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Modern War Studies
For Courageous Fighting and Confident Dying: Union Chaplains in the Civil War
When soldiers in the Civil War called on their religious beliefs in order to cope with the horrors of battle, many looked to the regimental chaplain for guidance and understanding. Clergy were always present to address the spiritual needs of the common soldier and administer to the wounded and dying. But as Warren Armstrong shows, military chaplains provided more than comfort.
In a country profoundly shaped by religion, each side adapted its version of Christianity to support its political views. This book documents the role played by Union chaplains in making better soldiers and supporting the North's military efforts. These ministers in uniform focused on preserving the Union and reminding soldiers that slavery was the central issue in the war, preaching the righteousness of abolition in services held in the mud of campgrounds, and often serving as advocates for freedmen.
Armstrong has drawn on a wide range of documents to explain the duties of Union chaplains and differentiate them from their Southern counterparts. He examines the organization of the chaplaincy and reviews its manuals for guidelines on such matters as cultivating desirable character traits and building makeshift churches. He also sheds light on the personalities of the men who served, examines their attitudes toward the war, and assesses their unofficial role as morale officers for the Union army.
Wherever possible, Armstrong uses chaplains' letters, diaries, and written reports to explain their thoughts and actions in their own words. His book is narrative history with a richly human element, including such episodes as a chaplain who took a fallen soldier's place and died in battle and two chaplains of different faiths who slept together for warmth on a cold winter night at Fredericksburg.
Before the Civil War, the need for a military chaplaincy had been challenged on the grounds of separation of church and state, but the valiant service of chaplains during that conflict helped prove their worth and establish a lasting military tradition. In relating their story, Armstrong's work faithfully documents the contributions chaplains made both to the Union victory and to the form that victory took.
In a country profoundly shaped by religion, each side adapted its version of Christianity to support its political views. This book documents the role played by Union chaplains in making better soldiers and supporting the North's military efforts. These ministers in uniform focused on preserving the Union and reminding soldiers that slavery was the central issue in the war, preaching the righteousness of abolition in services held in the mud of campgrounds, and often serving as advocates for freedmen.
Armstrong has drawn on a wide range of documents to explain the duties of Union chaplains and differentiate them from their Southern counterparts. He examines the organization of the chaplaincy and reviews its manuals for guidelines on such matters as cultivating desirable character traits and building makeshift churches. He also sheds light on the personalities of the men who served, examines their attitudes toward the war, and assesses their unofficial role as morale officers for the Union army.
Wherever possible, Armstrong uses chaplains' letters, diaries, and written reports to explain their thoughts and actions in their own words. His book is narrative history with a richly human element, including such episodes as a chaplain who took a fallen soldier's place and died in battle and two chaplains of different faiths who slept together for warmth on a cold winter night at Fredericksburg.
Before the Civil War, the need for a military chaplaincy had been challenged on the grounds of separation of church and state, but the valiant service of chaplains during that conflict helped prove their worth and establish a lasting military tradition. In relating their story, Armstrong's work faithfully documents the contributions chaplains made both to the Union victory and to the form that victory took.
184 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 4, 2016
A very readable academic look at the history and role of the over 2300 Union chaplains in the Civil War. Using a wide variety of original records, the book covered pay, duties, uniform, how they got along with different denominations, their views on slavery and how they made the lives of the soldiers better. Not all of them were unselfish, but most were dedicated to being there for the men to comfort them when they were sick in spirit or body. Aside from their ministerial duties, they wrote letters for those in the hospital, held educational classes when at camp, dug rifle pits and wells, foraged for food, helped the surgeons by wrapping wounds during battle, taught former slaves to read and write and even a few picked up arms to defend their units. Overall it was a fascinating look at a rarely discussed aspect of the Civil War.
August 3, 2025
The history given for the union chaplains was interesting, if a bit dense. It was well written and well researched, but the author seemed to get less and less focused on chaplains and more interested in giving his views on the civil war as a whole. He tried making the case that the entire war was about slavery, and that secession was about slavery. I find that strange historically, because when the South seceded, slavery was legal in the North and was not under threat either. It wasn't until midway through the war when Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation, which only freed slaves in the South. I think other civil war historians give far more in depth accounts of the causes behind the war itself than Armstrong does, and it seemed like an unneccessary diatribe for a book about chaplaincy.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews