Tabernacles in the wilderness : the US Christian Commission on the Civil War battlefront / Rachel Williams.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Williams, Rachel, 1987- author.

Contributor:

Kent State University. Press, publisher.

Rosengarten Family Fund.

Series:

Interpreting the Civil War

Interpreting the Civil War : texts and contexts

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States Christian Commission.

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

United States.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Civilian relief.

Physical Description:

viii, 198 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Other Title:

US Christian Commission on the Civil War battlefront

United States Christian Commission on the Civil War battlefront

Place of Publication:

Kent, Ohio : The Kent State University Press, [2024]

Summary:

"Tabernacles in the Wildcerness discusses the work of the United States Christian Commission (USCC), a civilian relief agency established by northern evangelical Protestants to minister to Union troops during the American Civil War. USCC workers saw in the Civil War not only a wrathful judgment from God for the sins of the nation but an unparalleled opportunity to save the souls of US citizens and perfect the nation. Thus, the workers set about proselytizing and distributing material aid to Union soldiers with undaunted and righteous zeal. Whether handing out religious literature, leading prayer meetings, preaching sermons, mending uniforms, drawing up tailored diets for sick men, or bearing witness to deathbed scenes, USCC workers improvised and enacted a holistic lived theology that emphasized the link between the body and soul. Making extensive use of previously neglected archival material--most notably the reports, diaries, and correspondence of the volunteer delegates who performed this ministry on the battlefront--Rachel Williams explores the proselytizing methods employed by the USCC, the problems encountered in their application, and the ideological and theological underpinnings of their work. Tabernacles in the Wilderness offers fascinating new insights into the role of civilians within army camps, the bureaucratization and professionalization of philanthropy during the Civil War and in the United States more broadly, and the emotional landscape and material culture of faith and worship"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

"God has commanded us to go forward"

Christian manliness and the volunteer delegate system

Female war work and the Christian Commission

Evangelization and the printed word

Preaching and praying

Clothing the Union soldier's body

The gospel of the loaf

Death, salvation, and the Christian Commission

"See what the Lord hath wrought."

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Rosengarten Family Fund.

ISBN:

9781606354735

1606354736

OCLC:

1396059189