Ministering to a Divided Nation

References:

•           ESSENTIAL CIVIL WAR CURRICULUM Chaplains in the Civil War, by Richard G. Williams, Jr. (http://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/chaplains-in-the-civil-war.html)
•          Faith on the Firing Line, Army Chaplains in the Civil War (https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2016/spring/chaplains.html)

·         Article with numerous pictures from The Chaplain Kit (https://thechaplainkit.com/chaplains/19th-century-wars/civil-war/)

·         Jewish Chaplains in the Civil War (https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-chaplains-in-the-civil-war/)

·         Site from Find A Grave where you can learn more about the different Chaplains in the Union Army (https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/100961)

Thoughts and Reflections…

While watching Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War, I was a bit surprised to hear him talking about the various pastors and Chaplains who served in both the Union and the Confederate armies.  Although the Christian faith, both for justifying slavery in the South and for justifying abolitionism in the North have often been referenced, the fact that there were Chaplains serving in both armies was a bit of a surprise.  So, I decided to do a little bit of research on my own of this particular topic, and was surprised by how much I found.  Above are just a few of the articles that I came across in a short period of time.  And, I am quite intrigued by this.

As many of you might know, I have been in the Army (Active Duty and Nebraska National Guard) for over 17 years now.  However, something I do not recall sharing yet is the fact that I have tried to become a Chaplain with the US Army Nebraska National Guard.  Although I have always wanted to become a church pastor, there has always been a problem with becoming ordained.  Back in 2010 or so, I attempted to become ordained via a different route, via the Army Chaplain Corps.  Unfortunately, though, that did not work out, either.  However, that has not stopped God from using me on many occasions during my deployments, especially my third (2010-11) and fourth (2015) deployments.

Ever since I joined my current unit, the 192^nd Military Police Law and Order Detachment, I have often served as an ‘unofficial Chaplain’ to the other members of the unit.  There have been many occasions where a fellow Soldier has come to me for emotional and spiritual guidance.  On many occasions I have been asked to do the blessings before an event like a picnic or holiday meal.  While deployed, the Chaplains where I located gave me permission to teach a volunteer Bible Study and even assist them with leading worship.  This even happened one time while I was with the 82^nd Airborne Division.

Sometime between 2003-04, myself and several other members of B Company, 313^th Military Intelligence Battalion, were finishing our pre-jump exercises.  As per tradition, one of the Jump Masters asked if there was a Chaplain in the group of Soldiers who could lead us in a moment of prayer.  This was one of the few times where there wasn’t one.  However, somebody who knew me said, “Underwood here went to seminary!  He’s basically a Chaplain!”  So, I was invited to say a prayer, which I did, asking God for us to have a safe jump.  We loaded the ‘bird’ (airplane, probably a C-130) and took off.  And, we did have a ‘safe jump’ because it ended up being scratched!

When I first started researching this topic this past weekend, I learned that there have been Chaplains in the US Army ever since the Revolutionary War.  In fact, according to the Army History site (https://armyhistory.org/u-s-army-chaplain-corps/):

The U.S. Army Chaplain Corps is one of the oldest and smallest branches of the Army.  The Chaplain Corps dates back to 29 July 1775, when the Continental Congress authorized one chaplain for each regiment of the Continental Army, with pay equaling that of a captain.  In addition to chaplains serving in Continental regiments, many militia regiments counted chaplains among their ranks.

Personally, I find this incredibly fascinating.  From the very beginning, the spiritual well-being of Soldiers has always been a priority!

One of the biggest surprises that I have had in regards to learning more about the Civil War was something I found at Essential Civil War Curriculum site.  About half way down the page, I read about how one of the units in the Confederacy broke new ground concerning the role of the Chaplain.  According to the article, Company M, 7th Tennessee Cavalry was without a Chaplain.  However, there was a slave, nicknamed ‘Uncle Lewis’ who was considered very devout.  They decided to allow him to preach once, and they were so impressed with him that Uncle Lewis (full name was Louis Napoleon Nelson) became the unit’s Chaplain from the spring of 1862 until the close of the Civil War.  How is that for surprising!

This particular subject is something that I will probably try to find a book or two on because of my personal interest in it.  If it’s something that you might have some interested in, I encourage you to do your own research on it.  You may be surprised at what you learn.

The Civil War saw many innovations in the realm of warfare, how we live, economics, etc.  It was a very bloody affair, extremely brutal and horrific.  However, I am finding more and more things about the Civil War that I can learn from.  Although many are military related, not all of them are.

RC