 Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, her brother enlisted in the Union Army, and soon after the battle of Shiloh, in which he fought, died of disease brought on by the hardships and exposure of a soldier's life.His death was succeeded by that of the older sister, a few months later.Emma's husband, throughout the war years, had been very outspoken in his denunciation of the secession project and all those favoring it, thus making enemies of certain secret sympathizers in the neighborhood.