In 1863, the camps of the Civil War were steeped in darkness. Soldiers were surrounded by whiskey, gambling, pornography, filthy language, and acts of cruelty. Boredom and homesickness drove many deeper into vice, and even some officers joined in. One Confederate soldier said if the South were overthrown, the epitaph should be “died of whiskey.” A chaplain described a flood of irreligion that had “rolled like a mighty wave” over the ranks. Another minister grieved that men were “hardened by the scenes of cruelty and blood” and that the morals of many were “worse than heathens.” The conditions of army life wore down conscience until the fear of God was far from many hearts.
In the midst of this moral ruin, God began to move. The revival started quietly with small gatherings of soldiers praying together and reading from worn Bibles. Chaplains encouraged them, but often it was the men themselves who led the way. Soldiers would run to meet the man bringing Bibles and tracts, crying out, “Yonder comes the Bible and Tract man,” and receiving them as if they carried gold. Chaplain J. William Jones said, “I have never seen more diligent Bible-readers than we had in the Army of Northern Virginia.” One soldier wrote, “We have Divine Services in the regiment every night.” Another testified, “Many have been converted and are rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.”
From these small sparks, the fire spread from regiment to regiment. George Wise of the 17th Virginia Infantry declared, “A great revival of religion throughout General Lee’s Army… added many, from every regiment, to the Army of the Cross.” Chaplain Robert L. Dabney told of “a stream of blessings flowing through the camp.” Men who had once mocked the Gospel now stood in line to be baptized. Some were immersed in icy rivers while others knelt in the mud with tears streaming down their faces.
Even the wounded were not left out. General John Bell Hood, still recovering from the loss of a leg, was baptized “supported on his crutch and staff” as the congregation sang hymns. Chaplains told of entire companies being transformed. One minister wrote, “The camp has been changed into a Bethel, and soldiers into saints.” Hymns, prayers, and the reading of Scripture filled the night air where once only drunkenness and profanity had been heard.
The same Spirit was moving in Union camps. In the Army of the Potomac, baptisms took place in icy waters, and tents were turned into chapels. One missionary described the revival as “one baptism of blood” that united men in faith. The United States Christian Commission recorded thousands of conversions, with soldiers saying they had found “a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” By the end of the war, historians estimate that hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides had come to Christ. What began in the shadow of sin and despair became a harvest of souls, and the testimonies from that great revival still speak today of a God who brings light into the darkest places.
( article courtesy of Revival Press )
In the midst of this moral ruin, God began to move. The revival started quietly with small gatherings of soldiers praying together and reading from worn Bibles. Chaplains encouraged them, but often it was the men themselves who led the way. Soldiers would run to meet the man bringing Bibles and tracts, crying out, “Yonder comes the Bible and Tract man,” and receiving them as if they carried gold. Chaplain J. William Jones said, “I have never seen more diligent Bible-readers than we had in the Army of Northern Virginia.” One soldier wrote, “We have Divine Services in the regiment every night.” Another testified, “Many have been converted and are rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.”
From these small sparks, the fire spread from regiment to regiment. George Wise of the 17th Virginia Infantry declared, “A great revival of religion throughout General Lee’s Army… added many, from every regiment, to the Army of the Cross.” Chaplain Robert L. Dabney told of “a stream of blessings flowing through the camp.” Men who had once mocked the Gospel now stood in line to be baptized. Some were immersed in icy rivers while others knelt in the mud with tears streaming down their faces.
Even the wounded were not left out. General John Bell Hood, still recovering from the loss of a leg, was baptized “supported on his crutch and staff” as the congregation sang hymns. Chaplains told of entire companies being transformed. One minister wrote, “The camp has been changed into a Bethel, and soldiers into saints.” Hymns, prayers, and the reading of Scripture filled the night air where once only drunkenness and profanity had been heard.
The same Spirit was moving in Union camps. In the Army of the Potomac, baptisms took place in icy waters, and tents were turned into chapels. One missionary described the revival as “one baptism of blood” that united men in faith. The United States Christian Commission recorded thousands of conversions, with soldiers saying they had found “a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” By the end of the war, historians estimate that hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides had come to Christ. What began in the shadow of sin and despair became a harvest of souls, and the testimonies from that great revival still speak today of a God who brings light into the darkest places.
( article courtesy of Revival Press )
In 1863, the camps of the Civil War were steeped in darkness. Soldiers were surrounded by whiskey, gambling, pornography, filthy language, and acts of cruelty. Boredom and homesickness drove many deeper into vice, and even some officers joined in. One Confederate soldier said if the South were overthrown, the epitaph should be “died of whiskey.” A chaplain described a flood of irreligion that had “rolled like a mighty wave” over the ranks. Another minister grieved that men were “hardened by the scenes of cruelty and blood” and that the morals of many were “worse than heathens.” The conditions of army life wore down conscience until the fear of God was far from many hearts.
In the midst of this moral ruin, God began to move. The revival started quietly with small gatherings of soldiers praying together and reading from worn Bibles. Chaplains encouraged them, but often it was the men themselves who led the way. Soldiers would run to meet the man bringing Bibles and tracts, crying out, “Yonder comes the Bible and Tract man,” and receiving them as if they carried gold. Chaplain J. William Jones said, “I have never seen more diligent Bible-readers than we had in the Army of Northern Virginia.” One soldier wrote, “We have Divine Services in the regiment every night.” Another testified, “Many have been converted and are rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.”
From these small sparks, the fire spread from regiment to regiment. George Wise of the 17th Virginia Infantry declared, “A great revival of religion throughout General Lee’s Army… added many, from every regiment, to the Army of the Cross.” Chaplain Robert L. Dabney told of “a stream of blessings flowing through the camp.” Men who had once mocked the Gospel now stood in line to be baptized. Some were immersed in icy rivers while others knelt in the mud with tears streaming down their faces.
Even the wounded were not left out. General John Bell Hood, still recovering from the loss of a leg, was baptized “supported on his crutch and staff” as the congregation sang hymns. Chaplains told of entire companies being transformed. One minister wrote, “The camp has been changed into a Bethel, and soldiers into saints.” Hymns, prayers, and the reading of Scripture filled the night air where once only drunkenness and profanity had been heard.
The same Spirit was moving in Union camps. In the Army of the Potomac, baptisms took place in icy waters, and tents were turned into chapels. One missionary described the revival as “one baptism of blood” that united men in faith. The United States Christian Commission recorded thousands of conversions, with soldiers saying they had found “a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” By the end of the war, historians estimate that hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides had come to Christ. What began in the shadow of sin and despair became a harvest of souls, and the testimonies from that great revival still speak today of a God who brings light into the darkest places.
( article courtesy of Revival Press )
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