We are studying the Civil War currently in our American History class. Part of the chapter covers the options that men in the North and the South had if they were conscripted into the army. The men in the North could hire a substitute (insert ethical discussion here) or pay a large fine to get out of duty. The men in the South did not have those options. They could be physically removed from their homes and dragged off to fight in the army (which some were, but refused to shoot), or they could hide. Then I remembered those pictures I'd taken a few years ago when I was out of state on a choir tour. So I showed them to my students.
The man who owned this house during the Civil War (1861-1865) was a non-resistant Mennonite who did not believe in shooting or killing other human beings for any reason. When the Confederate soldiers came to forcibly remove him from his home and family, he simply ran upstairs to his bedroom, climbed up into his closet, removed a board on the upper left side of the ceiling, and crawled up into his attic where he remained until it was safe to come down.
I would also like to add that Mennonite men have served in other capacities during wartime; serving our nation in hospitals, assisting in agriculture, or other army-approved and appointed conscientious objector roles that are thankfully provided for those of us who have the conviction of being non-resistant.