It was a bit surprising to find, when on a recent bus tour of Lynchburg, that the National Civil War Chaplains Museum is on the campus of Liberty University. With the school’s focus on contemporary conservative Christianity, many in our party wondered how this aspect of Civil War history would be treated.
The museum recently opened this past January. Taking us through its small but well-appointed interior on Candler Mountain View Boulevard, the guide said it is unique in the United States.
On second thought it’s not so surprising that the evangelical college founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., and now run by his family, would choose to feature chaplains in American history. In the mid-19th Century, America was still a predominantly Protestant nation with the Bible in its 16th Century version widely used, not only for comfort and guidance of behavior, but also as a true historical document. Though much has changed in Americans’ views on religion, as greater knowledge has evolved related to the origin of some Bible material, those who set policies at the Falwell institution adhere to the old way of interpretation. Many Civil War soldiers probably would have felt quite at home at Liberty.
The museum has the support of Dr. James I. Robertson, the Virginia Tech historian sought throughout the nation for his expertise on the war that divided America 150 years ago. Its Sesquecentennial is about to begin. The new museum is also tied closely to a re-enactor group whose publications are offered free, along with many books for sale about famous and lesser known figures of the war.
Both Yankees and Rebs get their due. There are a number of fascinating artifacts such as a “general’s coffin” on display in the lobby.
If you’ve ever wondered how bodies of famous people like General “Stonewall” Jackson were transported for several days on trains from their place of death to the cemetery, the casket gives a clue. It was designed for horsehair insulation and ice. A small window in the top allowed attendants to see when more ice was needed.
Local artists also have painted murals depicting scenes suggested by photographs of the time. There’s a Roman Catholic priest administering Last Rites to a wounded soldier, another of a “brush arbor” service near the Rapidan River and a Baptism in Georgia.
The museum is not entirely Christian in its displays. Several artifacts including a Jewish wine cup are on display, donated by families whose names are associated with Hill City businesses.
Having recently read a biography and some Civil War prose writings by the American poet Walt Whitman, I was interested in a display on the U.S. Christian Commission. The poet, whose theology was unconventional but who supported some Quaker views about peace and activism, was a member of the commission which worked entirely with Union soldiers.
Commission members were lay persons who gave their time to the wounded in hospitals in northern cities. Whitman worked in Washington for three years until the stress from trying to help the sick and dying forced his return home to New Jersey. His descriptions of the hospitals and medical care provide a vivid and horrible picture of the times.
The clergy themselves, we learned, rarely lasted out the war. Most were older than the ordinary soldier–45 or above– and the privations of camp life undermined their own health in a day when many treatments now taken for granted were unknown.
However, the museum displays plenty of evidence that God was an important part of the life of those who fought on both sides, and chaplains were in short supply whatever their brand of religion.
The men were much admired and sometimes were credited with deeds of courage made possible by their faith convictions.
A fact sheet supplied by the museum states that chaplains gained more status after 1862 when, at least for Union ministers, chaplains had to be ordained in some religious denomination with good character attested to. Confederates had less formality. No rabbis are recorded as serving Jewish soldiers in the southern armies.
Among the more than 2000 chaplains registered in the Union armies, more than one-third were Methodist followed by Presbyterians, Baptists and Episcopalians, the predominant Protestant groups in America 150 years ago. Confederate chaplains numbered about 1300, again with the largest number being Methodist. In the Union forces Irish troops were usually Catholic and had priests assigned for Mass.
Union chaplains wore black wool coats, trousers and shoes, and often with a brimmed hat. Records reveal that there were a few African-American, Native American and even women who served as chaplains.
There is no telling how many men were converted by these committed men of God, but several generals, including the revered Lee and Jackson, were known to regularly attend church.
At the church in which I grew up in the Northern Piedmont of Virginia, a plaque marks the place where Robert E. Lee tied his horse Traveler on his weekly visit to St. Thomas.
My own paternal grandfather, Frank Stringfellow, a scout and spy for Confederate Cavalry Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, following many hair-raising experiences in combat, became in gratitude after the war an Episcopal clergyman. Long after some degree of national peace came, he started and revived small congregations throughout southern and western Virginia.
By Frances Stebbins [email protected]
Publisher’s Note: I too have a long lost relative who was a minister turned Union Army Officer in the great war between the states. Though he likely wouldn’t have liked the quote for obvious reasons, it was said of him that, “he sent more men to heaven with his long rifle than his bible but that he was nevertheless a fine preacher . . .”