National Civil War Chaplains Museum

It’s time for another sneak peek! One reason to visit the Chaplains Museum more than once is because we constantly add new things for you to see and experience. This semester, students in Prof. Donald’s Public History class will be tackling several new projects including the research and design of a new exhibit surrounding this recently acquired object. Can you guess what it is? Stay tuned for the big reveal in just a few weeks.

#museum #chaplains

Today we present the second installment of our series on Forerunners of the Chaplaincy. While the Chaplains Museum focuses on the history of US military chaplains from July 1775 onward, there were several chaplains in the 150 years prior who paved the way for the founding of an official chaplains corps.

After the death of Chp. Robert Hunt shortly after the founding of Jamestown, the chaplaincy in colonial America entered a strange period. Whenever the English and later British military deployed regular troops to North America, each regiment would supply its own chaplain. This practice extended to colonial militias. A militia chaplain was typically the pastor of a local congregation who volunteered to be a unit’s chaplain without pay. As most of the colonial conflicts were with Quebec, many of these ministers were from New England, such as Chp. Samuel Stone in the Pequot War and Chp. Johnathan Frye who was killed in action during the Queen Anne’s War.

When the French and Indian War began, the colonies were dragged into a global conflict that eventually became known as the Seven Years War. The colonial militias swelled to a size never seen before. For the first time, there was a shortage of chaplains. The then Col. George Washington had to perform the funeral service for Gen. Braddock when his outfit’s only chaplain was wounded in the Battle of the Monongahela. This event, as well as the general lack of militia chaplains, led Washington to launch a two-year letter-writing campaign to convince the governor of Virginia to hire a chaplain for his regiment. This early realization of the importance of chaplains would lead Washington to launch a similar campaign in 1775, which resulted in the creation of the US Army Chaplain Corps.

If you want to learn more about chaplains serving on the frontlines, come see our “Service on the Battlefield” exhibit.

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Here at the Chaplains Museum, we focus on US military chaplains from the founding of the Army Chaplain Corps on July 19, 1775, to today. However, there were several men who served courageously and honorably throughout the nation’s colonial era. Today, we’re starting a series on these Forerunners of the Chaplaincy who paved the way for the military chaplains of today.

The first chaplain to come to English North America was Robert Hunt, who was hired by the Virginia Company to go across the Atlantic with the first settlers of Jamestown. Although he was an Anglican, his theology leaned Calvinist in ways that mirrored the Presbyterian movement. When the crews of the Godspeed, Discovery, and Susan Constance arrived in the New World, Chp. Hunt instructed the men to erect a wooden cross on the shores of Virginia and led them in a prayer of thanksgiving as they dedicated the new land to God and the King of England. The crew then moved up the James River and built the settlement of Jamestown. The famous Cpt. John Smith described how they used a ship sail hung between several trees as a makeshift chapel until they could build a permanent structure that John Smith described as resembling a barn. Hunt conducted prayer services twice daily in addition to two sermons every Sunday.

The men had nothing but good things to say about Hunt, respecting his upstanding character and ability to defuse tense situations. When a fire burned down most of the buildings in Jamestown, Hunt lost all his possessions except the clothes on his back. He never complained, instead focusing on his ministry to the distraught settlers. Sadly, like many at Jamestown, Hunt would succumb to disease and die roughly a year after landing in Virginia.

If you’d like to learn more about the early days of the chaplaincy, come visit our “History of Service” exhibit here at the Chaplains Museum.

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You may have heard that basketball was invented by Chaplain James Naismith, but did you know about the Army Chaplain “sporting” a Super Bowl ring?

Former-NFL defensive lineman Darius Holland, part of the championship-winning Packers team in 1997, currently serves as an Army chaplain at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. One would think that winning the Super Bowl would be the happiest day of a football player’s life. Holland, however, describes the hollowness of his own experience as a world champion. Holland recounts, “If this is the pinnacle of my life, I’m sunk….Because this isn’t working.”

A few seasons later, Holland left a lucrative career on the football field to enter Christian ministry, serving as a pastor at True Life Church for ten years. His decision to join the Army came after reading Nik Ripken’s book The Insanity of God, when Holland felt challenged by a question from the Lord: “How far are you willing to go for the Gospel?” Three months later, he was being sworn into the Army.

Drawing upon his experiences in both fields, Holland notes the parallels between being a football player and a chaplain, including the camaraderie shared by both teammates and soldiers. He further observes the similar methods athletes and soldiers use to find fulfillment in life. Just like football players chasing after the glory of a Super Bowl ring, soldiers chase the glory of wearing a green, red, or tan beret. He notes, however, that none of these achievements bring them the fulfillment they seek. And that’s where he steps in as a chaplain, to steer servicemen and women toward true fulfillment.

The close connection between sports and the chaplaincy does not stop Holland. Military chaplains exist within a long tradition of practicing faith through physical fitness. In the late-nineteenth century, preachers such as D. L. Moody espoused the idea of “Muscular Christianity.” They encouraged Christians to lead active lives and exercise their bodies in the belief that athletic competition builds strong morals, recognizing the important role of sports in caring for both the physical fitness and the “spiritual fitness” of the soldier.

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One hundred fifty-eight years ago, the first military chaplain to lose their life in battle on United States history. Father Emmeran Bliemel, chaplain of the 10th Tennessee Infantry, was killed while serving his Confederate compatriots during the Battle of Jonesboro.

By evening on August 31, 1864, Union soldiers had overpowered the Confederates at Jonesboro. Even though the order to pull back rang through the air, Father Bliemel was rushing towards his fallen men. What caused him to risk life and limb even after the Confederates had clearly been beaten? He was determined to give absolution, which the Catholic Encyclopedia describes as “the remission of sin, or of the punishment due to sin, granted by the Church.” Usually, absolution is provided through individual confession or last rites, which requires the presence of an ordained priest.

Bliemel’s dedication and belief in the importance of absolution ultimately cost him his life. While lifting his hands in prayer of absolution for a mortally wounded Confederate colonel, cannonball fire struck, killing him instantly.

Father Bliemel showed dedication and sacrifice that was not uncommon for many Civil War chaplains. Nearly a century after his death, he was awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor. His life is a stirring testament to the idea that biblical interpretation is often used to support opposing positions: slavery and abolition, North and South, war and peace. Stop in the museum to learn more about how leaders and pastors have used the Bible to defend their contradictory positions regarding various U.S. military conflicts.

#chaplains #books #history #catholic #civilwar #museum

One reason to visit the Chaplains Museum more than once is because we constantly add new things for you to see and experience. This semester, students in Prof. Donald’s Public History class will be tackling several new projects including the research and design of a new exhibit surrounding this recently acquired object. Can you guess what it is? Stay tuned for more clues and the big reveal in just a few weeks.

#chaplains #museum #sneakpeek