Upon the Altar of the Nation (82 page)
Read Upon the Altar of the Nation Online
Authors: Harry S. Stout
6. “THE CHURCH WILL SOUND THE TRUMPETS”
1
Lincoln, “Address to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois,” January 27, 1838, in Basler,
Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings,
81.
Lincoln, “Address to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois,” January 27, 1838, in Basler,
Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings,
81.
2
Quoted in ibid., 50, 225.
Quoted in ibid., 50, 225.
3
Elliott,
God’s Presence with the Confederate States,
reprinted in Chesebrough,
God Ordained This War,
314. See also Sledd,
Sermon.
Elliott,
God’s Presence with the Confederate States,
reprinted in Chesebrough,
God Ordained This War,
314. See also Sledd,
Sermon.
4
On the transformation of antislavery from “gradualism” to “immediatism” once the category of “sin” was invoked, see David Brion Davis’s classic essay: “The Emergence of Immediatism in British and American Antislavery Thought,” 209-30.
On the transformation of antislavery from “gradualism” to “immediatism” once the category of “sin” was invoked, see David Brion Davis’s classic essay: “The Emergence of Immediatism in British and American Antislavery Thought,” 209-30.
8
Thomas Smyth Papers, 1830-1861, Third Notebook, July 31, 1861, William R. Perkins Library, Duke University.
Thomas Smyth Papers, 1830-1861, Third Notebook, July 31, 1861, William R. Perkins Library, Duke University.
11
D. F. Parker to the Reverend Alonzo Hill, May 4, 1861, Civil War Papers, Box 1, Folder 7a, AAS.
D. F. Parker to the Reverend Alonzo Hill, May 4, 1861, Civil War Papers, Box 1, Folder 7a, AAS.
12
Elliott,
Silver Trumpets of the Sanctuary,
reprinted in Chesebrough,
God Ordained This War,
314. For similar sentiments see Gregg,
Duties Grawing Out of It.
Elliott,
Silver Trumpets of the Sanctuary,
reprinted in Chesebrough,
God Ordained This War,
314. For similar sentiments see Gregg,
Duties Grawing Out of It.
13
Longstreet,
Fast-Day Sermon,
6. See also Mitchel,
Fast Day Sermon,
and Henry Niles Pierce,
God Our Only Trust.
Longstreet,
Fast-Day Sermon,
6. See also Mitchel,
Fast Day Sermon,
and Henry Niles Pierce,
God Our Only Trust.
14
See Sprague,
Freedom under Lincoln
(Boston, 1965); Davis M. Silver,
Lincoln’s Supreme Court;
and Hyman,
A More Perfect Union.
See Sprague,
Freedom under Lincoln
(Boston, 1965); Davis M. Silver,
Lincoln’s Supreme Court;
and Hyman,
A More Perfect Union.
15
On Claiborne Jackson and the creation of a Confederate identity in the Border West, see Christopher Phillips,
Missouri’s Confederate.
7. THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN: “A TOTAL AND DISGRACEFUL ROUT”On Claiborne Jackson and the creation of a Confederate identity in the Border West, see Christopher Phillips,
Missouri’s Confederate.
2
“Forward to Richmond,” which soon became the motto of the North, was coined in Greeley’s
New York Tribune,
June 26, 1861: “The Nation’s War Cry: Forward to Richmond!” See Stoddard,
Horace Greeley,
213.
“Forward to Richmond,” which soon became the motto of the North, was coined in Greeley’s
New York Tribune,
June 26, 1861: “The Nation’s War Cry: Forward to Richmond!” See Stoddard,
Horace Greeley,
213.
4
On the limitations of technology and the incompetence of untrained civilian amateurs, see Griffith,
Battle Tactics of the Civil War,
and Nosworthy,
Bloody Crucible of Courage.
On the limitations of technology and the incompetence of untrained civilian amateurs, see Griffith,
Battle Tactics of the Civil War,
and Nosworthy,
Bloody Crucible of Courage.
5
There is a vast literature on the military strategies of the war and the devastating consequences they would produce. The classic text on war was Clausewitz, On War. Clausewitz was probably not read by any generals and Jomini by only a few. In their book
Why the South Lost the Civil War,
the authors use Clausewitz’s and Jomini’s categories to analyze Civil War battles, even while conceding they were not read by the participants; see Beringer et al.,
Why the South Lost the Civil War,
39-52. Major secondary studies include McPherson,
Battle Cry of Freedom;
McWhiney and Jamieson,
Attack and Die;
and Hagerman,
American Civil War and the Origins of Modern Warfare.
Two multivolume histories of the Civil War that deal fully with the military aspects are Foote,
Civil War: A Narrative,
3 vols., and Catton,
Centennial History of the Civil War:
vol. 1,
Coming Fury;
vol. 2,
Terrible Swift Sword;
vol. 3,
Never Call Retreat.
There is a vast literature on the military strategies of the war and the devastating consequences they would produce. The classic text on war was Clausewitz, On War. Clausewitz was probably not read by any generals and Jomini by only a few. In their book
Why the South Lost the Civil War,
the authors use Clausewitz’s and Jomini’s categories to analyze Civil War battles, even while conceding they were not read by the participants; see Beringer et al.,
Why the South Lost the Civil War,
39-52. Major secondary studies include McPherson,
Battle Cry of Freedom;
McWhiney and Jamieson,
Attack and Die;
and Hagerman,
American Civil War and the Origins of Modern Warfare.
Two multivolume histories of the Civil War that deal fully with the military aspects are Foote,
Civil War: A Narrative,
3 vols., and Catton,
Centennial History of the Civil War:
vol. 1,
Coming Fury;
vol. 2,
Terrible Swift Sword;
vol. 3,
Never Call Retreat.
6
In the end, as we shall see, frontal assaults largely ceased. Only then would the offensive tactics of siege and overland marches succeed in defeating the Confederacy.
In the end, as we shall see, frontal assaults largely ceased. Only then would the offensive tactics of siege and overland marches succeed in defeating the Confederacy.
17
Martha LeBaron Goddard to Mrs. [Mary] Johnson, October 24, 1861, Manuscipts Collections, AAS.
Martha LeBaron Goddard to Mrs. [Mary] Johnson, October 24, 1861, Manuscipts Collections, AAS.
19
Ibid.
Ibid.
20
Charleston Mercury,
September 26, 1861. The “contraband” designation applied to slaves was invented in May 1861.
Charleston Mercury,
September 26, 1861. The “contraband” designation applied to slaves was invented in May 1861.
24
William C. Davis,
Battle of Bull Run,
257. Because of McClellan’s reluctance to embrace total war (to say nothing of Lincoln and his policies), historians have been unkind to him and tend to see him the way Lincoln wanted him to be seen: as a timid, frightened commander who exaggerated enemy strengths to avoid open battle. See, for example, T. Harry Williams,
Lincoln and His Generals;
Kenneth Williams,
Lincoln Finds a General;
or Sears,
George
B.
McClellan.
William C. Davis,
Battle of Bull Run,
257. Because of McClellan’s reluctance to embrace total war (to say nothing of Lincoln and his policies), historians have been unkind to him and tend to see him the way Lincoln wanted him to be seen: as a timid, frightened commander who exaggerated enemy strengths to avoid open battle. See, for example, T. Harry Williams,
Lincoln and His Generals;
Kenneth Williams,
Lincoln Finds a General;
or Sears,
George
B.
McClellan.
25
Christian Intelligencer,
July 25, 1861. See also the American
Presbyterian,
August 1, 1861, and the
Christian Instructor and Western United Presbyterian,
August 7, 1861.
Christian Intelligencer,
July 25, 1861. See also the American
Presbyterian,
August 1, 1861, and the
Christian Instructor and Western United Presbyterian,
August 7, 1861.
27
For a classic description of Bushnell’s “Christian interpretation,” see Clebsch, “Christian Interpretations of the Civil War,” 212-22, and Mullin,
Puritan
as
Yankee.
For a classic description of Bushnell’s “Christian interpretation,” see Clebsch, “Christian Interpretations of the Civil War,” 212-22, and Mullin,
Puritan
as
Yankee.
29
Ibid., 14. For a similar arguments see, for example,
Christian Instructor and Western United Presbyterian,
November 6, 1861, or Fisher,
Sermon Preached in the Chapel of Yale College,
8. 30, On Puritan conceptions of the “meaning of America,” see Perry Miller,
Errand into the Wilderness.
By 1861 the term “Puritan” had lost much of its Calvinistic and theocratic content, but the notion of a “city upon a hill” governed by God remained deeply in place.
Ibid., 14. For a similar arguments see, for example,
Christian Instructor and Western United Presbyterian,
November 6, 1861, or Fisher,
Sermon Preached in the Chapel of Yale College,
8. 30, On Puritan conceptions of the “meaning of America,” see Perry Miller,
Errand into the Wilderness.
By 1861 the term “Puritan” had lost much of its Calvinistic and theocratic content, but the notion of a “city upon a hill” governed by God remained deeply in place.
31
In
On Hallowed Ground,
19, Diggins lumps Lincoln, Bushnell, and de Tocque-ville together as Lockean liberals and misses the substantial differences between Lincoln and Bushnell.
8. TRIUMPHALISM: “ADORNED BY THE NAME OF GOD”In
On Hallowed Ground,
19, Diggins lumps Lincoln, Bushnell, and de Tocque-ville together as Lockean liberals and misses the substantial differences between Lincoln and Bushnell.
8
William Gilmore Simms to James Lawson, August 20, 1861, reprinted in Masur,
“The Real War Will Never Get in the Books,”
219.
William Gilmore Simms to James Lawson, August 20, 1861, reprinted in Masur,
“The Real War Will Never Get in the Books,”
219.
9
All of Lincoln’s fast-day proclamations are reprinted in Sickel,
Thanksgiving,
145. This proclamation was most likely written by Secretary of State William Seward.
All of Lincoln’s fast-day proclamations are reprinted in Sickel,
Thanksgiving,
145. This proclamation was most likely written by Secretary of State William Seward.
13
On the disappearance of Bull Run from the secular press coverage, see Andrews,
The North Reports the Civil
War, 100.
On the disappearance of Bull Run from the secular press coverage, see Andrews,
The North Reports the Civil
War, 100.
16
Scandlin, Diaries 1849-1864, entry for September 26, 1861, AAS.
Scandlin, Diaries 1849-1864, entry for September 26, 1861, AAS.
18
Cheever,
God’s Way of Crushing the Rebellion,
6, 11-12. For a contemporary affirmation of this perspective, see Reynolds,
John Brown, Abolitionist.
9. “WILL NOT THE MARTYRS BE BLESSED ... ?”Cheever,
God’s Way of Crushing the Rebellion,
6, 11-12. For a contemporary affirmation of this perspective, see Reynolds,
John Brown, Abolitionist.
1
Martha LeBaron Goddard to Mrs. [Mary] Johnson, October 24, 1861, Manuscripts Collection, AAS. In a later letter dated January 12, LeBaron still feared the future of emancipation: “Whether Freedom is to come thro’ our present government—or over its ruins I cannot tell—and I dread the failure of this experiment.”
Martha LeBaron Goddard to Mrs. [Mary] Johnson, October 24, 1861, Manuscripts Collection, AAS. In a later letter dated January 12, LeBaron still feared the future of emancipation: “Whether Freedom is to come thro’ our present government—or over its ruins I cannot tell—and I dread the failure of this experiment.”
3
Ibid., January 2, 1862. Bullard’s sentiments were frequently echoed in soldiers’ letters. See McPherson,
For Cause and Comrades.
Ibid., January 2, 1862. Bullard’s sentiments were frequently echoed in soldiers’ letters. See McPherson,
For Cause and Comrades.
6
Charles C. Jones Jr. to Rev. C. C. Jones, October 11, 1861, reprinted in Myers,
Children of Pride,
128.
Charles C. Jones Jr. to Rev. C. C. Jones, October 11, 1861, reprinted in Myers,
Children of Pride,
128.
7
Mary Jones to Charles C. Jones Jr. in ibid., 138-40. On the role of women in promoting Confederate nationalism, see Faust,
Mothers of Invention,
16-20.
Mary Jones to Charles C. Jones Jr. in ibid., 138-40. On the role of women in promoting Confederate nationalism, see Faust,
Mothers of Invention,
16-20.
8
Woodward,
Mary Chesnut’s Civil War,
198. On women’s fear of slave insurrections, see Faust,
Mothers of Invention,
56-62.
Woodward,
Mary Chesnut’s Civil War,
198. On women’s fear of slave insurrections, see Faust,
Mothers of Invention,
56-62.
10
Ibid., 233.
Ibid., 233.
12
Richmond Daily Dispatch,
November 15, 1861. This same theme was repeated. On January 2, 1862, the
Dispatch
cautioned its readers that “we are inclined to believe that it is not the intention of Providence that we should owe our independency to any agency but our own exertions.”
Richmond Daily Dispatch,
November 15, 1861. This same theme was repeated. On January 2, 1862, the
Dispatch
cautioned its readers that “we are inclined to believe that it is not the intention of Providence that we should owe our independency to any agency but our own exertions.”
13
Ibid., October 7 and November 30, 1861.
Ibid., October 7 and November 30, 1861.
14
For a discussion of the paradoxical denigration of Confederate chaplains, see Daniel,
Southern Protestantism in the Confederacy,
54-81; see also Romero, “Confederate Chaplain,” 130. On Union chaplains, see Shattuck,
Shield and Hiding Place.
For a discussion of the paradoxical denigration of Confederate chaplains, see Daniel,
Southern Protestantism in the Confederacy,
54-81; see also Romero, “Confederate Chaplain,” 130. On Union chaplains, see Shattuck,
Shield and Hiding Place.
16
On manliness in the Civil War, see Berry,
All That Makes a Man,
171-74; and McPherson,
For Cause and Comrades,
78. On the tensions between Christianity and manliness in the antebellum South, see Wyatt-Brown,
Shaping of Southern Culture,
102-5.
On manliness in the Civil War, see Berry,
All That Makes a Man,
171-74; and McPherson,
For Cause and Comrades,
78. On the tensions between Christianity and manliness in the antebellum South, see Wyatt-Brown,
Shaping of Southern Culture,
102-5.
18
Thomas V. Moore,
God Our Refuge and Strength,
11. See also Lamar,
A Discourse;
DeBeaux,
Fast-Day Sermon;
George Foster Pierce,
Word of God;
and Henry Holcome Tucker,
God in the War.
Thomas V. Moore,
God Our Refuge and Strength,
11. See also Lamar,
A Discourse;
DeBeaux,
Fast-Day Sermon;
George Foster Pierce,
Word of God;
and Henry Holcome Tucker,
God in the War.
19
Elliott,
How to Renew Our National Strength,
quoted in Chesebrough,
God Ordained This War,
314-15. See also Palmer,
National Responsibility before God;
Henry Niles Pierce,
God Our Only Trust;
and Randolf,
Address on the Day of Fasting and Prayer.
Elliott,
How to Renew Our National Strength,
quoted in Chesebrough,
God Ordained This War,
314-15. See also Palmer,
National Responsibility before God;
Henry Niles Pierce,
God Our Only Trust;
and Randolf,
Address on the Day of Fasting and Prayer.
22
On the Christian Commission see Shattuck,
Shield and Hiding Place,
24-33. On educating slaves, see David Brion Davis,
Emancipation Moment.
On the Christian Commission see Shattuck,
Shield and Hiding Place,
24-33. On educating slaves, see David Brion Davis,
Emancipation Moment.
28
Hughes’s letter was widely reprinted in the press; see, for example, the
New York Herald,
September 4, 1861.
Hughes’s letter was widely reprinted in the press; see, for example, the
New York Herald,
September 4, 1861.
Other books
This is a Love Story by Thompson, Jessica
Hot Wheels by William Arden
Soul Kissed by Courtney Cole
The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
Hour Game by David Baldacci
The Orphans (Book 3): Strangers by Evans, Mike
The Big Kiss-Off of 1944: A Jack LeVine Mystery by Bergman, Andrew
Stranger Mine: a Base Branch novel by Megan Mitcham
Rivals for Love by Barbara Cartland
Why We Buy by Paco Underhill