Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-01-08
Civil War Revival.


Confederate, was the great revival of
religion In the Confederate armies dur
Ing the :aSt eighteen months of the
struggle.
While most of the Confederate sol
diers were loath to admit it, after the
fall of vicksburg. which opened the
Mississippi and cut the Confederacy In
two, and the awful defeat ut Gettys-
burg which proved the impossibility of
a successful invasion of the North, 1t
became clear to every thinking man in
the South that the cause was lost. And
yet, self-convinced that they were in
the right, the soldiers could not per-
s1ade themselves but that in some mys-
ferrous way they would win. They
hoped that complications between the
United States government and Great
Britain would take place, and when
this hope was disappointed they looked
confidently for trouble with France over
| the Mexican affair Nothing came Of
II. however, and still the poor fellows
chung to their hope of help from some
unexpected quarter until some of them
actually came to believe that supernat-
ural aid would be extended at the last
moment
"rhe chaplains in the Southern army
We're as rule very earnest, deyout
men, and encouraged the hopes Of the
soldiers, until finally both chaplains
md
prayer and supplication would bring
about divine intervention I'm their be-
half.
But the chaplains told the men they
right with God themselves. So the men
proceeded at once TO seek their own
salvation The movement first began
in the Tennessee army and among the
regiments from the mountain districts
Of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennes-
see. Most extraordinary scenes were
| witnessed in the camps. At night, af-
ter long days march, perhaps Skin
mishing or fighting from dawn till dark,
| the men would gather round the fires.
eat what little rations they had-and
/ the rations were often very unequal to
their needs-then pray and sing, often
until long after midnight
The preachers were everywhere.
| They went from one camp fire to an
/ other, encouraging those who were 'un-
der conviction praying with those whe
| We're grooming and crying, shouting
with those who thought they had re-
ligion, clapping their hands, roaring
! .Hallelujah,' and in every way seeking
| to promote the excitement which had
already passed beyond their control.
| Many men seemed actually crazed with
| religious enthusiasm. It seems para
| doxical to say ii. but whole groups
! could be seen in a sort Of hysteria, cry
| ing and laughing at the same time, EN-
| bracing one another and performing
antics that would have justified q look
| eron In the belief that they were all
| insane Many cases of the jerks oc-
! Cured. many of the soldiers went into
| frances, some had visions, and one
| member of Tennessee regiment
claimed to have a revelation which
foretold the coming of Jesus Christ,
with twelve legions of angels To assist
| the Confederate cause. OF course the
poor man was insane: he afterwards
/ died in an asylum But there were
many like him. and many. too, who
| believed in him and his prophecies. But
no wonder can be felt at the numerous
| cases of insanity, both religious and
! otherwise, which occurred in the Con
| federate armies during the last year
| Of the war. The commissary depart
ment went to pieces during half the
/ time the men were almost starving,
| their clothing was In rags few had
! oyercoats and after cold rain, such
as often occurs during Southern win
! ter, their condition was pitiful, and the
more so because, In many divisions,
| there were no hospital tents and the
! doctors had neither medicines nor ade-
quate facilities for caring for the sick
or dressing the wounds Of those
| brought in from the field. The relig-
| ious excitement was a sort Of last re
sort. Every earthly hope had failed,
and the poor men seemed TO convince
themselves that as they had 40 chance
In this world, help might come to them
| from a supernatural source"
The Slain in Battle.
Let us see how men killed each other
| In the past when firearms were not
modern or did not exist, and when the
opportunity TO kill in battle was much
greater than it is at the present time.
Edward III. and Philip VI. tilted with
each other at Grey Aug. 20, 1876 ana
the killed and wounded and prisoners
amounted IN all to 1900 men The
English, although victorious, lost T.