Alfred Fattig

Alfred Fattig was an Oregon pacifist raised in the Church of the Brethren. After registering for the World War I draft, he wrote that he opposed war and then hid with his brother Charlie in the mountains of southwestern Oregon for three years rather than enter military service. He surrendered on July 26, 1920, pleaded guilty three days later, and served nine months in Multnomah County Jail. The Swarthmore College Peace Collection records him among imprisoned World War I conscientious objectors; his nephew Paul Fattig documented the brothers’ history in Madstone.

In the 2018 publisher’s preview of Madstone, family historian Paul Fattig describes the brothers’ religious opposition to the World War I draft and their Chetco River wilderness hideout. He says Alfred surrendered after three years and received nine months in federal court at Portland; Charlie surrendered a year later and received the same punishment. The years hiding were not imprisonment. The preview corroborates the imposed terms but supplies no exact reporting or release date; the later surrender and judgment chapters listed in its contents are not included in this preview. Source: https://www.hellgatepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Madstone_first_20-pages.pdf#page=15