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

[256] or exhortation was no uncommon sight. At Camp Winder, another large hospital near the city, there was a happy and saving religious influence, though the revival was not so general as at Chirnborazo. It was the privilege of the writer to conduct a sacramental meeting in this hospital, at which devout soldiers, forgetful of all differences in creeds, knelt side by side in commemorating the Saviour's death. It was an inspiring and melting scene. The simple and earnest words of the sick soldiers as they lay on their hard, narrow beds, or gathered in groups at the sunny corners of their quarters, could not fail to touch the heart, and not seldom the hearer and narrator mingled their tears and rejoiced together in Christ.

Said a poor fellow, who was suffering greatly from two painful wounds,!! “When I was at home, I was wild and wicked, but since I have been in the army, I have tried to change my life, and since I have been wounded I have been able to trust my soul in the hands of God, and I feel that if he should call me to die, all will be well.” He spoke with deep feeling, and the big tears filled his eyes and rolled down his pale face. Another from Georgia, who was dying of his wounds far away from home and friends, gave a like testimony, and, with tears of joy, praised God in full hope of heaven. Whether dying in hospital or on the battle-field, the testimony of the Christian soldier was the same. When Lieutenant E. P. Miller, of company K, 17th Mississippi regiment, lay dying on the field of Fredericksburg, the message he sent home was, “Tell my father and mother not to grieve for me, for I am going to a better world than this.” When Capt. John F. Vinson, of Georgia, fell in the service of his country, his last words were, “All is well-my way is clear — not a cloud intervenes.” Francis M. Bobo, of Spartanburg, S. C., exclaimed when dying, “I would not take ten thousand worlds for my prospect of heaven.” “If I die in the hospital or fall in battle,”