Transcript Religion of the Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg
SSUSH9
Religious Litmus Test of God’s Favor
Logan Porter and Anthony Shelton
RELIGIOUS
In the Battle of Gettysburg;
God is Everywhere
Religious Perspectives of the War
• Some 750,000 soldiers died during the Civil War and many of them carried and
quoted from the Bible. But they read it in divergent ways that still caused division
within our already separated nation.
• As it turned out, both sides came to interpret Scripture in ways that would support
their views on slavery, with literal interpretations hardening in the South and
figurative ones gaining favor in the North.
• “The North had its own agenda, its own reasons for reading the Bible the way it did
along with its own interpretation. And the South had its own reasons for reading the
Bible along with their interpretations.
• http://religionandpolitics.org/2013/11/19/abraham-lincolns-gettysburg-address-150years-later/
Which God did they Worship?
• Was it the God that ordered total death
and destruction?
• "Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will
punish Amalek for what he did to
Israel, how he set himself against him
on the way while he was coming up
from Egypt. 3 ‘Now go and strike
Amalek and utterly destroy all that he
has, and do not spare him; but put to
death both man and woman, child and
infant, ox and sheep, camel and
donkey,” (1 Samuel 15:2-3).
Which God did they Worship?
• Or was it the Loving,
Sacrificing, Giving
God we hear about in
John 3:16
• New International
Version (NIV)
• 16 For God so
loved the world that
he gave his one and
only Son, that
whoever believes in
him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
Millennialism, a belief in the imminent earthly reign
of Christ, was the dominant theme of mid-19th
century Christianity.
• Christianity has the following key foundational ideologies:
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God creating the Heavens and the Earth
Separated the waters
Created vegetation (Plants and trees)
Set the Sun, Moon, and the Stars in their place
Created animals to fly in the air and to swim in the seas
Created animals to roam on the Earth
Created Man (
)
And Sacrificed His only begotten Son to die for our sins!
and women
The Union Faith
The North’s Ultimate Goal
• Most in the North believed
that the eventual demise of
wickedness and the
flawlessness of man would
enable Christ’s homecoming
These individuals thought of
the war as a means of
eradicating slavery and other
impediments to the
establishment of Christ’s new
order.
The Confederate Faith
Paraphernalia of Faith from the Confederacy
What other denominations roamed the fields of
battle?
In Pennsylvania Protestant
services such as Baptist,
Methodist or Presbyterian and
even Jews were usual but not
always the case. Hundreds of
thousands of historic “peace”
church members, chiefly
Brethren and Mennonites,
including Amish and Quakers,
adhered to the doctrine of
Christian pacifism, although
some took up arms in the
conflict.
What other denominations roamed the fields of
battle?
• There were Jews that participated in the Battle
Field and on the homestead.
• Jews were some of the leading manufactures in the
Confederacy, including Haiman’s Sword Factory in
Columbus, Ga.
*Brothers Edward Jonas (Union Soldier) and Charles H. Jonas
(Confederate Soldier). Collection of Wendy Wells, and
Collection of the American Jewish Historical Society.
Chaplain Horatio S. Howell, 90th
Pennsylvania
Christ Lutheran Church which
initially appeared serve as a
hospital and shelter for the
Northern wounded. Reverend
Horatio S. Howell, chaplain for
the 90th Pennsylvania Infantry,
aided with the caring for the
casualties of his regiment in
this house of peace. As he was
exiting the building, a
Confederate soldier demanded
that he surrender and turn
over his sword. He did not, and
was shot on the steps of this
church.
At the foot of the church steps “cruelly shot”
No one knows with any
certainty if the soldier who
pulled the trigger knew that the
officer that he saw belonged to
the chaplaincy, but the men of
the 90th Pennsylvania were
incensed.
Gettysburg Lessons: Horatio Howell - YouTube
Father
William Corby
An American priest of the Congregation
of the Holy Cross, and a Union Army
chaplain in the Civil War attached to the
Irish Brigade.
He is best known for giving general
absolution to the Irish Brigade on the
second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Father William “Fair Catch” Corby
• “That general absolution was intended for
all — in quantum possum — not only for
our brigade, but for all, North or South,
who were susceptible of it and who were
about to appear before their Judge. Let us
hope that many thousands of souls,
purified by hardships, fasting, prayer, and
blood, met a favorable sentence on the
ever memorable battlefield of
Gettysburg." - Fr. Corby
“Fair Catch Corby”
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/cwnorth.htm
Served as the Chaplin for Gen. George
Meade's 88th New York Volunteer Infantry
(aka the Irish Brigade) during the Battle of
Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863).
Fr. Corby is famous for giving general
absolution to the Irish Brigade before many of
its soldiers perished during the fighting.
"
Later served as Notre Dame's third president
AESTHETIC
Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary
Gettysburg Seminary Cupola
Union Generals Buford
and Reynolds used the
cupola to view the
battlefield and terrain
and as a signal post on
the first day of the
battle. On the 2nd and
3rd days aides to
Confederate General
Lee did the same thing
Having a “God’s View”
or the “Eagle’s View” of
the area.
Climbing the cupola - YouTube
Structures of Worship
Building such as these
were a primary means
through which gender and
racial roles were outlined
and civic knowledge was
delivered to families and
local communities. By the
time the Confederates
showed up in Gettysburg
the local pastors had
already painted an image
of “Johnny Reb” which was
hard to let go by the locals
in the town.
The Eagle’s View
The Battle Hymn and the
Ideas of Religion on the
Battle Field
INTELLECTUAL
Reasons the North Believed that God was on
their side
• 1. The Northern church emphasized that the Union had to be
preserved because of the special place that America
occupied in world history
• 2. In the Book of Revelations and in other portions of the
Bible there are descriptions of events that a Northern victory
might prepare the way for the Kingdom of God on earth. Rev
18: 14-20 “Fallen is Babylon the Great” (The South)
• 3. A few denounced the practice of slavery as a sin and called
for immediate emancipation or abolition. At the other extreme,
some argued that the Bible treated slavery as a morally
legitimate institution.
Examples of Prayer Books for Union Soldiers
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1789Selections/
Proclamation of Faith from the Union
http://www.loc.gov/item/amss.cw106190
Reasons the South believed that God was on
their side
• It could be that the South believed that God favored them and
honored their cause in the initial battles that were fought. It is
well documented that the Northern Armies, although large in
number lacked good military leaders. Those leaders won
battles against the North time and time again.
• Believing that God welcomed slavery the South used the
scriptures that reinforced the literal institution of slavery.
“Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it,
not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but
with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.” Colossian
3:22
When do you think this prayer was written,
before or after the war? What does this prayer
mean?
SOCIAL
The Civility of the Battle
• Rules of Engagement
–Who is a Combatant?
–Who is a Non Combatant?
POLITICAL
Political
• The Gettysburg Address,
spoken by the U.S.
Presidents at the time,
Abraham Lincoln, is drenched
with religious vocabulary.
This, no doubt used by most
military and political leaders
to encourage men to do
something that they would not
normally do and makes no
sense to the average man: to
run towards gunfire.
The Gettysburg Address
• Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on
this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
• Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that
nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can
long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final
resting place for those who here gave their lives that that
nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we
should do this.
The Gettysburg Address (cont)
• But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not
consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave
men, living and dead, who struggled here, have
consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or
detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what
we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It
is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the
unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far
so nobly advanced.
The Gettysburg Address (cont)
• It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining
before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased
devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of
devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not
have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new
birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people,
for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
• Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863
• Mark 3:24
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand
The Answer to the question,
“Who did God favor?”
• Consider the following:
• The “friendly fire” incident of Stonewall Jackson
• Lee’s reaction to medication taken to alleviate an illness
(possible cause for his lapse in judgment on day three)
• Considered the Union Army's defensive at Little Round
Top which defended successfully by the brigade
of Col. Strong Vincent. The 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry
Regiment, commanded by Col. Joshua Lawrence
Chamberlain, fought the most famous engagement there,
culminating in a dramatic downhill bayonet charge that is
one of the most well-known actions at Gettysburg and in
the American Civil War. (after they ran out of ammunition)
The Answer to the question,
“Who did God favor?”(cont.)
• The Reconnaissance Commander Jeb Stuart who got “lost”
when director to reconnoiter (observe/survey) the area.
• Lee’s pride which led to the insistence that Pickett make a
doomed charge against the advisement of council.
• Some believed God caused the loss of the war to show
humility to the South and that their humility would lead them
to a greater reward. This is how the South justified defeat at
the hands of the Godless Northern Soldiers. History has
revealed. God favored the victors.