Many Southern Baptist men are now soldiering for the Confederacy. Army life is far from easy: danger, hunger, illness, exposure to the elements, and death are all constant worries, although secondary–in the minds of preachers–to the ever-present specter of sin. Most Baptist churches in the South never refer, in their church records, to their soldiers…
In Virginia’s northern Shenandoah Valley, German Baptists are rebelling against a proclamation from Virginia governor John Fletcher incorporating the state’s militia into the Confederate Army. The proclamation is in response to a desperate need for more Confederate manpower in the face of recent Union victories. Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, ready to ramp up efforts…
The Battle of Shiloh occurs near a small log church in western Tennessee. The primary fighting will last until the morrow. The church building, destroyed shortly after the battle, is Shiloh United Methodist Church. Some references indicate that a Baptist congregation also utilizes the building. Indeed, Protestant denominations frequently share buildings in the rural South.…