How Long Did The Civil War Revival Services Last

Revivals During the Civil War in the United States

Introduction
The about-watched PBS program, with more than than 39 million viewers who saw at least 1 episode and viewership of more than 14 meg who watched each episode, was The Civil War miniseries. Though the revival that took place during this state of war was all-encompassing, dramatically impacting military and civilian life, it was never mentioned in that miniseries—even though there were hundreds of thousands of conversions during the war.

Deliberate Omission by Religious and Secular Historians
One could presume that the omission of such a well-documented awakening, impacting hundreds of thousands, was deliberate and intentional. Non simply is the business relationship omitted in the PBS miniseries, but in almost all books written almost the Civil War, at that place is very little, if anything, that is written nearly the dramatic bear upon the revivals had on soldiers during the state of war and on society afterwards.

Godless Military
At the beginning of the war the ground forces camps were breeding grounds for every type of immoral behavior. That has been mutual in the military throughout history, equally soldiers (some as young as 12) recently out from nether parental control threw off all restraints and pigeon into a sin-filled lifestyle in their attempt to demonstrate maturity.
► Drunkenness
► Drunken brawls—betwixt officers likewise as between rank and file soldiers
► Prostitution was legal and rampant; for case, in Washington D.C. in that location were 450 brothels, and in nearby Alexandria, Virginia, at that place were over 75.
► Prostitutes followed the troops from i encampment to the side by side.
► Venereal disease was rampant, with the 183,000 cases in the Matrimony Army alone.
► Pornography was available at that fourth dimension.
► Novels of a sexual nature were in loftier demand.
► Gambling
► Brutality, rape, pillaging
► Profanity

Hugh White, a divinity student at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, had joined the quaternary Virginia Regiment at the start of the war. He wrote home to his family explaining that his time in the regular army had simply strengthened his belief in full human depravity.

Officers Playing Cards, Drinking Whiskey, Smoking

Suppression of Godliness
There was an ongoing try made by chaplains and missionaries to disprove the widespread view that godly lifestyles would make a soldier effeminate or cowardly.

Idealism and Illusion
At the start of the state of war, as the new recruits enlisted, there was an overwhelming sense of adventure and expectation for a glorious victory. There was the perverse thirst to rush into battle and "kill twenty Yankees earlier the war ended" in 90 days.

Illusion Destroyed
Information technology wasn't long before the young recruits had their illusions destroyed. The fatigue of military life, thousands dying from disease in the camps, inadequate clothing, homesickness, and the blazon of punishments measured out by officers, which previously were only administered to slaves (whipping, branding on the face, execution), woke these young men upwards to reality.

Christian in Name Simply
Though almost all soldiers considered themselves "Christian," and were familiar with Bible stories and themes, they could exist simply described equally being "backsliders." One minister reported that out of 3 hundred men, he simply found seven who were truly followers of Jesus Christ.

Radical Change
One account said that at the start of the war just fifteen% of most camps gave a semblance of Christianity. Toward the end of the war, in some regiments, in that location were only xv% that did not requite testify that Christ was ruling their lives. This was evidenced by omnipresence at church services and participation in Bible studies.

Deeper into Godlessness
The start major battle of the Civil War took identify only north of Manassas, Virginia (Bull Run), on July 21, 1861. This was a Amalgamated victory, which elevated the pride and complacency of the Southern ground forces.

Throughout the Bible, and in Church history, we see a pattern of pride and complacency that led God'south people to plough their backs on Him and which actions plunged them deeply into various types of sin. Every bit God sent prophets to warn, or when God disciplined His people, they would be shaken from their stupor, repent, and then plough back to Him. God would then forgive, restore and heal (ii Chronicles 7:xiii-14).

Biblical Pattern for Revival

____________

A chaplain at the time, J. William Jones, wrote that following the Confederate victory at Bull Run, the Amalgamated soldiers causeless they would crush the Matrimony Army in a brusk menstruation of time. When the cease of the state of war wasn't immediately seen,
► Inactivity in the war ensued and demoralization took over.
► Morals dropped farther.
► The people of the South had previously been praying, but they now stopped, bold the state of war was practically over.
► Greed of gain was a major curse in the South, as profiteers took advantage of the soldiers and the war effort. Pastors and the press began rebuking the people of the South for their personal selfishness, self-centeredness, and self-indulgence. While soldiers were suffering and dying in battles, hoarding and exploitation was taking place back home (cost-gouging of business organization owners and merchants).
► Drunkenness in the camps became even more pronounced than earlier.
► Starvation was taking place in some areas, because distillers bought up the grain to make their 64,000 gallons of whiskey each day, with each of the hundreds of distillers having the possibility of earning $four,000 per day.

The clergyman of the 23rd Northward Carolina wrote for the North Carolina Baptist newspaper, the Biblical Recorder:

While Lincoln may slay his thousands, the liquor‑maker at dwelling volition slay his tens of thousands.

Absence of a Godly Presence
On May 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln ordered all regimental commanders in the Union Army to appoint chaplains for their units. Unfortunately for the Southern Regular army, this was not done. Though at that place may have been Confederate leadership that openly mentioned the name of God, they didn't make a commitment for the institution of chaplains for their soldiers. In the few exceptions where there was a chaplain, they didn't take the official rank and status of their Union counterparts.

Several protestant denominations, determined to accost the situation, sent colporteurs to distribute tracts and deliver. They also sent civilian missionaries that worked alongside the chaplains.

Antietam Battlefield – September 17, 1862

What Brought the South and the Amalgamated Soldiers to Their Knees in Prayer?
On September 17, 1862, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia retreated in defeat from the Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg to the Rappahannock River in northern Virginia. It was there that the soldiers bowed their knees in humility—which opened the windows of heaven for a powerful revival.
► The romantic and illusory thought of a quick victory had disappeared.
► A somber mood prevailed.
► Later on witnessing massive loss of lives, eternal concerns came to the forefront.

The chaplain J. William Jones, in his book, Christ in the Camp, wrote,

Merely when nosotros came back from Sharpsburg to residual from a flavor amid the light-green fields and beautiful groves, and beside the streams of the lower Valley of Virginia, there began that series of revivals which went graciously and gloriously on until there had been over fifteen thousand professions of conversion in Lee's Army, and there had been wrought a moral and religious revolution which those who did not witness information technology tin scarcely capeesh.

The military defeats, littoral blockades, and other opposition began to strangle all communities throughout the due south, and the economic pressure brought them to extraordinary prayer.

Sunrise Church Service

Extraordinary Prayer
The dangers the Due south was existence faced with, following the deaths of so many of their sons, led them to desperate prayer. They recognized they were greatly outnumbered and that their but source of help could be establish in God.

Public fasts and prayers were ordered by the government and these took identify frequently. Prayers were offered in churches and in homes. General John Gordon mentioned the following almost the mothers praying at home as they worked:

Every click was a prayer; every stitch a tear.

Prayer meetings became common in the camps amongst the soldiers. The diaries, letters, and newspaper articles showed how common these prayers were. Though the prayers for ultimate victory went unanswered, the presence of the Holy Spirit began to move throughout the Southern Army.

The Development of the "Great Revival"
Though revivals took place throughout the duration of the war, it was during the fall of 1863 and through the spring and summer of 1864 that what was later chosen the "Cracking Revival" occurred. Although this event is best documented as having occurred in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, it actually took place in both the Union, equally well as the Confederate armies, throughout Virginia and Tennessee.

The revival was first witnessed among the S'due south Ground forces of Northern Virginia in September of 1862. Sometimes preaching and praying connected 24 hours a day, and chapels couldn't concur the soldiers who wanted to get inside.

J. William Jones, a chaplain in the Ground forces of Northern Virginia, says the post-obit about this revival:

But any history of that army which omits an account of the wonderful influence of religion upon it—which fails to tell how the courage, field of study and morale of the whole was influenced by the humble piety and evangelical zeal of many of its officers and men—would be incomplete and unsatisfactory.

There was such a change that Rev J. M. Stokes, clergyman of Wright's Georgia Brigade wrote:

At that place is less profanity in a week now, than there was in a twenty-four hour period six months ago. And I am quite sure there are ten who attend religious services now to one who attended six months ago.

There were two sweeping and prolonged revivals that the Army of Northern Virginia experienced.
FIRST—along the Rappahannock River in the Fredericksburg, Virginia area, from September 1862 until May 1863.

2nd—From August 1863 (after the July ane-3 Gettysburg Campaign) until May 1864 along the Rapidan River near Orangish Court Business firm, Virginia.

Several ministers mentioned the following of the work of God among the soldiers:

The whole army is a vast field, set and ripe to the harvest, and all the reapers have to do is get in and reap from end to end. The susceptibility of the soldiery to the Gospel is wonderful, and, hundred-to-one as the remark may appear, the military camp is virtually favorable to the work of revival. The soldiers, with the simplicity of piffling children, listen to and comprehend the truth.

Yesterday evening Brother Pritchard baptized seventeen in the Rapidan [River], in sight of the enemy's pickets, who looked on as though they took some interest in the proceeding.

God is wonderfully reviving his work hither, and throughout the regular army. Congregations big–interest almost universal. In our chaplains' meeting it was thought, with imperfect statistics, that about 5 hundred were converted every calendar week.

Church service at General McClellan's Head Quarters
Harpers Weekly: August xvi, 1862

During these extended times of revival:
► Large crowds of soldiers gathered often, with chapels too minor for the gathered crowds.
► Sometimes preaching and prayer connected 24 hours per mean solar day.
► The Matrimony Army was experiencing revivals at the same time.
► Large numbers made a profession of their faith in Christ.
► There was a large demand for tracts and Bibles.
► Lifestyle changes were conspicuously witnessed as sin was repented of.
► As reports of more defeats would come up in from other locations, the Army of Northern Virginia became even more introspective, humble, and repentant.

Here are a few comments from ministers who were preaching most the Rappahannock River camp on October 12, 1862,

The men listened with the deepest attention, and seemed very reluctant to exit the ground when the benediction was pronounced.

Early in October while the army was camped nigh Winchester, at that place were axiomatic signs of a deep awakening among the troops.

The men were securely impressed by the dangers they had escaped, and their hearts were open to receive the truth.

John H. Worsham, a soldier in the 21st Virginia Infantry, gives the states a picture of the typical outdoor revival setting,

Trees were cutting from the bordering woods, rolled to this spot, and arranged for seating of at least two,000 people. At the lower end a platform was raised with logs, crude boards were placed on them, and a bench was made at the far side for the seating of preachers. In front was a pulpit, or desk, made from a box. Around this platform and around the seats, stakes were driven into the ground nigh ten or fifteen anxiety autonomously. On top of them were placed baskets of iron wire, atomic number 26 hoops, etc. Into these baskets were placed chunks of light wood, and at dark they were lighted and threw a cherry-red glare far beyond the confines of the place of worship.

Tent and Carriage of the U.s. Christian Commission

In add-on to providing religious literature for the Union, the Us Christian Commission was involved in a multitude of social services. They supplied medical services, provided supplies and social workers, and too assisted the U.Due south. Sanitary Commission.

New Appreciation for Chaplains and Missionaries
The mental attitude of the officers changed dramatically toward the revival move. Whether they were godly men or not, the colonels knew that Christian men were more loyal than others, more than faithful, honest, and less susceptible to subversive sinful beliefs. They also knew that there was a tremendous amount of comfort the soldiers received from the ministers. Chaplains became the morale of the ground forces.

It is impossible to quantify the value of such [clergyman] service. How tin can we found the worth of a bereaved family's comfort in the knowledge that a son, husband, begetter, or brother had been comforted at expiry and accorded a Christian or religious burial…Nosotros merely cannot measure such intangible service, yet just the virtually contemptuous among us would deny the contribution…in a very real sense [chaplains were] the morale of the regular army.

General Stonewall Jackson wrote the following to the Southern Presbyterian General Assembly pleading for chaplains who preached the gospel:

Every branch of the Christian Church building should send into the army some of its near prominent ministers who are distinguished for their piety, talents, and zeal; . . . . Denominational distinctions should exist kept out of view, and not touched upon. And, as a full general rule, I do not think that a chaplain who would preach denominational sermons should be in the ground forces. His congregation is his regiment, and it is composed of various denominations. I would like to meet no question asked in the regular army of what denomination a chaplain belongs to; but let the question be, does he preach the gospel?"

Prayer in General "Stonewall" Jackson's Campsite

Literature and Bibles
There was a huge demand for religious literature.
► Bibles and partial testaments
► Hymns and prayer books
► Reading clubs were formed to share materials and Bibles

When information technology came time for distribution of literature, men nearly trampled one another to get a copy. Through the revival, millions of testaments and many millions of copies of sermons and tracts were distributed, along with many booklets, and in that location was never plenty to meet the need.

One soldier, who was grateful for the Bible he received, wrote:

I had my Bible in my right chest pocket, and a ball struck it and bounced back. It would have made a severe wound simply for the Bible.

About the demand for literature, clergyman William W. Bennett wrote:

Oh, information technology is affecting to come across the soldiers crowd and press about the preacher for want of tracts, etc., he has to distribute, and it is deplorable to come across hundreds retiring without being supplied!

I never saw men who were ameliorate prepared to receive religious instruction and advice. … The dying begged for our prayers and our songs. Every evening we would assemble around the wounded and sing and pray with them. Many wounded, who had hitherto led wicked lives, became entirely changed.

Records of Published Materials
At the superlative of the revival, chaplain J. William Jones estimated that there were i 1000000 pages of tracts distributed a week.

Most Famous Tract
"A Female parent's Departing Words to Her Soldier Boy"

Revival at Hospitals
One who visited the hospital in Richmond, Virginia, wrote,

The field of labor opened here for the accomplishment of good is beyond measure out… At iii:00 o'clock services were held in the main hall of the infirmary. It was a most imposing spectacle to come across men in all stages of sickness—some sitting upon their beds, while others were laying down listening to the give-and-take of God—many of them probably for the concluding time. I practice not think I ever saw a more attentive audience.

Another chaplain, at the Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, wrote,

No sight could be more touching than to stand virtually the chapel and run into the wounded and the pale convalescents bruised and creeping to the place of worship at the sound of the bell.

Preaching and Other Roles of Chaplains, Missionaries, and Pastors
No affair where a minister preached, and no matter what his name, every bit soon every bit the word got out that there was to be a sermon, a big crowd would immediately gather, eager to listen.

In add-on to the opportunities to preach, the chaplains and missionaries would also
► Hold Bible classes
► Teach reading classes
► Help form "Christian Associations" to strengthen converts within a brigade
► Maintain campsite libraries
► Treat the dead and perform funerals
► Provide spiritual ministry building to those who today would exist diagnosed with PTSD
► Serve as carpenters, nurses, gunrunners, besides as soldiers

It was estimated that there were ane,000-one,300 men who served as chaplains in the Southern Army.

Lined upwardly for baptisms in the river

Church Buildings and Services
When troops set up camps in the winter of 1863-1864, they would erect large log churches that would seat from 300-500 soldiers. To meet this demand for places of worship, 37 structures were erected along the Rapidan River, one every 600-800 yards. Churches all-around ii,000 worshipers were oft too small.

The greatest revival swept through the camps on the return of the army from Gettysburg and resulted in thousands of conversions. During the winter of 1864‑65, at that place were over lx log chapels in the Richmond and Petersburg lines.

Concerning the hunger for more than of God, soldiers would be seen running from regiments two miles away so they could get a seat for a chapel service. And subsequently having arrived, they would pack the churches similar "herring in a barrel."

During a half-dozen-week lull in the fighting in Virginia during the summer of 1864, one brigade chaplain scheduled daily prayers at sunrise, an "inquiry meeting" each morning at viii, preaching at xi, prayers again at four, then preaching at night.

J. William Jones indicated that at times he would conduct,

…three to five [religious] meetings a day, which resulted in about fifty professions of conversion, most of whom … [were] baptized in a swimming which was exposed to the enemy's fire, and where several men were wounded while the ordinance was beingness administered.

In 1 soldier'due south diary we read:

We sometimes feel more than every bit if we were in a camp-meeting than in the regular army expecting to meet an enemy.

A soldier who wanted zippo to do with the revival, in a letter to his wife wrote:

It seems to me that whereever [sic] I go I can never get rid of the Psalm-singers.

So mutual were the conversions, that 1 captain wrote in in his diary [mid-1863],

Today is Sunday. Naught unusual… preaching in the afternoon and evening. Many joined the church building.

Longing for Mothers
During ane prayer meeting, a young soldier yelled out;

O that my mother were hither! … she has then long been praying for me, and now I have found the Savior.

Another wounded Christian soldier asked a friend to,

Tell my mother that I read my Attestation and put all my trust in the Lord….I am not afraid to die.

Denominational Walls Were Down
In the Confederate ground forces, sectarianism was nonexistent. Chaplains, colporteurs, and missionaries all worked together from all evangelical denominations. Dr. William J. Hoge wrote well-nigh an incident at Fredericksburg in the spring of 1863 with Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade:

We had a Presbyterian sermon, introduced past Baptist services, under the direction of a Methodist clergyman, in an Episcopal church.

J. William Jones, Chaplain of 13th Virginia Regiment. He is one of the main chroniclers of the Great Revival.

Revival in the Union Army
Though at that place were meaning revivals that did occur amidst Marriage troops, it was nothing comparable to the South. Lincoln, commenting on the disparity, said:

Rebel soldiers are praying with a great deal more earnestness…than our own troops…

Results of the Revival
► There had been 150,000 new conversions in the Amalgamated Army by January 1865.
► Some chaplains estimated that over 250,000 men in the Amalgamated Armies were converted during the war.
► Betwixt 20,000 and 30,000 conversions occurred in the Army of Tennessee while information technology was at Dalton, Georgia, in 1863-1864. These added to the ranks of the many devout Christians who brought their faith to the ground forces. Some estimated that fully one-tertiary of all Confederate soldiers in the field were "praying church building-members" at the end of the war.
► The aftereffects of this peachy revival continued for many decades after the war.
► Fifty-fifty the press became a communication tool of evangelists and pastors. Co-ordinate to the August 10, 1863, edition of the Richmond Daily Dispatch,

A revival of religion is now progressing in the 46th Va., under the ministration of Rev. West. Gaines Miller, the Clergyman, and also in other regiments of Wise'southward brigade. At that place have been over fifty professions of conversion in that regiment, 170 in the 26th Va., and a number in the 4th Va. heavy artillery, at Chaffin's Barefaced.

► Conversions took place among all ranks in the armed services—including generals.

• Full general Bong Hood, bedridden from multiple battlefield wounds, was baptized in the fall of 1864. Henry Lay, Episcopal bishop of Arkansas, describes the scene:

Unable to kneel, [General Hood] supported himself on his crutch and staff, and with bowed head received the benediction.

• Arthur Lyon Fremantle stated that he witnessed the baptism of General Braxton Bragg at the field quarters of General Polk.
• General Ambrose P. Hill was led to the Lord on the field of Second Manassas by his commander General Stonewall Jackson.
• General Joseph Eggleston Johnston
• General William Joseph Hardee

► The conversions were not merely "Boxing-Field Conversions" that were temporary and fleeting. Bear witness of this is proven past J. William Jones ii years after the conclusion of the war.

In 1867 I addressed letters to all of the college presidents, and many of the leading pastors in the Due south, in guild to ascertain how far our returned soldiers were maintaining their Christian profession, and what proportion of them were preparing for the Gospel ministry.

Their replies were in the highest degree satisfactory and gratifying, showing that about iv-fifths of the Christian students of our colleges had been in the army, and that a large proportion of them had found Christ in the campsite—that nine-tenths of the candidates for the ministry had determined to preach while in the army—and nearly all of the army converts were maintaining their profession, many of them pillars in the church.

One of Many Soldiers Who Became Ministers After the War
Lieutenant George W. Finley, 56th Virginia Infantry. Finley was captured on July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg and imprisoned until May 14, 1865. During his imprisonment he decided to go a minister if he survived. He made proficient on his pledge and somewhen became a Presbyterian pastor.

Bible Chugalug is a name given to the southeastern quarter of the U.s.a.. The many thousands of Christian soldiers returning from the war were undoubtedly a pregnant reason why that region received that name.

Sources
► Christ in the Campsite by J. William Jones
► Christian Soldiers: The Meaning of Revivalism in the Confederate Army by Drew Faust
► Desertion, Cowardice and Punishment by Mark A. Weitz
► Religion During the Ceremonious War by Charles F. Irons
► Religious Revival in Civil War Armies by Gordon Leidner
► Reports of the Revival past Gardiner H. Shattuck, Jr.
► Sex in the Ceremonious War by Wikipedia
► The Great Harvest: Revival in the Confederate Army During the Civil State of war by Mark Summers
► The Swell Revival in the Southern Armies past William W. Bennett
► The Peachy Revival in the Southern Armies: Forgotten American History by Leonard Thousand. Scruggs
► The Great Revival of 1863 by Troy D. Harman
► The Revival in the Confederate Army by Benjamin R. Lacy
► The Revival in the Confederate Army in the Ceremonious State of war by Malcolm Nicholson
► The Revivals in the Amalgamated Armies by Gene Brooks
► Revival in the Southern Army by Richard Lee Montgomery
► Revivalism in the Confederate Armies past Herman Norton
► The 2nd Evangelical Awakening in America by J. Edwin Orr
► Usa Christian Commission past Wikipedia
► Video: Confederate Revival in the American Ceremonious War by Truth in History

Render to List of Revival Stories

Contact us to accept our Just 1 Spark Revival Seminar conducted in your church.

Chet & Phyllis Swearingen

(260) 920-8248
romans1015@outlook.com

Beautiful Feet
P.O. Box 915
Auburn, IN 46706

How Long Did The Civil War Revival Services Last,

Source: https://romans1015.com/1863-civil-war-revival/

Posted by: graysonausand.blogspot.com

Share this post