My second cousin 5 times removed, Sam Copple, a native of Jefferson County, Illinois, was born in July 1837 to William and Abigail (Handley) Copple.  Sam’s paternal grandparents, John and Catherine Copple, were first cousins to each other.

Sam served in the Civil War for 3 years as a part of the 11th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. It was during this time he wrote the editorial below.

I had never heard the term “Copperhead” as it relates to the Civil War. According to the online Encyclopedia Britannica, was a pejorative term for Northerners who wanted to negotiate a settlement with the South rather than fight a war to preserve the Union.[1]

“Letter from the 11th Ill. Reg.,” Centralia Sentinel (Centralia, Illinois), 20 Aug 1863, pg 2, col 4; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 12 December 2013)

[1] “Copperhead – American Political Faction”, Encyclopedia Brittanica (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Copperhead-American-political-faction : accessed 24 Sep 2019).

Cite/link to this post: Cathy M. Dempsey, “Copples in the News — Sam Copple’s views on Civil War politics,” Genes and Roots, posted 21 Oct 2019 (https://genesandroots.com : accessed (date)).