The Civil War proved to be perhaps the most important and trying time in the history of the United States. It tested the will of individuals to preserve their ideals as well as the resolve of a nation to maintain them. As with the rest of the nation during the Civil War, New Hope saw its share of fighting. Unlike the battlefields of Gettysburg and Antietam, however, the battles in New Hope were fought with words rather than weapons. From the numerous militia regiments raised in New Hope and the surrounding region to the public condemnation of Republican governor candidates, Unionist activities, and even the actions of the president himself, New Hope was a place of heated contention, with neighbors arguing over patriotic duty and secessionist merit. As with most wars, some of the most violent and embittered fighting did not take place in solitary fields among great armies but in the small towns across the nation between impassioned individuals.