Chapter 10: revivals in the Lower Valley and around Fredericksburg.
Even the brief season of comparative quiet which we enjoyed in the Lower Valley of Virginia, after our return from the first Maryland campaign, developed very decided indications of revivals in a number of the brigades. So far as I have been able to learn, the first revival of much interest which occurred in the army at this time was in Trimble's Brigade, and especially in the Twelfth and Forty-fourth Georgia Regiments. Rev. A. M. Marshall, who had been a gallant private in the Twelfth Georgia, had been a short time before commissioned chaplain in his regiment, and, like other chaplains promoted from the ranks, proved himself as faithful in the chaplaincy as he had been as a soldier, and as he has been as a pastor since the war. As soon as the army went into camp, near Bunker Hill, in the Lower Valley of Virginia, Mr. Marshall began a series of special services, which at once developed decided interest. He called Rev. James Nelson, of the Forty-fourth Virginia, and myself to his aid, and was especially fortunate in having Dr. Joseph C. Stiles, who was then preaching in Lawton's Georgia Brigade, to preach for him once every day. Large crowds attended the meetings, numbers presented themselves for prayer, there were a number of professions of conversion, and the work had developed into a revival of increasing power, when it was interrupted by the active campaign which culminated in the great victory of First Fredericksburg. Dr. Stiles thus wrote of his labors at this time:At his earnest request, I preached to General Pryor's Brigade last Sabbath. Upon one hour's notice, he marched up 1,500 men, who listened with so much interest to a long sermon that I was not surprised to hear of such a beginning of religious interest in various regiments of the brigade as issued in a half-way promise on my part to fall in with the proposal of the general to [284] preach very early to his soldiers for a succession of nights. In General Lawton's Brigade there is a more decided state of religious excitement. The great body of the soldiers in some of the regiments meet for prayer and exhortation every night, exhibit the deepest solemnity, and present themselves numerously for the prayers of the chaplains and the Church. Quite a number express hope in Christ. In all other portions of Early's Division a similar religious sensibility prevails. In General Trimble's, and the immediately neighboring brigades, there is in progress, at this hour, one of the most glorious revivals I ever witnessed. Some days ago a young chaplain took a long ride to solicit my co-operation, stating that a promising seriousness had sprung up within their diocese. I have now been with him three days and nights, preaching and laboring constantly with the soldiers when not on drill. The audiences and the interest have grown to glorious dimensions. It would rejoice you over-deeply to glance for one instant on our night-meeting in the wildwoods, under a full moon, aided by the light of our side-stands. You would behold a mass of men seated on the earth all around you (I was going to say for the space of half an acre), fringed in all its circumference by a line of standing officers and soldiers—two or three deep—all exhibiting the most solemn and respectful earnestness that a Christian assembly ever displayed. An officer said to me, last night, on returning from worship, he never had witnessed such a scene, though a Presbyterian elder; especially such an abiding solemnity and delight in the services as prevented all whisperings in the outskirts, leaving of the congregation, or restless change of position. I suppose at the close of the service we had about sixty or seventy men and officers come forward and publicly solicit an interest in our prayers, and there may have been as many more who, from the press, could not reach the stand. I have already conversed with quite a number, who seem to give pleasant evidence of return to God, and all things seem to be rapidly developing for the best. The officers, especially Generals Jackson and Early, have modified military rules for our accommodation. I have just learned that General A. P. Hill's Division enjoys as rich a dispensation of God's Spirit as General Early's. In General Pickett's Division, also, there are said to be revivals of religion.[285] I give also the closing part of one of my own letters to the Religious Herald, written at this time:
Captain Thos. J. Kirkpatrick writes, from the Army of the Potomac, to the Central Presbyterian, that within three weeks between forty and fifty members of his company have been hopefully converted, and that out of the whole number in it (115), there is hardly a single man who is not a professor of faith in Jesus, or in some degree an inquirer for the way of life. He states also that ‘some seventeen have been baptized, not into communion with any particular denomination, but with Christ's people.’ The revival alluded to by Captain Kirkpatrick was one of the most powerful enjoyed in the army at this time. The meetings were conducted by Rev. Hugh Roy Scott, an Episcopal clergyman of King George county, who described the work of grace in a tract which was published by the ‘Evangelical Tract Society,’ of Petersburg, and which contains so many details of interest that I insert it in full, as follows:
Camp Nineveh.
By Rev. Hugh Roy Scott.
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Zech. IV. 6.During the month of October, 1862, it was my privilege to witness one of the most remarkable spiritual awakenings that has ever occurred in this country. I joined our army near Winchester, just as it returned from Maryland, after the battle of Sharpsburg, for the purpose of spending a few weeks with friends, and to avail myself of an opportunity to preach the Gospel to our soldiers. For four months our brave troops had been marching and fighting. About one dozen terrible battles had been fought, and several hundred miles of wearisome marching, under a burning summer's sun, had been endured. During this period nearly all religious services had been necessarily suspended. But their minds had been most forcibly turned to the subject by the many sad scenes through which they had passed. They had seen field after field strewn with their dead and dying comrades. This, and the uncertainty [287] of the future to themselves, produced a serious, thoughtful frame of mind, which pervaded nearly the whole army. Nearly all seemed disposed to converse on the subject of religion, and freely admitted that it was a matter of the deepest importance. On the 4th day of October, the reserved artillery, under command of Brigadier-General Pendleton, moved to Camp Nineveh, about twelve miles from Winchester, on the road to Front Royal. Here they halted for four weeks, in one of the most beautiful regions of the State. Besides the natural beauties of the place, it was rendered more attractive to us from the fact of General Muhlenburg, of the Revolutionary War, having officiated as a clergyman in a church in the immediate vicinity. On the first evening after our arrival here, I held the first of a series of services, that were kept up, when the weather permitted it, every evening during the stay of the army in this region. These services were held after dark, in the open air, around a blazing camp-fire. They commenced always with singing, which quickly attracted a congregation, and were followed by prayer, and a plain, practical sermon, in which the great doctrines of justification by faith, evangelical repentance, and the new birth were set forth in the simplest language. When the sermon closed, after singing and prayer, generally an earnest exhortation was made by Captain K——, a man who, while most efficiently discharging the duties of a soldier of his country, has never forgotten that he is a soldier of Christ. From the beginning of these services it was evident that God's Spirit was working in many hearts. The men listened with the deepest attention, and seemed very reluctant to leave the ground when the benediction was pronounced-sometimes spending hours in singing hymns, and earnest religious conversation. On one of these occasions Captain K——went to them and said: “What a blessed thing it would be, if all of you who are here present could agree to give yourselves to God from this hour.” And after an earnest exhortation to flee at once to Jesus for righteousness, sanctification and redemption, he asked them what their views were on the great subject; and, to his surprise, six out of seven who were sitting together declared their determination to seek at once an interest in the atoning blood of Jesus. This was the beginning of the great and glorious work of grace that followed. Every night a deeper and deeper anxiety [288] was manifested. There was little or no excitement, and no extraordinary means to promote deep feeling were resorted to. The Spirit of God went with the preached word and earnest, pointed conversation, and the heads of many of the most hardened sinners were bowed down, as “they became convicted of sin, of righteousness, and of a judgment to come.” A deeper sense of sin, or more childlike faith, I have never seen manifested. Another striking characteristic was the eagerness which was manifested by all for the sincere milk of the word. The Bible was the book to which they continually resorted; and those who had tasted of the love of Christ showed the greatest eagerness to lead others to the same precious fountain. After the services had been continued for a week, a number of the young converts manifested a desire to dedicate themselves to the Lord in baptism. And, though the weather was inclement, it was thought advisable not to postpone the service, as it then seemed probable that the army would move speedily. The service was one of the most solemn and deeply interesting I ever witnessed. The six soldiers to be baptized stood in a line near the blazing camp-fire, surrounded by a large congregation of attentive and interested spectators. The deep darkness of the night, and slight fall of rain, added much to the solemnity of the occasion. Among the six soldiers who came forward to enlist under the banner of the great Captain of their salvation there was a great variety of character. The first was a poor, weak man, who had given much trouble to the officers of his company; the next, a man of remarkable bravery, had been one of the most notorious sinners in the company. His evidence of conversion was strikingly clear. His sorrow for sin was very deep, and his faith simple and ardent. Then came forward one who had been regarded as one of the most unpromising men in his company— whose previous life had been anything else than religious. He seemed now to be thoroughly in earnest, and manifested the spirit of a genuine penitent. The next was an amiable and moral young man, who had been long seeking the Saviour. The last two were among the bravest and best men in the army. Having nobly struggled as good soldiers of their country, they came forward to enlist zealously in the service of their Redeemer. When these six were baptized, a very interesting youth, who [289] had been deeply concerned for several days, expressed a desire to follow their example. He said he felt himself to be a guilty, helpless sinner, but he had given his soul to Jesus to be His forever, and desired at once to enlist as His soldier. Believing him to be a genuine convert, we at once administered to him the ordinance of baptism. This was an evening never to be forgotten by any who were present. The Holy Spirit was evidently with us, working with power in many hearts; and Jesus was also there, manifesting His power and willingness to save. Besides the little band of seven who put on the Christian armor, there were many hearts moved that evening, and tears flowed from many eyes unused to weeping. From that solemn hour we have reason to believe that a goodly number resolved to spend their lives in the service of their Lord and Saviour. From this time our services increased in interest, the number of anxious inquirers increased steadily, and many backsliders were led to repentance. When four weeks had passed by, during which time the meetings were kept up every evening, except when interrupted by bad weather, nineteen men had been baptized, thirty-six admitted, for the first time, to the communion of the Lord's Supper, and about sixty had professed a hope in the Lord Jesus. A few of the most striking cases of awakening are worthy of being specially noticed. Among the first persons awakened was a notorious card-player and swearer. He was one evening standing guard near enough to the camp-fire to hear what passed. Upon hearing an old friend, who had long been his companion in sinful practices, confess a determination to renounce his sins, and seek an interest in the atoning blood of Jesus, he, too, became powerfully convicted. He realized, as never before, that he was a wretched sinner, standing on the verge of an awful hell. He became more and more alarmed, and, at last, became so powerfully excited—to use his own words—he felt as if some one was after him with a bayonet, and soon found himself almost on a run, as he moved backwards and forwards on his beat. After a time he succeeded in driving off his serious feelings, but in a few days they returned with renewed violence, and he found no rest until he laid hold of Jesus. Well do I remember the earnest, happy expression of this man's face as he sat, night after night, by the camp-fire, eagerly devouring the preached word. From [290] the day he found peace in believing he went forth as a genuine missionary. He preached the Gospel in season and out of season; day by day he warned his ungodly companions to flee from the wrath to come. On one occasion he visited a neighboring camp, and earnestly exhorted the men to come to our meetings. As he walked across a field near the camp, he met a man who was swearing in a terrible manner. After gently reproving him, he asked him if he would not attend the evening meetings, and told him that there had been a great visitation of the Spirit in his camp. The mart replied that he did not know that he had any visitation except from the Yankees. “Yes,” says he, “God has poured out his Spirit upon many in my camp, who were hardened in sin, and they are now happy Christians.” “Are you a Christian, too?” asked the stranger. “Yes, I was like yourself, going on hardened in sin, and a few evenings since the Lord led me to see and feel my sins, and I now have a hope in Jesus.” After a short pause, with much feeling he said, “Will you pray for me?” “Yes, I will pray for you, and all like you, that you be brought to Jesus as I have been. But you must, at the same time, pray for yourself.” Then they parted. After a few days they met again, and the reader can imagine the joy it gave our young convert to find that his appeal had gone to the heart of a stranger; that he had sought the Saviour, and found peace to his troubled soul. Another case I will describe, of peculiar interest. An ungodly young man came to our meetings, and became convicted. And, as is too often the case, he earnestly strove to drive off all serious feeling. While all around him attended the services, he staid away, fearing that he might be forced to yield his heart to the movings of the Spirit. One night, when nearly all in his tent had gone to the meeting, a young friend, who had once been a professing Christian, persuaded him to accompany him. They came within hearing distance, and sat down on a pile of hay. During the sermon he became powerfully awakened, and as soon as it closed a cousin of his came and asked me to go to him. I found him in great distress of mind. As soon as he saw me, he clasped my hand, and said: “I have sent for you to know what I must do.” [291] I replied: “You have nothing to do. Everything has been done for you. If you feel yourself to be a sinner, you may rest assured that the Lord is willing and ready to bless you now.” And without a moment's delay he took hold of Christ, and found peace in believing. He then, in an earnest tone, said: “Where is W., who brought me here? He is a backslider; go and talk to him.” The next Sunday was a very stormy day. Not being able to hold a public service, I went from tent to tent, conversing and praying with the men. While in the tent occupied by these two young men, I asked, “Are all in this tent Christian soldiers?” When I asked this question, I observed that young W. seemed depressed, though he said nothing. That night was exceedingly stormy, and fearing that my tent would blow down, I went to a neighboring house. Just before reaching the house I heard some one address me, it being too dark to see distinctly. I turned around, and discovered it was young W. He had followed me from the tent, that he might open his heart to me. He said: “When you asked in my tent to-day, if all were Christian soldiers, and some one replied, ‘All except one,’ I felt that that was not exactly true. I was once a professing Christian, but have recently been very wicked; and, while living an ungodly life, have led my sisters to believe that I was still a Christian. I now feel as never before. I trust I have truly repented of my sins, and believe that I am pardoned.” I exhorted him to confess all to his family, and to make a fresh consecration of himself to his Saviour. And as I thought of his experience, and that of his friend, I could not but be impressed by the mysterious way in which God works. He had here made use of a backslider to lead a wicked companion to Jesus, and then used the converted man to lead the backslider to repentance. One other interesting incident, in like manner illustrating God's gracious and mysterious Providence, I will mention. One evening, just before night, a large body of troops marched by our camp. In one of the regiments was a very intelligent young man, from Norfolk, who, not being able, on account of sickness, to keep up with his regiment, stopped at our camp to rest, about the usual hour for service. He listened with the deepest interest to the preached word. I dwelt, in my sermon, on God's mysterious dealings with His people, and endeavored to show His [292] faithfulness in afflicting us, and that He leads all His people “by the right way” into His heavenly kingdom. When the service closed, observing him very thoughtful, I asked him if he was a professing Christian. He said he was not, but trusted he could from that hour give his heart to the Saviour. He said he came to the meeting in a bad humor, being displeased at his regiment moving so rapidly; but he then saw why he had been left behind, and believed he would be able to praise the Lord through eternity for having brought him to our service that evening. The sixty men who professed a hope in Jesus within these four weeks were from three or four different companies. But the larger portion of them belonged to the company of Captain K——. When this company entered the service, one year before, it was made up, for the most part, of the most wicked men to be met with. The larger portion of the men were grossly addicted to gambling, drinking, and profanity. The captain labored unceasingly to overcome these vices, and continually pressed upon his men the great truths of the Gospel. He had the satisfaction of seeing a steady improvement in the deportment of all, and he was especially gratified to see profanity almost entirely abandoned. And now, after one year of faithful, persevering labor, he was rewarded by this gracious and most abundant outpouring of the Spirit. The seed, which he had diligently sown, now took root, sprang up, and brought forth abundant fruit. Of the eighty odd members of his company present during these services, seventeen were professing Christians when they commenced, fortythree more expressed a hope in Christ before they closed, fourteen were more or less anxious on account of their souls, and not more than six, if so many, were indifferent. The following extract from a letter I recently received from Captain K——, written about six months after the great awakening, will show how the young communicants in his company have held out: “The young Christians in my company,” he says, “have held out, I think, with remarkable consistency; only two or three have been otherwise. We have regular preaching, prayermeet-ing, and Bible-class, which are well attended, everything considered. The religious interest, though nothing like it was at Camp Nineveh, still continues.” ‘Does not the experience of this company show what may be expected when the officers of our army strive to promote the [293] moral and spiritual welfare of their men? Would to God we could see all among our soldiers, who profess the name of Christ, laboring as Christian soldiers. Then, doubtless, such scenes as were witnessed at Camp Nineveh would often be repeated, and our armies, instead of being schools of vice, would become most valuable training-schools for the kingdom of Heaven.’ There was every reason to hope that we were on the eve of a general revival throughout Jackson's Corps at this time. The chaplains were aroused to their duty, and Christian soldiers were working and praying as I had not seen them before. General Jackson himself was a frequent attendant at our meetings, and manifested the deepest concern for the salvation of his men, and the liveliest hope that we were about to be blessed with a general revival. But soon tidings came that Burnside had relieved McClellan and was moving on Fredericksburg—that Lee, with Longstreet's Corps, was hastening to confront him—and that Jackson was needed on the Rappahannock. The order to move is at once given, and ‘the foot cavalry’ march, with their swinging stride, through the mountains and down through Madison, Orange, Spottsylvania, and Caroline counties, to take their appropriate place on the line of the Rappahannock, and bear their heroic part in the great battle of Fredericksburg on the memorable 13th of December. We had some precious seasons of worship on that march, and while awaiting the opening of the battle of Fredericksburg, and in laboring among the wounded of the battle, we found a number who had recently found Jesus. But, of course, the active campaign, the battle, and the severe winter weather which was now upon us, seriously hindered regular preaching and out-door service, and it was some time before any of the brigades had chapels, while several changes of camp prevented some of us from having chapels at all this winter. But the revival spirit manifested itself in a number of the brigades during the winter and following spring.
A correspondent of one of our exchanges says: ‘I have never heard tenderer, more fervent or more importunate prayers, than in the tent, or rough bivouac, or in the woods.’ Elder A. B. Campbell, chaplain of the Ninth Georgia Regiment, writes from camp near Orange Court House, Virginia, November 10, to his parents: ‘From the time we left the Peninsula until now, we have never suffered an opportunity to hold meetings to pass unimproved. Many souls have been converted, and Christians in the army have been greatly revived, and many who had fearfully backslidden have been reclaimed. Two of these young men have fallen in battle. As one of them fell at Manassas, he turned his dying eyes to his companions, and said: “Write to mother, and tell all the family to meet me in heaven, for I am going there.” The other was wounded there also, and subsequently died—declaring to the last that he was “willing to depart and be with Christ.” Others of the young converts are with us, battling nobly for the cause of Christ. It is no longer [295] a question whether the work of God can be carried on in an army.’ I have alluded to the great revival in Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade, stationed in the battered old town of Fredericksburg—a work which, begun not long after the battle of the 13th of December, was interrupted, but not seriously retarded, by the battle of Chancellorsville, and went gloriously on until the line of march was taken for Gettysburg. Indeed that active and bloody campaign only interfered with ‘gathering in the sheaves,’ but did not stop the work, which still went graciously on. Rev. W. B. Owen (Methodist), chaplain of the Seventeenth Mississippi, had the general conduct of the meetings, and was assisted at different times by Rev. Dr. J. C. Stiles, Rev. Dr. William J. Hoge, Rev. James D. Coulling, Rev. Dr. J. A. Duncan, Rev. Dr. J. L. Burrows, Rev. Dr. A. E. Dickinson, Rev. W. H. Carroll, and others, and the constant help of Rev. J. L. Pettigrew and other earnest workers in the brigade. Dr. Stiles began his labors there the latter part of February, and not long after wrote as follows: ‘After my arrival we held three meetings a day—a morning and afternoon prayer-meeting and a preaching service at night. We could scarcely ask of delightful religious interest more than we received. Our sanctuary has been crowded—lower floor and gallery. Loud, animated singing always hailed our approach to the house of God; and a closely packed audience of men, amongst whom you might have searched in vain for one white hair, were leaning upon the voice of the preacher, as if God Himself had called them together to hear of life and death eternal. At every call for the anxious, the entire altar, the front six seats of the five blocks of pews surrounding the pulpit, and all the spaces thereabouts ever so closely packed, could scarcely accommodate the supplicants; while daily public conversions gave peculiar interest to the sanctuary services. Of this class we have numbered during the week say some forty or fifty souls. Officers are beginning to bow for prayer, and our house to be too strait for worshippers. The audience, the interest, the converted, the fidelity of the Church, and the expectations of the ministry, are all steadily and most hopefully increasing.’ The above was written by Dr. Stiles a few days after he got there. In later communications he was enabled to speak still more strongly of the progress and results of the great revival. [296] The meetings were first held in the Presbyterian and then in the Methodist church (the Baptist church had been so injured by the bombardment that it could not be used), but these houses were soon overflowed, and the meetings moved to the more spacious Episcopal church, which the rector offered for the purpose. One present at this time thus writes concerning the gracious work: ‘Last evening there were fully 100 penitents at the altar. [I saw fully 200 one night]. So great is the work, and so interested are the soldiers, that the Methodist Episcopal church has been found inadequate for the accommodation of the congregations, and the Episcopal church having been kindly tendered by its pastor, Rev. Mr. Randolph, who is now here, the services have been removed to that edifice, where meetings are held as often as three times a day. This work is widening and deepening, and ere it closes, it may permeate the whole Army of Northern Virginia, and bring forth fruits in the building up and strengthening in a pure faith and a true Christianity the best army the world ever saw.’ It was my own privilege to go frequently into Fredericksburg (especially when my regiment would be on picket below the town) and to labor in this great revival, and I can endorse fully what has been said of its extent and power. Rev. W. B. Owen sent the following letter to the Religious Herald:
Rev. Mr. Owen was unquestionably one of the most devoted, laborious and efficient chaplains whom we had in the army, and held a warm place in the hearts of the soldiers. The following extract from one of my letters written at this time will give my impressions of this great work as I came into personal contact with it: It was my privilege on last Tuesday to visit Fredericksburg and participate in the exercises of the glorious revival they have been having there for the past month. I went in with the hope of meeting with Dr. Burrows, who had been preaching there for the past week, but he had just left that morning, and the brethren pressed me into service to preach for them that night. I have never preached under more impressive circumstances. The Episcopal church—capable of seating about twelve hundred— was well filled with attentive listeners; and I felt while speaking that it was, perhaps, the last message of salvation that some of the poor fellows would ever receive. When, at the close of the sermon, Brother Owen, chaplain of the Seventeenth Mississippi, made a few earnest remarks and invited inquirers to come forward, there was a simultaneous move of about seventy-five deeply penitent men. It was a touching scene to see the stern veteran of many a hard-fought field, who would not hesitate to enter the deadly breach or charge the heaviest battery, trembling under the power of Divine truth, and weeping tears of bitter penitence over a misspent life. This was the thirty-first day of the meeting, and up to this time there had been one hundred and twelve public professions of conversion, while there were upwards of a hundred still seeking the way of life. Brother Carroll, of Alabama—missionary of our Domestic Mission Board—has been assisting in the meetings, and has baptized already about twenty-five, while others are awaiting the ordinance. Most of the rest have connected themselves with other denominations. Brother Owen, under whose direction the meetings have been conducted, is a real, whole-souled, working chaplain, and I only wish we had many more such. That night the brigade (Barksdale's) received [298] marching orders, but Brother Owen persisted that ‘the Lord would not let them leave while the interest in the meeting continued so deep.’ The next morning the orders were countermanded, and the meeting is still progressing—claiming the warm sympathies and fervent prayers of all who love to see the progress of the Master's cause. My brigade moved its camp about ten days ago, and as I thereby lost the use of my chapel, and the weather has been too inclement for outdoor exercises, I am endeavoring now to ‘preach the Gospel from house to house’ by holding nightly prayer-meetings, alternating from hut to hut. They are exceedingly pleasant, and are not without fruit. Rev. Dr. Stiles reports to the Christian Observer that ‘there are revivals of religion, or a state of promising preparation, amongst others, in the following brigades: Barksdale's, Stonewall, Lawton's, Walker's, Paxton's, Hoke's, Cobb's, Jones's, Posey's, Wilcox's and Kershaw's.’ The following letter gives a better account of the condition of things at the time I wrote it than I can give now, and so I insert it in full:
I will only add this further concerning the great revival in Fredericksburg: I remember that the night before the enemy crossed the river, bringing on the battles of Second Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, I preached to a packed house, and in appealing to the men to accept Christ as their personal Saviour then and there, I said: ‘How know you but that ere to-morrow's sun shall rise the long roll may beat, and this brigade be called to meet the enemy? It may be that some of these brave men are hearing now their last message of salvation.’ A number accepted the invitation and came to confess Christ, or to ask an interest in the prayers of God's people, and after the meeting I went back to the ‘reserve’ of our picket-line just below the town. Before day the next morning we were aroused by some of the pickets on the line below rushing in to tell us that the enemy had crossed the river. Line of battle was at once formed, and in the battles which followed a number of Barksdale's veterans fell bravely doing their duty. Poor fellows, they had heard their last message of salvation; but it was sweet to believe that many of them were trusting in Christ, and that for them ‘sudden death was only sudden glory.’ There were in this revival in Barksdale's Brigade at least 500 professions of conversion—many of the converts coming from other commands—and the precious influences of the meeting went out all through the army. Rev. Dr. Stiles, in his report as army missionary to the Board of Missions of the New School Presbyterian Synod, says: ‘So deep and enduring was the religious interest awakened by the Fredericksburg revival, that in an artillery company two souls, probably made anxious by the zealous piety of a comrade who had enjoyed himself abundantly at the Fredericksburg meeting, were converted in the midst of the severest fighting in the late battle; [302] while others felt that they were almost in heaven, and could hardly suppress their exultant religious shouts amid the loudest roar and din of the conflict, the slaughter of the cannoneers of their own guns, and the palpable peril of their own lives.’ ‘In the Third Georgia Regiment, Army of Northern Virginia, fourteen converted soldiers have joined the Methodist and eleven the Baptist Church. There are still a hundred earnest inquirers for the way of life.’ Rev. Dr. Wm. J. Hoge wrote the Central Presbyterian, so graceful and vivid a description of his visit to the camps about Fredericksburg, that I give it in full, although I have already made a brief quotation from it, as I am unwilling to mar its beauty:
I have not now space to give details of revivals reported at this period in Anderson's Brigade of Hood's Division, in the Eighth Georgia Regiment, the Sixtieth Georgia Regiment, of Gordon's Brigade, the Twenty-first South Carolina Regiment, the Thirteenth Mississippi Regiment, the Twenty-eighth North Carolina Regiment, the Third Alabama Regiment, the Stonewall Brigade, J. M. Jones's Virginia Brigade, Kershaw's Brigade, Early's Brigade, Chimborazo and Camp Winder Hospitals, in Richmond, Harris's Mississippi Brigade, Wilcox's Alabama Brigade, Doles's Georgia Brigade, Thirteenth Alabama Regiment, Twenty-sixth Alabama, Wright's Georgia Brigade, and other commands. One of the most powerful revivals at this period was in Thomas's Georgia Brigade, which began about the 1st of February, 1863, under the labors of Rev. J. J. Hyman, chaplain of the Forty-ninth Georgia Regiment, who preached from four to six times every day (to meet the demands of the scattered regiments of his brigade), and was about to break down, when Rev. E. B. Barrett came to his help and was soon after commissioned chaplain of the Forty-fifth Georgia Regiment. There were a large number of professions of conversion; Brother Hyman (and Brother Barrett, after he came) administered the ordinance of baptism almost daily, and when orders came for the command to march on the Gettysburg campaign, Brother Hyman was in the water baptizing forty-eight converts. I have told how the work went on, and have described the touching baptismal scene in the Antietam near Hagerstown. [307] I may say here that Brother Hyman, who was commissioned chaplain on the 1st of May, 1862, after serving for a time as private in the ranks of the Forty-ninth Georgia Regiment, was one of the most faithful and successful men we had, and though laid aside for a time by sickness (brought on by over-work), had the privilege of baptizing 238 soldiers, seeing 500 others profess conversion in connection with his labors, preaching about 500 sermons, besides many exhortations, lectures, etc., and distributing thousands of pages of tracts, and many Bibles and Testaments, and performing much other labor which may not be written here, but ‘whose record is on high.’ Carefully compiled statistics show that, in the fall and winter of 1862-63, and spring of 1863, there were, at the very lowest estimate, at least 1,500 professions of conversion in Lee's army. I must omit a vast amount of material which I had collected concerning this period, and insert only the following:
Rev. W. H. Carroll, in an account of a visit to Cobb's Brigade, in the Biblical Recorder, says: ‘A regimental prayermeet-ing was to be held just after “tattoo,” and at the appointed time I started to it, in company with some officers. It was so dark that we could not see the stumps, but after stumbling over a few we reached the place of prayer. A part of the time it was raining and blowing too much for tallow candles, but we found a large crowd assembled—some sitting, others standing. In the thick darkness, that sweet old hymn, “When I can read my title clear,” with the chorus, “Remember, Lord, thy dying groans,” was sung. The services were then continued, and were interesting through out. It was, indeed, a solemn and impressive occasion.’
The chaplain of the Second Georgia Battalion, Army of [311] Northern Virginia, writes, to the Southern Christian Advocate: ‘The late battles and the recent glorious victory have tended greatly to effect a moral reformation in the army. Many of the soldiers in the hour of danger formed good resolutions, which I am happy to state, they have not forgotten in this time of comparative safety. We have been having some delightful refreshings from the Lord. The glorious work is going on throughout the entire brigade.’ Chaplain J. M. Cline states, in North Carolina Christian Advocate, that his regiment, the Fifty-second North Carolina, has been experiencing ‘the most glorious revival of religion he ever witnessed.’ Up to the date of his letter, June 5, thirty-four had been converted.