Headline
Baptists and the American Civil War: May 18, 1862
Beaufort, South Carolina has now been under the control of occupying Union forces for six months. Union soldiers hold regular worship services in the local Baptist meeting house, where Rev. Brown, chaplain of the 76th New York (nicknamed the “Highlanders”) often preaches. The 100th Pennsylvania is also part of the occupying force, and today–Sunday–a soldier from that regiment describes the day’s happenings. Weather clear and cloudy alternately intensely hot when clear. … Read entire article »
Analysis
The Rise of Christian Nationalism
During the American Civil War, many northerners and southerners, soldiers and civilians alike, projected God as their … Read more »
Yes, It Was About Slavery …
Baptists and other white Americans North and South during the Civil War-era were unequivocal: secession, the existence … Read more »
… But White Baptists in the South Were Not United
While many if not most white Baptists in the South believed that the enslavement of blacks was … Read more »
The Larger Perspective
Time Line, Battle Summaries and Battlefields
The American Civil War lasted from April 12, 1861 (when Confederates attacked the U.S. Fort Sumter off … Read more »
The Politics of the Civil War
The American Civil War did not occur within a vacuum. Years of political discourse and maneuvering between … Read more »
Religion, Society, Culture, Economy
Outside of the battles and the politics, the American Civil War also took place in the context … Read more »
More Articles
Baptists and the American Civil War: May 17, 1862
This month, Southern Baptist’s lone seminary closes its doors in response to war-time pressures. Commencement is canceled at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina, as many students have already joined the Confederate Army. Seminary faculty in the weeks and months ahead engage the Southern war effort in various ways. President James P. Boyce (1827-1888) has been serving as a chaplain in the Confederate Army for a number of … Read entire article »
Baptists and the American Civil War: May 16, 1862
By proclamation of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, many Baptists and other Christians today (a Friday) gather in their houses of worship to offer special prayer for the Confederacy, a nation now reeling from Union advances in Virginia and the deep South. Davis’s proclamation is as follows: To the People of the Confederate States of America: an enemy, waging war in a manner violative of the usage of civilized nations, has invaded our … Read entire article »
Baptists and the American Civil War: May 15, 1862
A recent letter from a North Carolina Baptist Confederate soldier is published in this week’s North Carolina Biblical Recorder. Writing from Gordonville, Virgina, the soldier (identifying himself only as D. W. C.) reflects upon his early weeks in the state where the Union is on the offensive. His observations include the adoration of Richmond women and the growing evidence of religion in the camps. Bro. Hufham:–As we have left Kinston, N.C., … Read entire article »
Baptists and the American Civil War: May 14, 1862
White Baptist commitment to the Confederacy is similar to that of the South’s other Christian denominations: many if not most embrace (in some fashion or another) the Confederacy as God’s Kingdom on earth, while few publicly disagree with the belief that African slavery is God’s will for the black race. Calvinism, a long-held Christian belief system positing God’s complete sovereignty over history and humankind, is the theology that buttresses the … Read entire article »
Baptists and the American Civil War: May 13, 1862
The Chowan Baptist Association of North Carolina assembles today for the organization’s annual meeting. Among business items, the report on the North Carolina Baptist State Convention is front and center, revealing insight into how Southern Baptists have reoriented their mission efforts in light of the Civil War. This Institution is designed to give strength and efficiency to our efforts in promoting the great objects of christian benevolence, connected with the advancement … Read entire article »



