The Despisers of our Religion
From Dixiepedia: The PC-Free Encyclopedia
On June 19, 1862, J. R. Tucker wrote:
The enemy has not only invaded our homes, but has desecrated our churches and stifled the voice of prayer in the temples of God, and seized His ministers clinging to the very horns of the altar. Freedom to worship God has ceased wherever the legions of the foe have advanced; and the conscience of an outraged people, forbidden to utter its voice in public devotion, can only breathe its prayers for the rescue of our land from the enemies of our country and the despisers of our religion. (1)
These “despisers of our religion,” the Northern army, arrested ministers of the Gospel on such trivial pretexts as refusing to say a prayer for the President of the United States. Chaplains, left to minister unto the wounded, were, against the humanity of civilized warfare, thrown into prison. Church buildings crumbled in flames from the enemy’s torch.
Behind such indecent acts was the design of weakening the Southern people who, because of their trust in the Divine Providence of God, were a courageous and fearless foe. Their assurance of hope in heavenly things gave them strength in fighting and consolation in death.
During the fierce and terrible battle of Corinth, J. H. Bullock, in an effort to inspire his men, openly exposed himself to the enemy’s fire. His clothing was riddled with balls, while his life was saved, in the words of Edward A. Pollard, “only by that unseen shield with which Providence protects its agents.” On such occasions, men were at times protected while later, standing on the outskirts of the battle, were struck by a stray bullet and killed instantly.
Dr. Robert Lewis Dabney, an officer on General Thomas Jonathan Jackson’s staff, preached a sermon on “Special Providence,” in which he admonished the soldiers: “Men, you need not be trying to dodge shot or shell or Minnie. Every one of these strikes just where the Lord permits it to strike, and nowhere else, and you are perfectly safe where the missiles of death fly thickest until Jehovah permits you to be stricken.”
This kind of belief is what made Jackson a “stonewall” in the face of danger. One morning at breakfast as the officers were discussing the battle, a Captain asked General Stonewall Jackson about the battle of Bull Run.
“General... How is it that you can keep so cool and appear so utterly insensible to danger in such a storm of shell and bullets as rained about you when your hand was hit?” He instantly became grave and reverential in his manner, and answered, in a low tone of great earnestness: “Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me.” He added, after a pause, looking me full in the face: “That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.” (2)
Death held no terror for the Christian soldier. They faced danger with a serene calmness of one who had nothing to fear. Some officers remarked to Captain Harrison, a Christian soldier, “You ought to be braver than the rest of us.”
“Why so?” he asked pleasantly.
“Because, you have everything settled for eternity. You have nothing to fear after death.”
After a moment’s pause he solemnly replied, “Well, gentlemen, you are right. Everything is settled, I trust, for eternity, and I have nothing to fear.” Then, “Without a moments hesitation he charged into battle with a fearlessness that would command respect from any decent enemy and thus he fell and died ‘trusting in the merits of my Saviour Jesus.’”
The comfort derived from knowing, as General Jackson said, “God knows and does all things for the best,” sustained the loved ones at home and made them willing to send their boys, down to the very last, into the ranks. When William Smith Patterson died, Colonel Walker, his commander, wrote to his mother, “Your son was a gallant young man, and fell bravely doing his duty in the foremost ranks while engaging the enemy. He was never found lacking in his duty either as a soldier or Christian. He was shot through the body and died almost instantly.”
When Dr. Whiteford Smith delivered the sad tidings, his mother’s first words were: “Glory! glory! glory! The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. I know he is safe, and I would not have him back if I could by asking.”
The London Times gave this tribute:
The people of the Confederate States have made themselves famous. If the renown of brilliant courage, stern devotion to a cause, and military achievements almost without a parallel, can compensate men for the toil and privations of the hour, then the countrymen of Lee and Jackson may be consoled amid their sufferings. From all parts of Europe, from their enemies as well as their friends, from those who condemn their acts as well as those who sympathize with them, comes the tribute of admiration. (3)
This renown valor demonstrated the number of Christian soldiers and the revivals which sprang up in the army. J. William Jones noted how predominately the Southern people relied on “The Lord of hosts.”
It is due to the truth of history, as well as necessary to a correct understanding of my subject, that I should say that the Christian people of the South not only thought they were right in resisting the invasion of their soil and the coercion, by the Federal Government, of sovereign States, but that they went forth to battle, or sent their sons, in firm reliance upon “The Lord of hosts.” Scarcely a company moved without some public religious service, and it was considered a most important part of each man’s equipment that he should carry in his knapsack a copy of God’s word. (4)
On 2 May 1861, Dr. Joseph Walker wrote to the Religious Herald:
Messrs. Editors: I have never understood the compatibleness of Christianity with war as I see it in the present struggle for Southern independence. Never have I seen or read of greater promptness on the part of Christians, of all denominations, to shoulder the musket in defense of their homes, their families, and all that makes life desirable. I can now comprehend what is meant by the New Testament phrase, ‘a devout soldier,’ for I have seen the men for whom I have preached, with whom I have prayed, and whom I have seen presiding at Baptist associations, fully panoplied for the war. The self-denial of volunteers to serve in this war is unmistakably manifest in the advent among us of Southern soldiers. The gallant South Carolinians came first. Close on their rear came the Georgians; and we hear that Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana are on the way. To cap the climax, we hope soon to see Jefferson Davis on the hills of Richmond. But my main object in penning these lines was to speak briefly of the Georgians. At least three of the companies already arrived are commanded by Christians. Captain Doyall and Captain Beall are Baptists; Captain Smith is a Methodist; Captain Hardeman, though not I believe a professor himself, is closely connected with a religious family. All of these gentleman occupy high social positions in their several communities, and their companies comprise the best fighting, and some of the best praying materials of this nation. With a just cause and such defenders, can the contest in favor of the South be doubtful?
This morning I had the pleasure of visiting Captain Beall’s company, which is quartered in this city. A more substantial body of men cannot be found. Among them are lawyers, doctors, and deacons of churches. From forty to fifty of this company are Baptists, mostly from Irwinton, Georgia, and its vicinity; Beall, Rivers and Stanly are my personal acquaintances and friends, who have left (I hope only for a brief season) interesting families, whose hospitality I have often enjoyed. May God preserve these patriots, and return them at His good pleasure to their homes. (5)
When the fate of war was finally come and sorrowing hearts went home, again the reliance in the Divine Providence of God Almighty gave them the enduring strength to meet it with the same serenity that sustained them through four long years of destructive warfare at the hands of their enemy.
General Robert Edward Lee once noted, “God disposes. This ought to satisfy us.”
Endnotes
(1) Jones, Rev. J. William, D. D., Christ in the Camp, p. 163
(2) Henderson, G. F. R., Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War, vol. 1 p. 163
(3) Pollard, Edward A., Southern History of the War, vol. 4, chapter 5 (Vol. 4 is really vol. 2, the cover was a misprint; no page numbers)
(4) Jones, Rev. J. William, D. D., Christ in the Camp, p. 21
(5) ibid, p. 22-23
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