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A Holy Baptism of Fire & Blood The Bible & the American Civil War
James P. Byrd
Oxford:
University Press, 2021 Hardcover. viii+376 pages. ISBN 978-0190902797. £26.99/$34.95
Reviewed by
Timothy J. Demy U.S. Naval
War College (Newport, Rhode Island)
Historian James P. Byrd provides
readers an exceptionally well-written study of the use of the Bible during what,
once, was often termed the “war between the states.” This book continues Byrd’s
study of the Bible and American military history, building up his earlier work Sacred Scripture, Sacred War : The
Bible and the American Revolution (Oxford, 2013). The present volume
affords readers the same level of breadth of scholarship and flowing historical
narrative found in the earlier volume. Without an appreciation of the role of
religion in American life and culture, it is difficult in the 21st
century to understand the history of the United States through the end of the
Second World War. Religious ideology, commitment, imagery, and language
permeated American society and culture. In the 19th century, the Bible was the
most-imported, printed, distributed, read, and respected book in the United
States. Thus, when Americans went to war, it was not unusual or unexpected that
the Bible would be an important part of the wartime experience on many levels.
Indeed, President Abraham Lincoln, in his Second Inaugural Address, delivered
several years into the war in March 1865, proclaimed that both the Union and
the Confederacy “read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes
His aid against the other” (quoted on p.1). The American Civil War (1861-1865)
truly divided the young democratic nation, then less than one hundred years
old. The fledgling democracy divided politically, geographically, and in some
instances, religiously—especially among Protestant groups such as Baptists,
Methodists, and Presbyterians. Important during the war, in its
aftermath, and to the present are the deeply-rooted political and religious
ideas that were expressed at the time. Themes of death, sacrifice, and rebirth
entered vocabulary and ideology of American civil religion and have remained
part of American religious imagery and discourse in America for more than 160
years. At the time of the war, the United States was a nation with deep
religious commitments by the majority of its citizens—Protestants, Roman Catholics,
and Jewish. At the center of all of this was the
Bible and clashing interpretations of it. However, beyond the faithful, Americans
with no religious affiliation considered the Bible to be a book of moral and
political guidance. Whether viewed as a book of Providence or a book of
politics, Americans, free and enslaved, looked to the Bible—usually the
Authorized Version (King James Version)—for a predominately Protestant nation,
as a source for inspiration and hope. The rhetoric, rituals, symbols, and
stories of the Bible were routinely used in private and in public—on the
battlefield and the home front. The physical presence of the Bible for many
soldiers before, during, and after combat was extremely important. During this
era, if Americans owned any book, it was likely to be a Bible. Distribution of
Bibles to Union and Confederate troops was very popular. The American Bible
Society, already in existence for nearly half a century, distributed more than
three million copies of the Bible or New Testament during the war [13]. Many Southerners, not wanting to take “Yankee Bibles,” refused to do so, such that the Confederacy established its own Bible
society in 1862, but it was unable to produce enough to meet demands. Byrd’s study covers all aspects of the
Bible as object, and interactions with and interpretations of it as a sacred
text as well as a political text during the war. Especially strong and
pertinent for this reviewer are the portions of his work showing how the Bible
was used by slaves and abolitionists as well as the common soldier. Also interesting as recounted in
Chapter 4, “This Second War I Consider Equally as Holy as the First,” was the
political and theological significance, especially in the Union, that the war garnered
with respect to belief in a divinely-ordained purpose for the United States—an
idea of American exceptionalism that permeates American history and the
perspectives of many to the present. Dating to before the American Revolution,
this theo-political idea of the new American nation as the new Israel in the
New World was deeply entrenched in the North. As a result, the war was not only
a political crisis, but as historian Mark Noll has noted, a theological crisis
(cf. The Civil War as a Theological
Crisis. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2006 and
Stout, Harry S. Upon the Altar of the
Nation: A Moral History of the Civil War. New York: Viking, 2005). Byrd’s
writing allows readers to clearly see and understand what religious citizens
and soldiers saw when they viewed the war through the theo-political lens. To
divide the nation was, for many people in the North, rebellion against God much
more than rebellion against Washington, D.C. Worth noting are the accounts Byrd
provides of how victory and defeat were viewed through a biblical lens and religious
construct. From Bull (July 21, 1861, also known as Manassas) to Cold Harbor (May
31-June 12, 1864) to Antietam (September 17, 1862), to Chancellorsville (April
30-May 6, 1863 and the death of Confederate General Thomas J. “Stonewall
Jackson” to Shiloh (April 6-April 7, 1862) to a score of other battles, God’s
providence, affirmed from the biblical text, was seen in victory and defeat. So
too was the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865, less
than a week after the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union
General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, an event for
which many turned to the Bible in the midst of their shock and grief. From the Genesis story of Cain
murdering Abel, one brother against another, to the freedom from slavery story
of Exodus, the conquest of the land in Joshua, Psalms of peace and protection, prophetic
utterances from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel to the New Testament teachings of
the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), obedience to government (Romans 13), and
the apocalyptic imagery of war in Revelation, there was a biblical text for
every aspect of the war. The Bible was a repository of rhetoric, stories, and
principles for politicians, soldiers, abolitionists, and civilians who endured
a conflict Byrd documents the strong commitment
many soldiers had to the teachings of the Bible and the biblical text,
believing the Bible as a religious object might bring protection and that the
words printed in it would provide daily guidance, wisdom, and comfort to those
who read and believed the sacred text. Refreshingly for international
readers, one need not have a detailed knowledge of the American Civil War to
enjoy and learn from Byrd’s book. His prose and style welcomes a broad spectrum of
readers. Unlike many books, though one should read through the book, it is
possible to open to a chapter and read with enjoyment, understanding, and
benefit. In this present era, when Americans
are deeply divided over such things as reparations to the descendants of
slaves, flags and statues of Confederacy and its leaders, and the ever-present
blurring of religion and politics in American life, Byrd’s book provides much
to consider and upon which to reflect. It is a reminder of the terrible tragedy
and cost of war and of how religion and sacred texts are used to promote war
and peace. Months after the war’s ending, in
December 1865, Northern clergyman F.R. Abbe delivered a thanksgiving sermon
titled “Wisdom Better Than Weapons of War”—a title taken from the words of
Ecclesiastes 9:8. To a victorious but war-weary audience he proclaimed: “There
will be much to reap from these bloody fields but the richest harvest will be
wisdom” (quoted on p. 299). Perhaps that was true for some who heard his words,
but for many, then and now, such wisdom remains elusive. Read the book, study the book, and
reflect on the book. However, if nothing else, the Introduction and the
Epilogue are a “must read” and worth the price of the book. Also, very helpful
is the Appendix, “Biblical Citations in the Civil War Era.” This is a landmark work to be read by
any person seeking to understand the role of faith in military history and especially,
during the American Civil War. What does it mean for today? The power of
religion in one’s own life as well as the lives of one’s allies and adversaries
should never be underestimated. Byrd’s book is a poignant case study and
reminder that while it may be true that “the pen is mightier than the sword,”
the combination of the two together, especially from the religious pen, remains
a formidable presence and challenge in any age.
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