On this day 250 years ago, Nathaniel Saunders of Orange County, Virginia was convicted in neighboring Culpeper County of unlawful preaching and sedition. Saunders was a Baptist preacher although it was against the law in Virginia and most of the colonies to conduct religious services not sanctioned by the established Church of England. Although there is no record that Saunders served in any capacity in the Revolutionary War, the members of the “Dissenting” churches such as the Baptists and especially the Presbyterians were later the backbone of the Patriot forces in Revolution. They were rebelling against both the Government of England and the Church of England. James Madison was from Orange County and was a neighbor of Saunders. Some scholars speculate that Madison’s advocacy of Freedom of Religion and Separation of Church and State stemmed at least in part from his familiarity as an idealistic 22-year old just graduated from college with the injustice of the conviction and imprisonment of Nathaniel Saunders.

Source: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2220338