author

W. M. (William M.) Leftwich

Best known for a vivid post–Civil War account of religious conflict in Missouri, this Methodist minister wrote with the urgency of someone who had lived close to the events. His surviving work offers both a historical record and a fiercely personal perspective.

1 Audiobook

Martyrdom in Missouri, Volume 1 (of 2) : $b A history of religious proscription, the seizure of churches, and the persecution of ministers of the Gospel, in the state of Missouri during the late Civil War, and under the "Test Oath" of the new Constitution.

Martyrdom in Missouri, Volume 1 (of 2) : $b A history of religious proscription, the seizure of churches, and the persecution of ministers of the Gospel, in the state of Missouri during the late Civil War, and under the "Test Oath" of the new Constitution.

by W. M. (William M.) Leftwich

About the author

William M. Leftwich—often listed as W. M. Leftwich—was a 19th-century Methodist minister and author. Library and catalog records identify him as the author of Martyrdom in Missouri (1870), a detailed history of the seizure of churches and the persecution of ministers in Missouri during and after the Civil War.

Archival material at the University of Kentucky describes him as Reverend William M. Leftwich and notes a diary from 1866 documenting his life and religious work in St. Joseph, Missouri. That helps place him not just as a writer looking back on events, but as a clergyman actively working in the region during a tense and divided period.

The readily confirmed record for Leftwich is fairly limited, and many personal details are hard to verify from reliable online sources. Even so, the work that remains shows a writer deeply engaged with questions of faith, hardship, and public memory in the Reconstruction-era border states.