History-Revisited

Here are a few excerpts from a letter written to the Central Presbyterian by Rev. Dr. Wm. J. Hoge, describing a scene he encountered while serving as a chaplain in the Army of Northern Virginia near Fredericksburg, VA. From Christ in the Camp by J.W. Jones.

"A prayer meeting had been appointed for the half hour before public worship, and the house was already full: so full that it was not without difficulty that I made my way to the pulpit; so full that when General Jackson and General Paxton came to the door, they modestly retired, least they should displace some already within; so full that one of the men aptly compared the close packing to that of 'herrings in a barrel.'
"One could not sit in that pulpit and meet the concentrated gaze of those men, without deep emotion. I remembered that they were veterans of many a bloody field. The eyes which looked into mine, waiting for the Gospel of peace, had looked as steadfastly into eyes which burned with deadly hate, and upon whatever is terrible in war. The voices which now poured out their strength in singing the songs of 'Zion' had shouted in the charge and the victory. I thought of their privations and their perils, of the cause for which they had suffered, of the service they had rendered the country, the Church of God, and whatever I hold personally dear, and what could I do but honor them, love them, and count it all joy to serve them in the Gospel?"....
"While preaching to these men, their earnestness of aspect constantly impressed me; the absence of that rather comfortable and well-satisfied air which often pervades our congregations, as if mere custom or prospect of entertainment had assembled us. These men looked as if they had come on business, and a very important business; and the preacher could scarcely do otherwise than feel that he too, had business of moment there!"

I think about these things I have read quite often, and I know I probably annoy and bore everyone, but Oh, how I feel these men should be honored! When I discover some new, yet old truth, that has been buried deep from most of us, and how honorable men like these were, how they gave their lives, their fortunes, their liberties, their blood, so that I could be handed down liberty, it stirs my blood to desire the truth to prevail. These books I have read, other than the Holy Scriptures, I can think of nothing more romantic or stirring in fictional work, though I have not read much fiction, than to read these real stories of our own history and how honorable, and usually believers, lived and died.