God's almost chosen peoples : a religious history of the American Civil War / George C. Rable.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rable, George C.

Series:

Littlefield history of the Civil War era.

The Littlefield history of the Civil War era

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Religious aspects.

United States.

United States--Religion--19th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (599 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill [N.C.] : University of North Carolina Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Throughout the Civil War, soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict saw the hand of God in the terrible events of the day, but the standard narratives of the period pay scant attention to religion. Now, in God's Almost Chosen Peoples, Lincoln Prize-winning historian George C. Rable offers a groundbreaking account of how Americans of all political and religious persuasions used faith to interpret the course of the war. Examining a wide range of published and unpublished documents--including sermons, official statements from various churches, denominational papers and periodicals, and letters, diaries, and newspaper articles--Rable illuminates the broad role of religion during the Civil War, giving attention to often-neglected groups such as Mormons, Catholics, blacks, and people from the Trans-Mississippi region. The book underscores religion's presence in the everyday lives of Americans north and south struggling to understand the meaning of the conflict, from the tragedy of individual death to victory and defeat in battle and even the ultimate outcome of the war. Rable shows that themes of providence, sin, and judgment pervaded both public and private writings about the conflict. Perhaps most important, this volume--the only comprehensive religious history of the war--highlights the resilience of religious faith in the face of political and military storms the likes of which Americans had never before endured. - Publisher.

Contents:

Crises of faith

Reaping the whirlwind

Holy war

Fighting for God and country

Temptations of the camp

The shepherds and their sheep

Christian soldiers

The God of battles

Carnage

War's purpose

The Lord's work

Testing faith

Declension

Wrath

Jubilo

Armies of the Lord

War comes to the churches

Citizens, saints, and soldiers

Thanksgiving and desperation

The final decrees of providence.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

979-88-9313-103-1

979-88-908702-3-0

1-4696-0384-5

0-8078-9931-3

OCLC:

698114978