The
Chaplains position during the Civil War was a much broader position than it
is by today's standards. The Chaplain
Corps did not even exist in the Northern army until President Lincoln declared
that religious guidance for the soldiers was needed. Chaplains in the Southern army were chosen
from those that were qualified, as most volunteered to be soldiers for the
southern cause. But in most instances
there were too few pastors to fill positions for regiments so local pastors and
churches would fill the need where ever the army was encamped.
Religious
belief was very important to soldiers on both sides of the Civil War and played
a large part in the soldier's life. It
was very important then that the military leaders meet the needs of their
soldiers. Both sides of this conflict
met this need in a number of different ways; from creating a Corps to allowing
pastors to come from local churches to meet the soldier's needs.
First we
take a look at the Chaplain in service to the United States army, or the Northern
army. President Lincoln realized early
on that there was a need for religious support among the troops. He also realized that the way the military
had been meeting these needs was inadequate, so for the first time in American
military history, a Corps was formed specifically to meet this need of the
soldiers. Chaplains had served the needs
of the military from the foundations of the military, but they were never
recognized as part of the military.
Chaplains had served as volunteers and were not paid for the work that
they did. Now under President Lincoln,
Chaplains would be recognized as part of the military and would also be paid
for their work. Because of their jobs
and importance, Chaplains were given recognized rank as a commissioned officer
on staff. This meant that they were not
able to lead troops on the battlefield, yet many chaplains felt such passion
for the cause that as few as 100 were killed bearing arms for the North.
The Confederate State
of America,
or the Southern army, had chaplains serving as well. The difference was that most of the men
volunteered to serve in the army, therefore there many ordained pastors who
were serving in the ranks. The approach
for meeting the needs in the Southern army was very different, as was the
evidence of the religious beliefs in both armies. Chaplains were chosen by the men in the
regiments, there was no specified rank for chaplains. But many chaplains were serving as officers
already. Many of those who were pastors
gave up their call to serve a church to serve in the military, one example is
General Pope who was an Episcopal Bishop but he gave up that position to serve
the Southern cause. Even though most
gave up their posts to serve most of the congregations did not accept their
departures as permanent, but allowed them to return to there posts of service
to their congregations.
The
uniforms of the Chaplains on both sides were quite different and changed as the
war progressed. In the North since the
Chaplains were not fully incorporated into the army they originally had no
uniform issued. Because this was the
case most Chaplains wore their regular civilian or clerical clothing, which was
very plain to begin with. As they
followed the army they would get what they could to replace things that wore
out; this meant that many Chaplains looked like they had a rag tag
uniform. Once they were fully
incorporated into the military records they did receive officer's uniforms and
an allotment.
Chaplains
in the Southern army were quite different.
Most wore the uniform of the regiment that they were serving either as
an enlisted man or as an officer. If
preachers were serving in more than one regiment as a circuit preacher, they
wore a recognized uniform to be recognized at a distance. They would also be issued papers proving
their position and purpose. Many if not
most Chaplains served as staff officers in another position as well as
chaplain.
Since the
clothing for the Chaplains in the North changed it was important that they had
proper marking for identification. At
the start many Chaplains wore their everyday suit, but would have some sort of
marking that they would wear. Some wore
the regimental designation on the lapel or pocket of their coat with a
cross. Some had shoulder boards of rank
with a cross in the center. Many others
wore an emblem on their hats. The common
emblem that Chaplains wore was a cross surrounded by oak clusters on an oval
patch of black velvet material. In the
South most Chaplains were known simply because they were elected, so they had
no significant emblem worn. Many of the
same marking practices of crosses were recognized by both sides.
Most of the
uniforms that the Chaplains wore, once they were incorporated, were of the same
style as those of the regiments they were serving. This was of the same styles for both the
North and the South. Most uniforms
consisted of a sack or frock coat, shirt, vest, cravat (bow tie), trousers,
socks and brogans and some form of head wear.
The head wear could be a bummer hat, a kepi, a Hardee hat or even a straw
hat. Other items they would have would
be a haversack to carry all their small personal items, a canteen, a belt to
wear; usually for dress; even a black silk sash; also for dress occasions. In the South the style is the similar, yet
most Chaplains were serving as soldiers so their extra items would consist of a
cartridge box, a primer pouch, their weapon and probably a bayonet or sword.
The main
job of the chaplains was to give spiritual guidance and support to the
individual soldiers; this was the same for both sides. But the Chaplains did so much more. Because of the education of most Chaplains,
they ended acting in many capacities for the soldiers he was serving. The Chaplain was everything from a banker
helping to keep and track each soldiers pay.
He was the family communicator; reading soldier's letters from home or
writing letters for the soldiers to send home.
He was the one the soldiers trusted about anybody else and they did
their best not to let them down. There
was also one last job the Chaplain did when there was time, he served as a
teacher so soldiers could learn to read and write.
As one can
see the Chaplain was a different position than what it is in today's
military. Yet we can see that the
Chaplain was very important to the life of the common soldier, regardless of
the side. The Chaplain was the the one
person that probably had the most to be responsible for and they did it all
with gladness and humility for the sake of each soldier's needs.
Jon Baker
May 20, 2012
References
The Spirit Divided: Memoirs of Civil War Chaplains: The
Confederacy
Brinsfield,
John Wesley, Jr.
Civil War Reenactors Encyclopedia
Davis,William
C.
Answering the Call: The Story of the U.S. Military Chaplaincy From the
Revolution Through the Civil War
Dickens,
William E. Jr.
Uniforms of the American Civil War
Haythornthwaite,
Philip J
The Spirit Divided: Memoirs of Civil War Chaplains: The Union
Maryniak,
Benedict R.
Chaplains in Gray
Pitts,
Charles F.
