Published on Historical Society of Pennsylvania (https://hsp.org)


Trespass, Assault and Battery, and False Imprisonment: The Cases of Pierce Butler and Charles Ingersoll

Using the stories of Pierce Butler and Charles Ingersoll, students will examine the mixed political loyalties and uneasy bounds of free speech found in Philadelphia during the Civil War. Both men were native Philadelphians, but their esteemed families carried both strong political and financial connections to the South. Their experiences during the American Civil War will challenge students to think about the lines that exist between patriotism, criticism, and treason, and whether certain types of speech should not be protected by the law.