The Civil War was definitely a time of bloodshed, but it was also a time of great revival. Hundreds of thousands of men were converted during this time. The great leaders of the day, (such as Lincoln and Robert E. Lee), took great care to ensure that chaplains had a place in the Army ranks. One of these leaders of the revival is well remembered for his bravery, but not for his faith in the Almighty God, which is how he would've wanted to be remembered.
Can you guess who he was?
- He was an orphan from Virginia
- He graduated as #17 in a class of 59 at West Point
- He participated in 16 Civil War engagements
- He was mistaken for a Yankee and killed by his own men
- He was best known for rallying his Confederates “like a stone wall” during the First Battle of Bull Run…
Did you guess who it is? The 'famous' general I’m describing is Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. He was a great leader of the Southern cause, but what many secular history books don’t include is his trust and faith in God. He was a devout Presbyterian, and in battle he had such a peace about him, he would say that his religion taught him to feel “As safe in battle as in bed”. What was he like before the Civil War?
Thomas Jackson as a young man*
Orphan
Thomas Jackson, for being a great general at the end of his life, didn’t get much of a home life. He was born on January 21 st, 1824. An orphan, he was raised by his mean uncle until age 18, when he entered West Point military academy in New York. Thomas was a hard worker, and applied himself to the academy to do well. His hard childhood had made him a shy, independent, and intense young man, but he used those traits for the better at the academy. He graduated 17th in a class of 59. He fought in the Mexican War, and applied bravery that he later would be known for. Stonewall was a huge man, 6-foot tall, heavy set with huge hands and feet. His eyes, a pale blue, seemed to penetrate whoever he looked at. He joined the Confederate army after his native state, Virginia, seceded from the Union, and was made a lieutenant general (thanks to all the past military experience). He fought in 16 military engagements in the Civil War, and became known for his battle bravery.
Revival
More importantly to his success than his military career, General Jackson clung to his faith, and firmly believed God would take care of him. He encouraged that the men in his camp held and attended camp revival meetings. Through the whole Civil War, approximately 150,000 troops in the Confederate Army were converted to the Christian faith. While President Lincoln made sure that there was a chaplain in every Union regiment, the South’s president did not. So Jackson, and other Confederate leaders like him, took it upon themselves to care for the spiritual side of their troops. These revival meetings were imperative. The Civil War claimed 750,000 lives. The generals and the chaplains wanted to make sure that those men dying would end up with Jesus. Some regiments brought their own chaplain, according to their denomination, e.g. Catholic, Baptist, etc. Not every soldier was converted, but it is estimated that about 10% of all Civil War soldiers experienced a conversion experience during the war. Millions of tracts were also handed out during the war, plus thousands of hymnals. Religious organizations even sent missionaries into the armies to minister to the soldiers spiritually. All these efforts were just following the examples of leaders like Jackson.
Inspiration
However, good leaders like Jackson don’t last forever. General Jackson was shot accidentally by his own men in 1862. His left arm was amputated, and pneumonia set in. Even when dying, we can see where Jackson found his strength, even in his last hour he still reassures the generals surrounding him that if it was God's will, he was ready to go. His last words still are an inspiration: “Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.”
Stonewall really was, (and still is) an inspiration to everybody he came across. We, today, can learn from this great revival. Jackson was a missionary, witnessing to his troops in the midst of war. He trusted that God would provide a peace that could only come from Him. We can do just what Jackson did. We can run into our everyday "battles" and call on God’s peace to keep us with protection, provision and power. And we can bring others with us along the way.
~But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth. ~ Acts 1:8
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