william jefferson palmer was born in kingsville farm, delaware. at the age of five, he and his family moved to philadelphia, where his parents are originally from. he not only came from a liquor family, but he came from a big excite quaker family. that's interesting because his beliefs shaped his actions. he was working for the pennsylvania railroad when the civil war roque out in the spring of 1861. civil war broke out. even though he was a quaker and quakers are typically pacifists, he formed a troop that later became the 15th pennsylvania cavalry. not in spite of his religious beliefs, but because of them, he later had to account for his service in the civil war and he wrote to his quaker community of friends that if the same circumstances presented themselves again as they did in the summer of 1861, he would do the exact same thing. we have the letter he addressed to the committee of friends in which he's asked to account for his actions in the civil war. spirit you acte is the greater matter, he takes this as his mantra and believes he did th