William W. Bennett, A narrative of the great revival which prevailed in the Southern armies during the late Civil War

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Chapter 4: helps to the revival.

The circulation of the Word of God, and the faithful preaching of the gospel by Chaplains, and other ministers sent forth by the Churches, and the distribution of select religious literature by the hands of pious colporteurs, were the chief means of bringing about the greatest revival, in the midst of the greatest war, of modern times. There were other instrumentalities, subordinate and collateral in their relations to these, which were often successful in giving the thoughts of the soldiers a serious turn.

The loudest calls were for the Holy Scriptures, and the most earnest efforts were made to meet the demand. But owing to the stringency of the blockade, and the poor facilities in the South for printing the Bible, we were never able to put a copy into every hand that was stretched out for one. The Bible Society of the Confederate States, organized at Augusta, Ga., in March, 1862, and the State Bible Societies already in existence, labored nobly to provide for the wants of the country.

Finding that for the main supply they must rely on importations from abroad, the Confederate Bible Society directed its Corresponding Secretary, Rev. Dr. E. H. Myers, to communicate with the British and Foreign Bible Society, with the view of securing such occasional supplies as might be lucky enough to escape the dangers of the blockade and reach our ports.

Dr. Myers, after detailing the operations of the Society, said: “The proposition is simply that we be allowed a credit with your Society for the Scriptures we need-say to the value of about £ 1,000,--until such time as [47] sterling exchange is reduced to about its usual cost-we paying interest on our purchase until the debt is liquidated.”

To this letter the following noble response was sent, granting the Society three times the amount they asked, free of interest:

This venerable institution gave another illustration of the principles on which it is founded by granting to Rev. Dr. Hoge, of Virginia, who went abroad during the war to procure religious reading matter for our soldiers, 10,000 Bibles, 50,000 New Testaments, and 250,000 portions of the Scriptures, “mainly for distribution among the soldiers of the Confederate Army.”

With the portion of these grants that passed in to us through tie blockade, the New Testaments printed within our limits, and, we are happy to say, several donations from the American Bible Society-one of 20,000 Testaments to the Baptist Sunday School Board, and others through the Bible Society of the city of Memphis-our camps were kept partially supplied with the Divine Word. We say partially, for often the distribution would be limited to a single copy of the Bible or Testament for a mess of five or six men.

So urgent was the appeal from all portions of the army for more Bibles, that the people at home were called upon to send to the various depositories all the spare copies about their houses. In this way many a precious heirloom copy of the Word went forth on its [49] mission of mercy. One lady sent a beautiful pocket-Bible, with the following note:

This Bible was the property of my dear son H-, who died three years ago; it was given him by his only sister, about the time he was taken sick. For this reason I have kept it back, but seeing the earnest request in the papers, and as I can no longer read its sacred pages, after dropping a tear at parting with it, I send it for the use of the soldiers. I had given away long since all I could find about the house, and now send you this, hoping that, with God's blessing, it may save some soul.

Before the fall of Nashville, arrangements had been perfected there for printing the entire Bible. Tie Western Publishing House of the Baptist Church issued an edition in the first year of the war, and a copy was sent to President Davis, who acknowledged it in the following terms: “The Bible is a beautiful specimen of Southern workmanship, and if I live to be inaugurated the first President of the Confederacy, on the 22d of February, my lips shall press the sacred volume which your kindness has bestowed upon me.”

In all his career, as the beloved and honored President of the Confederacy, and as the victim of a long and cruel imprisonment, has this eminent Christian Statesman shown that he has been guided in his actions by the principles, and comforted in his sorrows by the promises of this blessed Book of Life.

The eager desire of our soldiers to possess the Bible is worthy of permanent record, and the war abounded with the most touching incidents illustrative of their appreciation of the holy volume.

During a skirmish some of our men were ordered to the front as sharpshooters, and directed to lie on the ground and load and fire as rapidly as possible. After a short time the ammunition of one of these men was expended. and though his position was very dangerous [50] as it was, it would have been certain death to procure a fresh supply. “In this condition,” says an eye witness, “this soldier drew from his pocket his Bible, and while the balls were whizzing about him, and cutting the grass at his side, quietly read its precious pages for a few moments, and then closed his eyes as if engaged in prayer.” This was not unlike the case of the poor little collier boy, the only son of his mother, and she a widow. A mine had fallen in, and buried a number of men with this poor youth; after several days the mine was opened and the bodies recovered. By the side of the boy was found an old tin box, on which he had scratched these words: “Dear mother, don't cry. We are singing and praying to the last, and God is down here with us.”

“ We were present not long since,” wrote an army correspondent, “when a chaplain, at the close of public service, announced that he had a prospect of being able to get a supply of Testaments for the portion of the men still destitute, and that those who wished a copy could give him their names after the benediction. Scarcely had the last words of blessing died on the minister's lips before the war-worn heroes charged on him almost as furiously as if storming the enemy's breast-works.”

Another narrates the following: “As some of the Confederate troops were marching through Fredericksburg, Va., with bristling bayonets and rumbling artillery, a fair lady appeared on the steps of a dark brown mansion, her arms filled with Testaments, which, with gracious kindness and gentle courtesy, she distributed to the passing soldiers. The eagerness with which they were received, the pressing throng, the outstretched hands, the earnest thanks, the unspoken blessings upon the giver, thus dispensing the word of Life to the armed multitude, to whom death might come at any moment-all made up a picture as beautiful as any that ever shone out amid the dark relatives of war. As a rough Texan [51] said, ‘If it was not for the ladies, God bless them, there would be no use fighting this war.’ ”

A chaplain in the army said, that during the battle of Fredericksburg, he saw many soldiers reading their Testaments with the deepest attention while lying in the trenches awaiting orders.

Such scenes were of almost daily occurrence during the progress of the war.

The amount of ministerial labor performed in the Confederate army the final day only can reveal. Many of the best ministers of the various Churches went out as chaplains, and “endured hardness as good soldiers” for the sake of immortal souls. They were instant in season and out of season; some of them fell on the battle-fields by the bullet, and not a few in the hospitals by disease, while ministering to the spiritual wants of the men who bravely fought and died. And many still survive who bear the scars of wounds, and, what is yet more honorable and comforting, the recollection of duties well performed.

But the work became too great for the regular chaplains. A great demand arose for ministerial reinforcements. Pious officers and private soldiers earnestly appealed to the Churches to send their ablest preachers “to the help of the Lord against the mighty.” That great and good man, General Jackson, in a letter to the Presbyterian General Assembly, gave the following opinion on the subject of providing adequate religious instruction for the army:

My views are summed up in few words.

Each branch of the Christian Church should send into the army some of its most prominent ministers who are distinguished for their piety, talents, and zeal, and such ministers should labor to produce concert of action among chaplains and Christians in the army. These ministers should give special attention to preaching to regiments which are without chaplains, and induce them [52] to take steps to get chaplains, to let the regiments name the denominations from which they desire chaplains selected, and then to see that suitable chaplains are secured. A bad selection of a chaplain may prove a curse instead of a blessing. If the few prominent ministers thus connected with each army would cordially cooperate, I believe that glorious fruits would be the result. Denominational distinctions should be kept out of view, and not touched, upon. And, as a general rule, I do not think that a chaplain who would preach denominational sermons should be in the army. His congregation is his regiment, and it is composed of various denominations. I would like to see no question asked in the army what denomination a chaplain belongs to, but let the question be, Does he preach the gospel? The neglect of the spiritual interests of the army may be seen from the fact that not one-half of my regiments have chaplains.

...

Among the wants of the Church in the army are some ministers of such acknowledged superiority and zeal as, under God, to be the means of giving concert of action. Our chaplains, at least in the same military organization encamped in the same neighborhood, should have their meetings, and through God's blessing devise successful plans for spiritual conquests. All the other departments of the army have system, and such system exists in any other department of the service that no one of its officers can neglect his duty without diminishing the efficiency of his branch of the service. And it appears to me that when men see what attention is bestowed secularly in comparison with what is religiously, they naturally under-estimate the importance of religion. From what I have said, you may think I am despondent; but thanks to an ever kind Providence, such is not the case. I do not know when so many men, brought together without any religious test, exhibit so much religious feeling. [53]

The striking feature is that so much that is hopeful should exist, when so little human instrumentality has been employed for its accomplishment. In civil life, ministers have regular meetings to devise means for cooperation in advancing the interests of the Church. This can be done in the army, and I am persuaded it should be. ...

Some ministers ask for leave of absence for such trivial objects, in comparison with the salvation of the soul, that I fear they give occasion to others to think that such ministers do not believe that the salvation of the soul is as important as they preach. It is the special province of the chaplains to look after the spiritual interests of the army, and I greatly desire to see them evincing a rational zeal proportional to the importance of their mission. Do not believe that I think the chaplains are the only delinquents. I do not believe, but know, that I am a great delinquent, and I design saying what I have said respecting the laxness of chaplains to apply to all of them. I would like to see each Christian denomination send one of its great lights into the army. By this arrangement I trust that if any one should have denominational feelings, that they will not be in the way of advancing a common and glorious cause.

In response to this and similar appeals, the Churches renewed their efforts on behalf of the soldiers. The army became a home mission field of the greatest fruitfulness. Evangelists, missionaries, and regular pastors whenever they could leave their charges, joined in the noble task of preaching Christ to the struggling sons of the South. The religious wants of the army, and the best methods for supplying them, were among the chief topics of discussion in all the large Church assemblies. There were but few, if any indeed, that drew back from this hard but blessed toil. When we remember, then, that no Christian Church in the South failed to do its [54] part in the great work of army evangelization, we may form some adequate estimate of the amount of moral influence brought to bear on the soldiers by means of the preached Word. And these good men endured cheerfully all the hardships of the soldier's life. In all seasons they toiled for souls; and glorious was their reward. By thousands the men of war rushed to the standard of the Cross, and joyfully embraced the hope of salvation. I-e who did his work in the army faithfully found the position of an evangelist, a missionary, or a chaplain, no sinecure. There was ample work for all in this grand mission field.

Rev. Dr. Stiles, of the Presbyterian Church, one of the most eloquent and able ministers in America, who gave himself when above seventy years of age as an Evangelist to the army work with an apostolic fervor and zeal, gives us the following sketch of the work of a faithful chaplain:

These men not only give themselves laboriously to the ordinary duties of the Christian ministry in their peculiar position, but their earnest love of Christ, and the soldiers' life prompts them to a course of extraordinary self-denying service, admirably adapted to revive and extend the interests of the Christian Church in the army.

They form camp churches of all the Christians of every denomination in their regiments. The members are expected to practice all the duties of brotherly love, Christian watchfulness, and Christian discipline. Indeed, they are taught to feel themselves under every obligation of strict membership. The chaplain writes to every minister or church, with which the member may have been connected, or the young convert desires to be united, and, giving the name of the person, solicits the prayers of the said church, both for the individual and the whole camp church, and by correspondence keeps them apprised of the walk and history of the party. [55] These chaplains keep a minute record, not only of the names of the whole regiment, but of all that may assist them either to save the sinner or sanctify the believer. Some of them have ten or twelve columns opposite the names of the different companies of the regiment, so headed as to supply all that personal knowledge of the party which might be serviceable in promoting their spiritual welfare. These columns they fill up gradually with such intelligence as they may be able to obtain in their pastoral visitations-when sick, wounded, or slain; when awakened, convicted, converted-all important information is conveyed by the chaplain to the family and the church. These things must necessarily follow-the work of the faithful chaplain is most laborious; he is held in the very highest and warmest estimation by every man in the regiment, saint and sinner. He possesses a power to sanctify and save them which nothing but earnest and hard-working devotion could finally secure.

Working in harmony with these grand instrumentalities, there were other subordinate influences which are well worthy of notice.

The part borne by the noble and pious women of the South in our war is eminently worthy of permanent record. They were the angels of mercy that moved among the sick and dying and turned their thoughts to God and heaven. In the early part of the conflict, before the government had fully organized the Commissariat of the Army, their nimble fingers made up the clothing for nearly all our soldiers. All over the South, matron and maid vied with each other in these glad toils. And with clothing they sent every article that could contribute to the comfort of the troops. Their beds were stripped of blankets and quilts, their pianos of india-rubber covers, their floors of carpets, to shelter their brave defenders from the rigors of winter. Often the costliest jewelry and plate were sold to buy supplies for the army,--and [56] nothing was deemed too valuable to be devoted to the cause which was freighted with all their hopes. Their children were given as freely as their money. A more than Spartan, a Christian heroism glowed in their hearts and brightened all their deeds. Without repining, even with cheerfulness, they bore all the hardships of the war, and amid want and woe, doubt and disaster, cheered on their husbands, sons and fathers in the path of duty.

When in the progress of the war those places of rest and refreshment for the weary and hungry soldier sprang up, the wayside hospitals, the wives and daughters of the South were their presiding geniuses. The white, smooth pillow, the clean bed, the well-swept floor, the tempting food to suit the sick soldier's appetite, were all their handy-work. They met him at the door, and often with their own hands relieved him of the heavy knapsack and the soiled white cotton haversack in which he carried his cold corn dodger and uncooked pork, and sent him to some quiet bed where he lay down thanking God for the angels that had met him in his journey.

These welcome resting-places, and the scenes that daily occurred in them, are thus described by a lady, one of the most gifted women of the South, who soothed the sorrows of many a sick and wounded soldier:

These wayside hospitals are located, generally, at the depot of some railroad, where the sick and wounded soldier immediately as he leaves the cars, exhausted, weary and faint, finds a grateful shelter, where surgical aid, refreshments and attention, are immediately tendered him. These institutions are generally supported entirely by voluntary contributions, and refreshing and delightful is it to see the unstinted supplies coming daily in and always equalling the demand. Much faith and prayer have been put in exercise for these tarrying-places for the war-worn soldier, so that their “bread and water” has never yet failed; nor do we believe they ever [57] shall, while the people of a covenant-keeping God claim his exceeding great and precious promises.

There are many cases of pathetic interest to be met with at these hospitals. One I will relate, as an incitement to early piety, and as another testimony to the power of our holy religion:

After I had ministered to several of the wounded, I drew near the couch of one whose case was considered one of the worst there, but who appeared, since his wounds had been dressed and refreshments administered to him, much relieved. After conversing some time with him, he asked my name. I told him, and that I was the wife of the gentleman who had just been giving him his breakfast-(for he had to be fed as an infant). I told him, moreover, that the gentleman was a preacher — a Methodist preacher. “I am a member of the Methodist Church,” said he, “and would he be kind enough to pray for me now, for I have not heard the voice of prayer for many months.”

After the prayer was ended, the subject of religion continued to be our theme. He said he was quite resigned to God's will concerning him, and that he was not afraid to die; and while dwelling on the goodness of God, his countenance assumed that serene and beautiful expression, indicative of peace within and joy in the Holy Ghost. Well was it for him that he had strength from on high, and that the everlasting arms of God's love were his support, for in a few hours from the time we conversed together it was found amputation of his arm would be necessary, from which he suffered excruciatingly until death came to his relief. But all the time of his mortal agony his faith remained firm and unshaken, and he pillowed his sinking head on the bosom of Jesus, and “breathed his life out sweetly there,” while to all around, witnessing a good confession of Christ's power to save, to the uttermost, all those that put their trust in him.

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Not only in these, but in the regular hospitals our women showed themselves the dearest earthly friends of the soldier. Some of the best appointed hospitals were under their charge, and the success which attended their efforts to heal the sick drew unwilling praises from those officials who regarded such work as beyond the sphere of womanly duties

It is a pleasing task to present the reader with a view of Southern women among the sick, wounded and dying, ministering at the same time to the body and the soul. Scenes like the following were witnessed all over the South:

At Richmond, Va., there was a little model hospital known as “The Samaritan,” presided over by a lady who gave it her undivided attention, and greatly endeared herself to the soldiers who were fortunate enough to be sent there. “Through my son, a young soldier of eighteen,” writes a father,

I have become acquainted with this lady superintendent, whose memory will live in many hearts when our present struggle shall have ended. But for her motherly care and skillful attention, my son, and many others, must have died. One case of her attention deserves special notice: A young man, who had been previously with her, was taken sick in camp near Richmond. The surgeon being absent, he lay for two weeks in his tent without medical attention. She sent several requests to his Captain to send him to her, but he would not in the absence of the surgeon. She then hired a wagon, and went for him herself; the Captain allowed her to take him away, and he was soon convalescent. She says she feels that not their bodies only, but their souls, are committed to her charge. Thus, as soon as they are comfortably fixed in a good, clean bed, she inquires of every one if he has chosen the good part; and through her instruction and prayers several have been converted.

Her house can easily accommodate twenty, all in one [59] room, which is made comfortable in winter with carpet and stove, and adorned with wreaths of evergreen paper flowers; and in summer well-ventilated, and the windows and yard filled with greenhouse plants. A library of religious books is in the room, and pictures are hung all round the walls. Attached is a dining-room for the convalescent patients, supplied by private families, except the tea and coffee, which are made in the room; and there is also a dressing-room where they keep their knapsacks, &c. The rooms are kept in order by the convalescents, who serve under her direction, and learn to love their respective duties. The sick are supplied with every thing that can make them comfortable. Morning and evening services are held, consisting of reading the Scriptures, singing and prayer; and she is her own chaplain, except when she can procure a substitute. Thus has she been engaged since April 1861, with uninterrupted health and unparalleled success, making soldiers, and mothers, and wives glad, and heaven rejoice over repenting sinners.

Here is another sketch of a soldier's friend, who labored in some of our largest hospitals:

She is a character

--writes a soldier-

a Napoleon of her department; with the firmness and courage of Andrew, she possesses all the energy and independence of Stonewall Jackson. The officials hate her; the soldiers adore her. The former name her “ The Great Eastern,” and steer wide of her track; the latter go to her in all their wants and troubles, and know her by the name of “Miss Sally.” She joined the army in one of the regiments from Alabama, about the time of the battle of Manassas, and never shrunk from the stern privations of the soldier's life from the moment of leaving camp to follow her wounded and sick Alabamians to the hospitals of Richmond. Her services are not confined, however, to the sick and wounded from Alabama. Every sick soldier has now a claim on her sympathy. While but yesterday, [60] my system having succumbed to the prevailing malaria of the hospital, she came to my room, though a stranger, with my ward nurse, and in the kindest manner offered me her services, and soon after leaving returned to present me a pillow of feathers, with case as tidy as the driven snow. The very light of it was soothing to an aching brow, and I blessed her from my heart and lips as well. I must not omit to tell why “Miss Sally” is so disliked by many of the officials. Like all women of energy, she has eyes whose penetration few things escape, and a sagacity fearful or admirable, as the case may be, to all interested. If any abuse is pending, or in progress in the hospital, she is quickly on the track, and if not abated, off “The great Eastern” sails to headquarters. A few days ago, one of the officials of this division sent a soldier to inform her that she must vacate her room instantly. “Who sent you with that message to me?” she asked him, turning suddenly around. “Dr.--” the soldier answered. “Pish!” she replied, and swept on in ineffable contempt to the bedside perhaps of some sick soldier.

She always has plenty of money to expend in her charitable enterprises, and when not attending in the wards, or at the cooking stove, dresses with care in the neatest black silk. Such a woman merits an honorable fame.

A lady, writing from the hospital at Culpeper Courthouse, says:

I have lost four of my patients. Three of them died rejoicing in Jesus. They were intelligent, noble, godly young men. One from Virginia said to me as he was dying, “Sing me a hymn.” I repeated, “Jesus, lover of my soul.” He remarked, “Where else but in Jesus can a poor sinner trust?” Just as he passed away, he looked up and said, “ Heaven is so sweet to me;” and to the presence of Jesus he went.

Another from South Carolina seemed very happy, and sung with great delight, “ Happy day, when Jesus washed [61] my sins away.” Young B., of Virginia, was resigned, and even rejoiced at the near prospect of death. He repeated the line, “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord.” His end was peace.

One of these young men had determined to enter the Christian ministry.

While many engaged in these works of mercy in the hospitals, others toiled at home as earnestly for the benefit of the soldiers, who were supplied with socks and gloves almost wholly by the busy fingers of their sisters, wives and mothers. And when these welcome contributions arrived in camp, what blessings were invoked on our fair benefactors!

The scene described by Rev. Mr. Crumley, as he distributed among the soldiers, after one of the Maryland campaigns, the supplies sent forward by the Georgia Relief Association, one of the noblest institutions of the war, is truthful and touching:

After leaving Warrenton, I visited the wounded in private houses around the battle-field, where I very narrowly escaped being taken prisoner by the Yankees. In Winchester I found thousands of the wounded from Maryland crowding into churches, hotels, private houses, and tents, in every imaginable state of suffering and destitution. Though kind words and prayers are good and cheering to the suffering, they could not relieve the terrible destitution. At length my anxious suspense was relieved by the coming of Mr. Selkirk, Dr. Camak, and Rev. Mr. Potter, bringing supplies from the Georgia Relief and Hospital Association, which were in advance of anything from the Government. Their coming was clothing to the naked, medicine to the sick, and life to the dying.

Could that little girl have been with us as we distributes the gifts of the Association, and have seen the pleasure with which the heroic youth, who had made the Maryland campaign barefooted, drew on his rough and [62] bruised feet the soft socks which she knit, no doubt she would knit another pair. Could that young lady have seen the grateful expression upon the face of that noble warrior, as, with lips parched with fever, he sipped the wine, or tasted the pickles her hands had prepared, whispering, ‘God bless the ladies of Georgia;’ or that other, as he exchanged his soiled and blood-stained garments for those sent by the Association, ejaculating, ‘Yes, we will suffer and die, if need be, in defence of such noble women’ --fresh vigor would have been added to her zeal in providing comforts for our suffering ‘braves.’ How much more comfortable and sweet would have been the slumber of that mother could she have seen her ‘patriot boy,’ who had lain upon the bare ground, warmly wrapped in the coverlet or carpet blanket she had sent for the suffering soldiers.

It is a well-known fact that the wife of our illustrious leader, Robert Edward Lee, though a cripple, unable to walk by reason of disease, constantly employed her time during a great part of the war in making gloves and knitting socks for our soldiers.

Imagine the scene when they were distributed among her husband's veterans.

Our women never grew weary in well-doing. How often were they seen passing along the lines as the troops waited at some railroad station, superintending the servants who had been sent by them loaded with good things for “our dear soldiers.” And when trains filled with men paused but a few moments, they were often found ready with refreshments.

The following scene at a village in Georgia was repeated daily along the lines of railroad throughout the South:

At Greensboro there were no ‘little fellows’ or ‘aunties’ popping into the cars or crying at the windows ‘wish to buy some fruit,’ etc.; but there were ladies-old and young-standing in the hot sun, little boys, servants and [63] gentlemen-young and old, many of them with baskets, pitchers, etc. You would think that this was a regular vending shop, but not so; the cars stop; you hear some soft voice from without, saying, ‘Any soldiers aboard?’ another (bless these young ladies), ‘Any sick soldiers aboard?’ Some one answers affirmatively, probably a soldier with his head out at some window, moved by the inquiry for soldiers. ‘Will you have some milk, some fruit, some bread, some meat?’ In comes a servant with a pitcher of nice, fresh milk, and another with bread and meats, and a little boy with fruit. Thus all the time the cars are stopped at Greensboro the soldiers are helped bountifully. Ever and anon you can hear one of them exclaim, ‘ These are the cleverest people I have met with in a long time.’ I have been told that this is an every day business with the good citizens of Greensboro. The writer has passed there four times recently, and found it so every time. These people feel for their soldiers.

There is something in the following scene to touch the heart and moisten the eye:

After the battle of Sharpsburg we passed over a line of railroad in Central Georgia. The disabled soldiers from Gen. Lee's army were returning to their homes. At every station the wives and daughters of the farmers came on the cars and distributed food and wines and bandages among the sick and wounded. We shall never forget how very like an angel was a little girl; how blushingly and modestly she went to a great rude bearded soldier, who had carved a crutch from a rough plank to replace a lost leg; how this little girl asked him if he was hungry, and how he ate like a famished wolf. She asked if his wound was painful, and in a voice of soft, mellow accents, ‘ Can I do nothing more for you? I am sorry that you are so badly hurt; have you a little daughter, and won't she cry when she sees you?’ The rude soldier's heart was touched, and tears of love and gratitude filled his eyes. He only answered, ‘I have three [64] little children. God grant they may be such angels as you.’ With an evident effort he repressed a desire to kiss the fair brow of the pretty little girl. I-e took her little hand between both his own and bade her ‘good-bye, God bless you.’ The child will always be a better woman because of these lessons of practical charity stamped ineffaceably upon her young heart.

There was a moral grandeur in the following scene that might well stir the heart of a true soldier to its utmost depths:

As we were on our way to Manassas on the 19th of July, 1861,

said an officer of the Virginia troops, “on a crowded train of flats, the people along the route of the Manassas Gap railroad turned out in large bodies, bringing baskets full of provisions and luxuries for the soldiers. Everybody was full of joy, and we rushed on to the battle with railroad speed, amid the waving of handkerchiefs and the loud huzzahs of a loyal people-little thinking that many of the hearts that beat high for praise would ‘soon feel that pulse no more.’ Not far from one of the depots, which we had just left in great glee, on an eminence near by the road, there stood a lady of more than womanly stature, but of womanly face, with hands uplifted and eyes upturned to heaven in reverential prayer for us and our country. And there she stood with outstretched arms until the train carried us out of sight. I thought of Miriam the prophetess-only the hands of the one were lifted in praise, of the other in prayer to God. I never shall forget that scene, and the deep impression it made upon all. The shout of reckless joy was turned into serious thought, and blessed, I believe, was the influence of that sight on many a brave heart.”

The women of the South were faithful and eminently successful co-laborers in the army revival.

There was another instrumentality worthy of our notice. This was the influence of letters from home on [65] the minds of the soldiers. In camp or bivouac, on the march or in battle, the thoughts of the soldier wandered back to his home. It seemed doubly dear to him when absent, and every line sent by the loved ones there was read over and over, often with tear-dimmed eyes, and then carefully put away as a precious treasure. These secret and powerful appeals turned the feet of many a wanderer into the way of life, recalled many a backslider to his duty, and stimulated many a wavering believer to endure “hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

This home correspondence was as successful in leading thousands to the Lamb of God as it was in the case of the noble soldier who said in a letter to his honored Christian mother:

I will here state to you what I never have written home to E- , of the thoughts that have most affected my mind, and I hope and trust in God that the same thoughts and reflections have changed my manner of life. E — has doubtless shown you what I call my farewell letters to my children, as well as the one to her. The letters were written to my children while I was at Richmond, Va. The advice I thought and still think was good, but alas, where does that advice come from. It is from the best friend my children have upon earth, a father; yes, a father, who says: ‘My children, read your Bibles, abstain from bad company and bad habits, the lusts of the flesh and vanities of a wicked world, but who says at the same time by his own conduct and example, Come along children-taking them, as it were, by the hand — I will lead you down to hell; yes, I was leading them by my example as directly to hell as I possibly could. Oh, the horrible thought of being the means of damning the souls of my children! Conviction seized upon me, and then and there, on the — th of June, I resolved, if God would spare my life, that I would reform my habits of life; or if he would permit me to return [66] home, that I would set a different example before my children. I have prayed that he would, and that I might keep my resolution to the day of my death. I wrote you a letter on the same day, while my eyes were still wet with tears. I asked your prayers in my behalf; I know you have prayed for me. Can God in justice forgive me? I pray he may, I know my children will; may God bless them and help them to do so, and save them from following my bad example, at the same time to take my good advice and carry it out, that they may be saved from that awful hell to which I was leading them.’

Letters from the camp were regarded as precious treasures by the fathers and mothers of the brave boys who had gone to the war. The scene so graphically described below was almost daily repeated throughout the Confederacy:

I went to a neighbor's some time ago to buy chickens and meat, for I am a new comer in the settlement, and didn't fill my smokehouse at the right time. The man was making a split basket before the door, and his wife was spinning, as nearly every wife in the country is. They were old people, except a hireling boy, alone on their farm. Their three sons went to war last spring. I had not been long in the house before the old lady brought out the last letter from the son before Richmond and put it into my hand, just as you would offer the morning paper to a guest at your office or house. I was at another house where a neighbor called in, and without preliminary said: ‘Fetch that letter here you got from the post-office Thursday.’ The letter was brought and read to us all, from beginning to end. Every letter, after being opened and read by those to whom it is addressed, seems to be common property. Though roughly written and spelled, some of them are vastly entertaining and informing, and there are touches of the heart toward the close, at which the mother or wife of the writer, who listens for the twentieth time to the reading C66 [67] with unabated interest, will bring the corner of her apron to her eyes.

The influence of devout Christian officers was powerful for good in our armies. We had, it is true, many reckless, unprincipled, and abandoned men, who were leaders in sin. But there were others, and not a few, who combined an humble piety with the most exalted patriotism. Many of these brought their religion with them into the army, and many others were the happy subjects of the great revival. General Lee attached his men to him not less by his goodness of heart and his deep-toned, unobtrusive piety, than by his skill and courage as a warrior-he was to them the model of a Christian soldier. Cal the influence of General Jackson over his men ever be fully estimated? And was not this in a great measure owing to the depth and power of his religion? Said a soldier after the battle of Cross Keys: “I saw something to-day which affected me more than anything I ever saw or read on religion. While the battle was raging and the bullets were flying, Jackson rode by, calm as if he were at home, but his head was raised toward heaven, and his lips were moving evidently in prayer.” Meeting a chaplain near the front in the heat of a battle, the General said to him, “The rear is your place, sir, now, and prayer your business.” He said to a Colonel who wanted worship, “All right, Colonel, but don't forget to drill.”

An incident of Jackson is related by one of his staff. Entering the General's room at midnight, Major found him at prayer. After half an hour the Major stepped to the door and asked of the Aid if he did not think the General had fallen asleep on his knees from excessive fatigue. “0 no, you know the General is an Old Presbyterian, and they all make long prayers.” The Major returned, and after waiting an hour the General rose from his knees.

A writer says:

General Jackson never enters a battle [68] without invoking God's blessing and protection. The dependence of this strange man upon the Deity seems never to be absent from his mind, and whatever he says or does, it is always prefaced “by God's blessing.” “By God's blessing we have defeated the enemy,” is his laconic and pious announcement of a victory. One of his officers said to him, “ Well, General, another candidate is awaiting your attention.” “So I observe,” was the quiet reply, “and by God's blessing he shall receive it to his full satisfaction.”

After a battle has been fought the same rigid remembrance of divine power is observed. The army is drawn up in line, the General dismounts his horse, and then, in the presence of his rough, bronzed-faced troops, with heads uncovered and bent awe-stricken to the ground, the voice of the good man, which but a few hours before was ringing out in quick and fiery intonations, is now heard subdued and calm, as if overcome by the presence of the Supreme Being, in holy appeal to the “sapphire throne.”

Few such spectacles have been witnessed in modern times, and it is needless to add that few such examples have ever told with more wondrous power upon the hearts of men. Is it surprising that Stonewall Jackson is invincible, and that he can lead his army to certain victory, whenever God's blessing precedes the act?

All the armies of the Confederacy were more or less blessed with pious Generals, who strove to lead their soldiers to the cross of Christ. General Gordon, writing from the Army in Virginia, urged the ministers of the Churches to come out into the camps. “The few missionaries we have,” he says, “are not preaching, it is true, in magnificent temples, or from gorgeous pulpits, on Sabbath days to empty benches, but daily, in the great temple of nature, and at night by heaven's chandeliers, to audiences of from 1,000 to 2,000 men anxious to hear of the way of life.” [69]

A writer, speaking of the religious influence in the Army of Tennessee, says: “General Cleburne, the hero of many battle-fields, had a place prepared for preaching in the centre of his Division, where himself and most of his officers were present, and where I was assisted by General Lowry, who sat in the pulpit with me and closed the services of the hour with prayer. He is a Baptist preacher, and, like the commander of the Division, is a hero of many well-fought battle-fields. He takes great interest in the soldiers' religious welfare, often preaches to them, and feels that the ministry is still his high and holy calling.”

Generals Findly, Bickler, Stewart, with others of the same army, were pious and devoted Christian officers, and gave much assistance to the chaplains and missionaries in the revival that swept so gloriously through the armies in the West. They recommended religion to their soldiers by precept and example.

But these men were Generals, and their contact with the soldiers was not so close as that of inferior officers. In the companies and regiments the work of pious officers was most effectually done. We select a few out of the many illustrative incidents that crowd upon us:

In General Lee's army there was a captain who made a profession of religion. As soon as he found peace, he called his company together and told them that they had always followed where he had led them, that he wished to know whether they were willing to follow him to the feet of Jesus and walk with him in the paths of righteousness. All, without a single exception, manifested a desire to follow the example of their leader.

“There was another company whose captain was a wicked man. He exerted a bad influence over his men. He was openly profane, and never attended religious services. In these days the company was known as one of the most wicked in the regiment. Months rolled away, and another man was appointed to the command. [70] He was a consistent Christian, and a man of earnest, deep-toned piety. He sought to carry his men to church, and in the prayer-meeting strove to lead them to the throne of grace. He showed that he cared for their spiritual as well as their physical interests. Now, mark the change. In that company, once noted for wickedness, prayer-meetings were held every night. Among its members are some active, energetic Christians, and some happy converts have been made there. How responsible the position of an officer!”

Thousands of such men, quiet, unobtrusive, devout, happy Christians, labored with a success in winning souls to the Saviour which eternity alone can reveal. Many of them sleep in their lonely graves on the fields where they prayed and fought and fell; others survive, and, among their comrades in arms and their brethren in Christ, are still fighting for the victory that shall give them the crown of life and an abundant entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem.