The author chronicles systematic religious proscription in Missouri during the Civil War era, documenting the seizure of churches, legal measures such as a Test Oath, and the arrest, imprisonment, mobbing, and in some cases killing of ministers for refusing political oaths. The narrative blends eyewitness reports, legal and constitutional analysis, and prefatory testimony to argue for preservation of records, to vindicate religious liberty, and to expose hypocrisy among political and ecclesiastical actors. It traces denominational disputes, administrative actions, and the moral consequences of persecuting clergy, insisting that faithful documentation is necessary for justice, memory, and the future protection of conscience.