Conscience or Compromise: The Meaning of the Peace Testimony in Early New England Meredith Baldwin Weddle* An Introduction Henry Pitman had just returned from Italy in 1685 and went to visit his relations in Somerset. There was another, more prominent, visitor to Somerset during these days: the Duke of Monmouth, on the march with an army to challenge the reign of his uncle James II. Henry Pitman , a Quaker and a surgeon, went with friends to see the Duke's army. Compassion led him to attach himself to the troops and to treat the wounded. Pitman's beliefs as a Quaker forbade him to bear arms, and in his own account he justified his actions: But as I was never in arms myself, so neither was I wanting in my care to dress the Wounds of many of the King's Soldiers, who were prisoners in the Duke's Army, using the utmost of my care and skill for both: . . . (Pitman 4) When Monmouth's army was routed, Pitman was captured and condemned to be hanged, drawn and quartered; partially reprieved, he was transported to Barbadoes and involuntary servitude. Pitman masterminded an escape from Barbadoes in a small boat with seven companions, making landfall on the island of Tortuga. In describing his adventures, Pitman included several details relevant to an examination of Quaker attitudes toward the use of force. He mentioned , for example, that he ordered his companions in escape to bring their weapons. When they were surprised by a canoe of privateers, my Companions provided their Arms, and charged their Musquets and Blunderbuss with pieces of Glass-Bottles (for we coming from Barbadoes in so great a hurry and fear, through forgetfulness they left their Bag of Bullets on the Wharf. (Pitman 19) The privateers invited the group to join them; Pitman refused, explaining his decision as being faithful to God (Pitman 20-21). When the shipwrecked Pitman and companions broke their knives trying to separate turtle shells from their meat, they made new knives from the swords "my Companions brought with them ..." (Pitman 23). A steady diet of tortoise meat and eggs having given them a violent flux, Pitman cured them with an opium tincture, 74Quaker History for before we came from Barbadoes, I thought of a way to deliver ourselves out of our Enemies Hands . . . without shedding of Blood; and it was thus, I dissolved a sufficient quantity of Opium in a Bottle of rich Cordial Water . . . intending to give it to those Persons that should take us. . . (Pitman 23-24). The enemies would then be overcome with sleep, enabling the group to escape. Pitman overcame his scruples and went aboard a privateer which was heavily laden with prize, eventually making his way back to England. What renders Pitman's recitation significant is that he felt it necessary to explain and distinguish his behavior whenever he was proximate to violence or potential violence. Clearly, he felt that fighting in the army would be wrong. Wrong, too, would be partisanship of a kind which would cause him to treat an enemy casualty less humanely than one "on his side." He was careful to point out that he did not himself wear a sword or carry weapons. He would not have done violence to those thwarting his escape, going to some pains to develop an alternative protection (the opium potion) for himself. He would not participate in piracy directly. In short, he was in some measure a pacifist. But let us examine his scruples more closely. He did in fact associate himself with an army. He demanded that his companions bring their arms for the escape; although not bearing arms himself he saw a necessity for the group to be armed, and heavily armed with cutlasses and blunderbusses. He stood by while these weapons were mobilized against privateers. He welcomed rescue by violent men, as long as they were en route to cashing in their prize, not garnering it. The Pitman story illustrates a crucial feature of early Quaker pacifism. That pacifism was intensely personal. Quakers had no interest in imposing it on others, or even in encouraging it in others. This characteristic did not proceed from a delicacy...