Members of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, came to Blount County in the 1790s seeking a place to worship in peace. Opposed to war and slavery, they developed the land and founded the prosperous settlements of Unity, now Unitia, and Friendsville. During the Civil War, Friendsville Quakers took part in the Underground Railroad, helping conscientious objectors, Unionists, and runaway slaves flee north. They raised money at their meetings to help slaves escape to freedom. After the Confederate Conscription Act was passed in 1862, William J. Hackney began using a cave near his house for this work. Across the creek from the meeting house, the cave remained undetected because its entrance stood beside a little-used road and was hidden by thick overgrowth. Its narrow opening led to a large room that could hold about 50 people, with a nearby spring providing water while Hackney supplied bedding and provisions and his wife cooked meals and helped the travelers. After the Federal army occupied East Tennessee, Hackney was offered a reward for his services and a position on the staff of Union Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside in Knoxville, but despite assisting more than 2,000 people, he refused all honors. Although Confederate soldiers confiscated the Friends' horses, fodder, and other supplies, these pacifist farmers continued to treat Federals and Confederates alike with equal kindness. While Hackney was Burnside's guest in Knoxville, he told writer John Townsend Trowbridge about the cave and his work, and Trowbridge used the account as the basis for his popular 1863 novel, Cudjo's Cave, after which the Friendsville cave became known by that name.