This thesis contrasts Henry B. Cromwell and Major James Cromwell who were two Quaker brothers from Cornwall, New York. They lived during the Civil War but chose decidedly different paths in how they confronted that war. Henry was a successful businessman in the coastwise steamship industry, and his business was tied strongly to the southern economy. Major Cromwell volunteered twice to serve in the Union Army and was finally killed at Gettysburg. Their story represents the dichotomous nature of the northern home front and helps demonstrate how the battlefield related to that home front in a way that is often unexplored.