Book Review: “Christ in the Camp: The True Story of the Great Revival During the War Between the States” by J. William Jones

In a visit to Washington and Lee University, I had the pleasure of visiting the Robert E. Lee Chapel and Museum.  In their bookstore, I happened upon the book Christ in the Camp: The True Story of the Great Revival During the War Between the States by J. William Jones (Sprinkle Publications).  Jones was a chaplain in the Army of Northern Virginia, led by Confederate General Robert E. Lee.  In this, Jones seeks to show the world (as the subtitle shows) the movement of revival in the Confederate armies through the arduous work of the Confederate army chaplains with their preaching and tract distribution.

In the process, Jones gives extended sketches on the Christian generals who led the Confederate army, such as Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart among others—men who provided great access and liberty and encouragement to these chaplains and their efforts.  Included also are stories of great valor of Christian men such as Richard Kirkland who, as a recently converted Confederate soldier, raised the white flag to take water out to the wounded Union and Confederate soldiers who lay on the battlefield and provided each with a drink of water.  The move brought a cease fire from both sides, and left Kirkland with the name “The Angel of Marye’s Heights” (you may read about him here). 

Some reading this may wonder how such a revival could have taken place amongst the Confederate armies, since the Confederacy was a slave-based economy.  Some may ask, “How could there be a move of the Spirit of God among a people who enslaved others based on their race?”  A number of factors could be at play.

1. The cultural standards of the day played too great a factor in how Christians viewed the world, and thus a revival was needed in order to open their eyes to this scourge.  It should cause all of us to evaluate the institutions and mindsets we take for granted as part of our culture, but should never be a part of someone who names the name of Christ. 
2. Not everyone in the Confederacy was for the institution of slavery, just as not everyone in the Union was for the abolition of slavery.  In the decades after the Civil War, we see that the predominate view of both North and South was that the black man was inferior to the white (see the campaign slogan of Gov. Horatio Seymour (D-NY) who ran against Ulysses S. Grant in 1868, who had the campaign slogan, “This is a White Man’s Country: Let the White Man Rule.”)  This was the reigning view of many, who worried about the policies of Reconstruction and the violence that occurred in the South during this time.  Lee and Jackson were against slavery (although Jackson did own five slaves whom he taught to read and write, something that was bordering on illegal in that time).

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though the author is clearly pro-Confederate and pro-Lost Cause—which may be off-putting to some.  This author does not deal with the problematic issue of slavery.  He sticks to the chaplain’s work of preaching and tract distribution and the fruits therein. 

What is Your Reaction to the Confederate Battle Flag?

I am interested in knowing what comes over you when you see the Confederate flag?  As someone who is studying the Civil War, grew up in Virginia where the flag was displayed by many—and even seeing that flag on many vehicles here in Kentucky, I am curious as to what your reaction is in seeing this flag? (This is the Confederate Navy Jack, and also the flag of the Army of Tennessee which became the battle flag for the Confederacy during the American Civil War from 1861-1865).
Here’s a Wikipedia article on why many display this flag

The display of the Confederate flag remains a highly controversial and emotional topic, generally because of disagreement over the nature of its symbolism.

Opponents of the Confederate flag see it as an overt symbol of racism (especially directed toward African Americans), both for the history of racialslavery in the United States, and the establishment of Jim Crow laws bySouthern states following the end of Reconstruction in late 1870s, enforcingracial segregation within state borders for nearly a century until the Civil Rights Movement. Some hate groups use the Southern Cross as one of thesymbols associated with their organizations, including racist groups such as the Neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.^[18] The flag is also sometimes used by separatist organizations such as the Aryan Nations. The Aryan Nation also uses the U.S. flag as well as the Christian flag displayed in some Protestant churches.

Supporters of the flag view it as a symbol of heritage and the freedom of the distinct cultural tradition of the South from the oppression of Northern government. Also, in light of some schools and universities banning it as a racist symbol "speech codes", it could also be seen as a symbol of freedom of speech.^[19]

White southerners often claim that they see the flag as merely a symbol of southern culture without any political or racial connotation. An example of this would be the Bocephus Rebel Flag often sold at concerts performed bycountry music star Hank Williams, Jr or Kevin Fowler, heavy metal bandPantera, and southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. For some, the flag represents only a past era of southern sovereignty.^[20] Some historical societies such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy also use the flag as part of their symbols. Also some rockabilly fans hold the Confederate flag as their emblem.^[21]Also, the flag is a regular cultural meme, often appearing in association with a character who reflects Southerner stereotypes.

As a result of these varying perceptions, there have been a number of political controversies surrounding the use of the Confederate flag in Southern state flags, at sporting events, at Southern universities, and on public buildings. According to Civil War historian and native SouthernerShelby Foote, the flag traditionally represented the South’s resistance toNorthern political dominance; it became racially charged during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, when fighting against desegregation suddenly became the focal point of that resistance.

Symbols of the Confederacy remain a contentious issue across the United States and have been debated vigorously in many Southern state legislatures over their civic placement since the 1990s.

In other countries, the Confederate flag can be used as a symbol for other things. For example, in Sweden it is used by people who drive and enjoy old American cars and enjoy the American life style from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. In the United Kingdom it is frequently used by people who enjoy line dancing, country music and American life style.

So what think ye?

The 2011 Bottimore Lecture at the Museum of the Confederacy: “Fire Eaters at War”

William Lowndes Yancey and Lawrence Massillon Keitt: two fire-eaters that will be discussed at the lecture.

Throughout the 1850s, they were accused of conspiring to instigate secession and to destroy the Union. Most southerners considered them extremists, their rhetoric shrill, their recommendations unrealistic and unnecessary.

But in the crisis of 1860-1861, the so-called “Fire-Eaters” gained the upper hand. Events apparently vindicated their shrill warnings and made their extremism seem like a rational reaction to the election of a Republican president.

Then what? Having succeeded in taking the lower South states out of the Union, what role did the Fire-Eaters play in the nation they helped to create and in the war they helped to cause?

Dr. Eric H. Walther will provide answers to these and other questions in the 2011 Elizabeth Roller Bottimore Lecture, “Fire-Eaters at War.” Co-sponsored by the University of Richmond’s Department of History, the lecture will be held in UR’s Keller Hall at 7:30 p.m., on Thursday, September 22^nd. 

A professor of history at the University of Houston, Walther is a leading authority on the fire-eaters. He is author of The Fire-Eaters, Shattering of the Union: America in the 1850s,and William Lowndes Yancey and the Coming of the Civil War (University of North Carolina Press, 2006). The latter received the Museum’s 2007 Jefferson Davis Award and was an alternate selection of the History Book Club.

The Bottimore Lecture is free, but reservations are required. Click here to register. 

Date: Thursday, September 22, 2011
Time: 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Song of the Rebel Irish

This song was included in the 2003 movie Gods and Generals.  It is now included on the Blu-Ray version, but was originally a deleted scene.  It is the song from the Confederate Irish. 

LYRICS:
Oh, not now for songs of a nation's wrongs,
not the groans of starving labor;
Let the rifle ring and the bullet sing
to the clash of the flashing sabre!
There are Irish ranks on the tented banks
of Columbia's guarded ocean;
And an iron clank from flank to flank
tells of armed men in motion.

The Irish green shall again be seen
as our Irish fathers bore it,
A burning wind from the South behind,
and the Yankee rout before it!
O'Neil's red hand shall purge the land-
Rain a fire on men and cattle,
Till the Lincoln snakes in their own cold lakes
Plunge from the blaze of battle.

Whoe'er shall march by triumphal arch
Whoe'er may swell the slaughter,
Our drums shall roll from the Capitol
O'er Potomac's fateful water!
Rise, bleeding ghosts, to the Lord of Hosts
For judgment final and solemn;
Your fanatic horde to the edge if the sword
Is doomed line, square, and column!

Understanding the Confederate “Rebel Yell”

Waite Rawls, the President and the CEO of the Museum of the Confederacy, has done an excellent job of preserving and helping the understanding of the mindset of the short-lived Confederacy.  Below are two clips of the research on their part on what the Confederate “Rebel Yell” sounds like.  Again, I appreciate what Rawls has done to help us understand this important turning point in our American history.  In listening to this, you can understand how horrifying this sound would be to Union troops who came against them in battle.

Waite Rawls, President and CEO, the Museum of the Confederacy

Part II: