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

“ [284] a calm evening, and the men are drawn up in the order for dress parade. At the commad, ‘parade rest,’ leaning gracefully upon their arms, they come to the position of ‘rest.’ Our good Colonel then gives the command, ‘ Attention to prayer by the chaplain-heads uncovered,’ when the chaplain, facing the regiment a few feet in front of the Colonel, offers a short, appropriate prayer. Such a scene might often have been witnessed last summer, while we were pleasantly camped near Columbus, Miss. Since that time, we have marched many a weary mile, and seen much severe service in the camp and on the bloody field. Our good Colonel fell mortally wounded in the attempt to storm Corinth, and found a soldier's grave near the memorable field. His last message to absent friends was, ‘Tell them I fell in defence of a just cause.’ We have lost other men, brave and true, and passed through various changes, but we still keep up the custom of prayer at the Sabbath evening dress parade.”

Leaving now for a time the armies of the West, let us return to those noble heroes, who, in the East, felt and rejoiced in the wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which, whether in the camp, on the march, in bivouac, or on the field of battle, marked the history of the army of Northern Virginia from this time until the close of the war.