In February 1863, a satirical editorial illustration titled “The Copperhead Party” depicted three Copperheads advancing on Columbia. Copperheads were Southern sympathizers who saw themselves as Peace Democrats, opposed to Lincoln and the forced preservation of the Union. Many lived in DeWitt County, where many settlers had deep Southern roots. DeWitt County was home to numerous Copperheads, and in March 1863 a disgruntled group met at Eads Schoolhouse in Barnett Township, where they adopted strongly worded anti-Lincoln, anti-war, and anti-Union resolutions that were printed in The Clinton Public newspaper. In response, Union supporters met at the Center Schoolhouse in Barnett Township and published their own pro-Union resolutions. Enlisted men of the 107th Illinois Volunteer Regiment from DeWitt County, then encamped at Glasgow, Kentucky, learned of the Copperhead activity at home and issued their own resolutions, declaring their united and undivided support for the President in his efforts to crush and suppress the rebellion. Thomas Snell, a wealthy and influential Clinton businessman and staunch Lincoln adversary, had been a candidate for Illinois Lieutenant Governor in 1860 on the pro-Southern Breckenridge ticket, but after the election his political allegiances changed. Outraged by the attack on Fort Sumter, he became a Unionist, and in August 1862 he raised the 107th Illinois Volunteer Regiment. He served for a few months as self-appointed Colonel, but his overzealous and disobedient conduct led to military arrest and court martial, after which he received a presidential pardon from his former political foe, Lincoln.