms.... We would further represent that Seventh-day Adventists are rigidly anti-slavery, loyal to the government, and in sympathy with it against the rebellion.
But not having had a long existence as a distinct people, and our organization having but recently been perfected, our sentiments are not yet extensively known. The change in the law renders it necessary that we take a more public stand in the matter. For this reason we now lay before Your Excellency the sentiments of Seventh-day Adventists, as a body, relative to bearing arms, trusting that you will feel no hesitation in endorsing our claim that, as a people, we come under the intent of the late action of Congress concerning those who are conscientiously opposed to bearing arms, and are entitled to the benefits of said laws.
John Byington General Conference
J.N. Loughborough Executive Committee
George W. Amadon of Seventh-day Adventists
Battle Creek,
August 2, 1864.
This communication addressed to the governor was accompanied by letters of introduction and a commendation from the mayor and the leading citizens of Battle Creek.
Governor Blair's Reply
The delegation carried back with them the governor's reply, brief and to the point, but adequate:
I am satisfied that the foregoing statement of principles and practices of the Seventh-day Adventists is correct, and that they are entitled to all the immunities secured by law to those who are conscientiously opposed to bearing arms, or engaging in war.
Austin Blair
Governor of Michigan
Dated, August 3, 1864.
The next step had to be taken in Washington. For this important mission, J. N. Andrews, armed with appropriate documents, was sent as the church's emissary. Reported James White in the Review of September 6, 1864.
Brother J. N. Andrews left for Washington, Monday [August 29], well endorsed from the highest military authority in this city. He will report through the Review as soon as possible. May it be favorable for those who have enlisted to serve under the Prince of Peace.
Two weeks later the Review carried Andrews' Washington, D.C., report. He had successfully followed through, and now Adventists would be fully recognized as noncombatants. They would be assigned to duty in hospitals, or to the care of freedmen, or would be exempt on the payment of $300.
However, on the local level recognition of the claims of Adventist men was difficult to secure. During this time the intensity of the war had been such that the General Conference Committee made an appeal for Sabbath, August 27, to be made a day of fasting and prayer.
Three points of concern were named in a brief article in the Review:
1. The existing war, which threatens to very much retard the progress of the third angel's message.
2. The condition of American slaves.
3. That God will direct His people to act wisely and humbly in reference to the draft, and overrule impending events to their good and His glory (Ibid., August 9, 1864).
On October 20 the president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, proclaimed "the last Thursday in November next, as a day ... of thanksgiving and prayer to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the universe." It was a day for humility and pleading with God for "peace, union, and harmony throughout the land" (Ibid., November 8, 1864).
In January 1865 the president issued another call for 300,000 volunteers to fill up the ranks in the armies. It was expected that most of this need would be supplied by a draft, and this would take a number of Adventists. James White wearily commented in the Review:
If this war continues, God only knows what it will do for even noncombatants. Unless Heaven interposes, they may not always be treated with that respect and mercy which they now receive (Ibid., January 24, 1865).
A Call To Importune God To Stop The War
The next week James White addressed the readers of the Review. After expressing gratitude for "the provision made by the government for the exemption of noncombatants from bearing carnal weapons," he proposed to fellow Adventists:
Prayer and giving of thanks for those in authority constitute a proper portion of their Sabbath and other seasons of public worship, and also of family and private devotions. And besides this, we recommend that the second Sabbath in each month be especially set apart to fasting and prayer in view of the present terrible war (Ibid., January 31, 1865).
By mid-February 1865 it was clear to the committee that if the war did not come to an early close, and if there was to be a call for more men every five or six months, "we must inevitably lose means, or lose our own numbers, and lose those who would embrace the truth, and lose the attention of the people" (Ibid., February 21, 1865).
We are thus brought, as it plainly appears to us, to a place where if the war continues, we must stop. We repeat it, the war must stop, or our work in spreading the truth must stop. Which shall it be? (Ibid., February 21, 1865).
Then came a most unusual appeal:
We would recommend, nay more, earnestly request, all our churches and scattered brethren to set apart four days commencing Wednesday, March 1, and continuing till the close of the following Sabbath, as days of earnest and importunate prayer over this subject. Let business be suspended, and the churches meet at one o'clock on the afternoon of each of the weekdays, and twice on the Sabbath, to pour out their supplications before God.... During these days of prayer we recommend on the part of all a very abstemious and simple diet.... Labor will be suspended at the Review office (Ibid.).
Seventh-day Adventists responded most heartily.
President Lincoln, in his second inaugural address, given on March 4, 1865, acknowledged the scourge of the war as a result of the crime of slavery. Here are his words:
Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's 250 years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so, still it must be said, that the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether (Ibid., March 21, 1865).
By this time the Review and Herald carried in almost every issue information concerning the draft situation and advice to draftees.
The Devastating War Suddenly Ends
But suddenly a change came. On April 9 General Robert E. Lee surrendered at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. The war was virtually over. Some activities remained to be quelled farther south and to the west, but on April 11, two days after Lee's surrender, Editor Smith of the Review and Herald, recognizing the visible answer to prayer, wrote:
They see in the prospect not only the immediate effects that others see, the cessation of slaughter and bloodshed, ... but they see in it a fulfillment of prophecy, an answer to prayer, a bright token that the great Shepherd of Israel is going before His flock. We therefore thank God for the visible manifestation of His hand in our national affairs (Ibid., April 11, 1865).
A week later Smith referred to the wide acclaim of God's providential hand in the affairs of the nation:
It is right and appropriate that God should be recognized in the national gratitude; for He it is who has given the victory. But to see so general an acknowledgment from the official under his seal of authority, to the humblest citizen, is more than could have been expected (Ibid., April 18, 1865).
The recognition of God's providence in the speedy closing of the war was quite generally accepted. The readers of the Review were treated to a significant item in the American Missionary for April, calling attention to
the strong religious element in the rejoicing over our victories. The ascription of our great successes to God was all but universal. In the high places of the land and on the busiest marts of trade, as well as in churches and around the domestic altars of Christian families, the same pious recognition was manifest. The brilliant transparency on the Capitol at Washington, "It is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes," and the uncovered multitude in Wall Street joining reverently in prayer and singing the Christian Doxology were rare but representative facts (Ibid., June 6, 1865).
The Civil War came to a close too soon to test well the provisions made by the government to bring relief to drafted Seventh-day Adventists. But in World War I and subsequent military situations, the steps taken in 1864 and 1865 paved the way for relief of Seventh-day Adventists in the armed services.
And what was the significance of an act of Congress that directed that all new dies made at the United States Mint were to bear the motto "In God We Trust"?
The favorable trend led James White to appeal to the church:
The holding of the winds, in the suppression of the rebellion, outstripping even our faith in the suddenness of its execution, is opening a wide door before us. Let the thousands of Sabbathkeepers whose prayer ascended two months since for the speedy accomplishment of this work, now so signally answered, again ascend that the great Captain of the Lord's host will meet with His people (Ibid., May 9, 1865).
And at the annual meeting of the General Conference in May a resolution was passed and recorded:
Resolved, That we acknowledge, with devout gratitude, the hand of God in this event, as a direct answer to prayer, and that in view of the increased responsibilities laid upon us in again opening the way for the progress of the message, we solemnly consecrate ourselves anew to this great work to which God has called us (Ibid., May 23, 1865).
The Clouds Of War And The White Family
When the White family settled in the little cottage on Wood Street in Battle Creek in 1857, there was forest to the north and pastureland to the west. This gave promise of a quiet retreat and a wholesome atmosphere for rearing the family. Soon, however, the Michigan Fair Association secured considerable acreage almost adjoining the White property, and built a racetrack for trotting horses. As the war came on, this proved to be an excellent training ground for recruits in the Union Army. The activities on the fairgrounds came to be of special interest to the teenage boys. W. C. White later recalled:
The nearest neighbors to the south were the Jonah Lewis family, devout Adventists. While the White and Lewis families were noncombatants, the children took a lively interest in the war. The two younger Lewis boys, 16 and 18 years of age, and the two older White boys, 12 and 14, got hold of wartime songs and many a sunny afternoon sat on the fence and practiced "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys Are Marching" and "We Are Coming, Father Abraham." They all had good voices, and I, about 7, was an admiring audience, and sat on the grass to listen.
My brothers went as far as they could in supplying themselves with warlike instruments. They built good bows and arrows with which they shot troublesome birds. They were good whistlers, but wanted a drum, so they bought two cheese boxes, knocking out the heads, putting the rims together, paper inside and out. They secured a sheepskin, took the wool off, and made rawhide heads (DF 780a, "Pioneer Days Are Recalled," Battle Creek Enquirer, October 30, 1932).
The drum was quite successful and could be heard all over the neighborhood. In his account Willie included developments over a period of time:
When soldiers were in training on the old fairground, ... Henry went to watch them and, boylike, was marching along with them, whistling in harmony with the fife. The captain gave the signal to the fifers to be silent, and the company of soldiers made their one-mile march keeping step to music of the drum and Henry's whistle.
He wanted to enter the war as a drummer, but love for his mother and respect for her wishes led him to give up the cherished thought of being in the Army (Ibid.).
James and Ellen were distressed as they watched Henry and Edson in 1862 and early 1863 becoming more and more fascinated with the war activities, and at the same time losing the consecration they had enjoyed at the time of their baptism at the turn of the year. It seemed to them that they must get the children clear away from Battle Creek. James was now free from administrative responsibilities.
At the General Conference session in May 1863 actions had been taken calling for the production of a new prophetic chart and a chart of the Ten Commandments. The development and production of the charts called for him to spend two or three months in the vicinity of Boston, Massachusetts. And since his position as president of the SDA Publishing Association would not hold him continuously in Battle Creek, why not take the family and stay, say, a year in the East, possibly living at the Howland home in Topsham, Maine, just a few hours by train from Boston?
Learning that they would be welcome in the commodious and comfortable Howland home, James and Ellen White decided that the whole family would go east. They would take with them Adelia Patten, the young woman who lived with them and cared for the children when the parents were traveling. She also was beginning to give some assistance in copying the testimonies and other writings.
In addition to working on the charts, James White was eager to join Loughborough and Hull in evangelism in the Eastern cities. Ellen White wanted to put some time into writing Spiritual Gifts,, Volume III, dealing with Old Testament history. Adelia would look after the children while the parents pursued their religious mission.
The Extended Eastern Tour In The Summer And Autumn Of 1863
James was now 42, and Ellen, 35. Henry was almost 16, Edson, 14, and Willie, nearly 9. Adelia Patten was 24. They all took the train at Battle Creek on Wednesday, August 19, bound for Boston, with two stopovers in New York State. In Boston, while James White was starting work on the charts, Henry Nichols and Ransom Lockwood took the three boys in hand and gave them a tour of the city. Adelia Patten mentions in her report that they visited places such as the public gardens, glassworks, Bunker Hill Monument, Prospect Hill, and the State House.
At Topsham, where the family would make their headquarters, they were joyfully welcomed by the Howlands. Henry was especially glad to see the Howlands, for he had spent some five years as an infant with them. Noting Henry's interest in and love for music, Stockbridge Howland purchased a brand-new organ. The "old mansion in which a dozen years before was heard the innocent, merry laugh of the beautiful, prattling little Henry now resounded with the music of the instrument from his skillful touch, mingled with his own sweet voice." So wrote Adelia Patten, who accompanied the family and reported the journey.
She was one who fitted well into the family, leading James and Ellen White, who had no daughter, to accept and treat her as one. She was one of the first to be drawn into service as a literary assistant to Ellen White.
While in the home there in Topsham, where he and Ellen had first set up housekeeping when Henry was a newborn babe, James recalled those experiences of 16 years before:
Here we had our first impressions of duty to preach and publish the message. In this place we chopped cordwood sixteen years since, to support our family, and get means to attend a conference in Connecticut, the first under the message. With this family we have ever found true friends and a hospitable home (Ibid., September 29, 1863).
Diversified Activities In New England
But James and Ellen White felt they must press on, so after a few days of relaxation in the comfortable Howland home, they left for Massachusetts. Adelia described their departure:
The children accompanied their parents to the depot, and before the family parted, Henry, Edson, and Willie, by request, sang "The Evergreen Shore," much to the gratification of the crowd waiting for another train. The whistle was heard, the "good-by" and "farewell" were said, and away sped the train, bearing the parents on their mission of love, and leaving the children again without their watchcare (An Appeal to the Youth, 22, 23).
For the next three months Adelia and the children were at the Howland home. Although James and Ellen White considered this their headquarters while in the East, their time was divided, Ellen with her writing and James working on the charts, with weekends at the churches.
Ellen was endeavoring to complete the third volume of Spiritual Gifts,, which was dealing with Old Testament history. So dedicated was she to this goal that James recounted this story about her:
At Adams Center she wrote early and late, and between meetings. And First-day afternoon she wrote six pages of testimony while Brother Andrews was preaching, which she afterwards read with other matter before the State conference. She sat within four feet [1 meter] of the pulpit and used her Bible for a writing desk. When asked what she thought of Brother Andrews as a speaker, she replied that she could not say, as it had been so long since she had heard him. When the sermon was finished she arose and addressed the congregation twenty minutes (The Review and Herald, December 8, 1863).
James was eager to introduce the new charts into the field. In the Review of October 6 he reported:
The charts are both in the hands of the artist, and the work on them is progressing as fast as possible. We shall probably have some of them ready by the middle of October.
The prophetic chart will be much improved in arrangement from the one in use. The sanctuary and angels will be larger and bolder, so that all the figures upon the chart can be seen equally plain. From what we have already seen of the work, we judge that it will be a beautifully executed thing (Ibid., October 6, 1863).
He projected a price of $2 for the prophetic chart and $1.50 for the one of the law. He commented that if the chart had been done two years earlier the cost of production would have been less than half: the cotton cloth, "the principal item of expense, that could have been bought two years since for 10 cents, is now 30" (Ibid.).
On October 21, "having obtained a large trunk full of finished charts," the Whites left Maine for the Newport, New Hampshire, meeting by way of Boston. Their itinerary took them by train, stages, and private conveyance to meet various appointments.
They were both in good health and good spirits. The Civil War had changed the economy considerably. The same issue of the Review that carried James White's report on the charts presented the financial statement of the Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association rendered at its third annual meeting, October 2, 1863. It showed receipts for operations to be $20,104.84 as against expense of $18,956.36. Association assets of $19,649.41 were offset by liabilities of only $4,377.53, leaving a net worth of $15,271.88. How different from a few years before!
There were also noticeable changes in attitudes since they had been in Adams Center two years before when nearly all the brethren had been opposed to organization. "Thank God for what He has done for the cause and for us," observed James.
Interesting things had been happening at Adams Center. As White reported: "Here nearly a whole Seventh Day Baptist church, meetinghouse and all, has been converted to the Seventh-day Adventists" (Ibid., November 24, 1863).
J. M. Aldrich, the conference secretary, reported of the conference: "The attendance was large, there being a good representation of brethren from all parts of the state" (Ibid., December 1, 1863). Both James and Ellen spoke a number of times to very appreciative audiences.
Considering so many encouraging factors, the Whites offered to extend their work in the East for six months, one year, or longer, saying that to do so would be a considerable sacrifice, but that they were prepared to make such a sacrifice so that the work might advance.