USA > Arkansas > History of Methodism in Arkansas > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34
The statistical reports for 1860 show that there had been a healthy growth in both of the Annual Conferences. The itinerant force had been strengthened by some valuable ad- ditions by admission on trial and by transfer. The pastoral charges were growing stronger, and new ones were being
7
165
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
formed, so that the entire territory embraced by these Con- ferences was being occupied by the traveling ministry of the Church.
In the early and formative period of the Church the preachers were able to give but little attention to missionary and educational interests. The struggle for existence was so great that it required the full measure of their strength to sup- ply and support the work at home. The Conferences were now, however, beginning to lay their plans for greater devel- opments in every department of Church work. There was an increased liberality in missionary contributions, and plans were being devised and measures taken for the establishment of schools and colleges of such grade as to meet the demands of the rapidly growing population of the State.
. At this Conference the Rev. Samuel Morris was appointed agent to solicit funds for the building of a male college. Notwithstanding this was a year of great political excite- ment, there were a large number of gracious revivals, in which there were many conversions and additions to the Church. The statistics for this year show that there had been marked improvement along every line of Church work.
The principal charges had been greatly strengthened, and all the benevolent enterprises of the Church had been better supported than they had ever been before. The preachers were greatly encouraged by these splendid reports and en- tertained the most glowing hopes of the future. The Con- ferences had been strengthened by the large number of addi- tions, both by admission on trial and by transfer. When the preachers received their appointments for the next year they little dreamed of the terrible ordeal through which the country was so soon to pass. It is true that some of the most far-seeing among both the statesmen of the country and the ministry of the Church had gloomy forebodings in reference to the future calamities that were so soon to come upon the country.
1
I66
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
It was but a few weeks after the sessions of the Confer- ences that the result of the Presidential election was made known. It was a great surprise to the people of Arkansas. No one dreamed of such a result.
As soon as it became known that Mr. Lincoln was elected the wildest excitement prevailed all over the country ; every- thing else was forgotten in the intense feeling that was pro- duced by the talk of war and secession, It was the theme of conversation in every gathering of the people. It was in the midst of this tempest of feeling that the preachers entered upon the work of the year.
In looking back over the period it is remarkable with what prudence the great body of the preachers conducted them- selves in reference to the movements that were in progress.
For while, as Southern men, they were necessarily in sym- pathy with the great body of the people, there were very few acts of indiscretion. The ministry of that day conducted themselves with such prudence as never to lose the confi- dence of the people. While intensely loyal to what they regarded as the right, their devotion to the country was always subordinate to their loyalty to Christ and His Church.
The act of secession was passed May 6, 1861, which dis- solved the relation existing between the State of Arkansas and the Federal Union. "The wildest excitement prevailed. Companies, regiments, batteries of artillery and other com- mands were formed all over the State, and arming them- selves as best they could, hurried to the front to take part in active operations. The Military Board issued a proclama- tion that sounded like a trumpet call, headed, 'To arms ! To arms !' Calling for 10,000 volunteers, in addition to those already in the field, and these regiments, with many others, were speedily raised and took part in the struggle. In short it may be said that out of a voting population of 61,198 in 1860, fully five-sixths of the number, or 50,000 men, entered the Confederate service during the progress of the conflict."
2
e
167
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
Large numbers of the membership of the Church enlisted In the army, and to that extent weakened the Church at home.
Among those who went into the service were a large num- ber of local preachers, who not only did good service as soldiers in the field, but in addition to this contributed in a very large degree to the moral and spiritual welfare of the army. In the absence of regular chaplains they held prayer meetings in the camps, and frequently preached in their commands, and in this manner kept alive the devotion of the soldiers. A goodly number of the traveling preachers of the two Conferences entered the army, some as soldiers and others as chaplains. Among those who entered as soldiers were C. N. McGuire, John T. Partin, William C. Adams, Thomas S. Tyson, William A. Chamberlain, Thomas B. At- terbury, Buckner Abernathy, James W. Turnley, William J. Davis, F. F. Bond, John M. Bradley, William C. Haislip, William R. Davis, John F. Carr, James R. Harvey and Benoni Harris. Some of these afterwards became chap- lains in the Confederate service.
The chaplains were R. R. Roberts, James Mackay, J. A. Williams, William P. Ratcliffe, A. R. Winfield, M. H. Wells, Burnwell Lee, J. A. Williams, Peter A. Moses, Horace Jewell, William A. Chamberlain, James R. Harvey, Thomas S. Tyson, William J. Davis, L. H. Johnson, John H. Rice, W. M. Robbins, E. R. Harrison, B. G. Johnson, George W. Evans and H. D. McKennon.
In this enumeration of preachers in the army the writer has followed the printed minutes. There may be some mis- takes in the list, though it is believed to be correct. There were a number of local preachers whose names the writer has been unable to obtain, who were appointed to the chap- laincy of regiments of Arkansas troops. Notwithstanding the large number of preachers and members of the Church that had entered the army during the year, the statistics show
3
168
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
that there was an increase in the membership of the Church, both in the Arkansas and Ouachita Conferences, during this year. Nothing but wide-spread and powerful revivals of religion could have replenished the losses sustained by the Churches in the departure of so many men for the army.
In addition to these Methodist chaplains there were quite a number of Baptist and Presbyterian chaplains who did valuable service for the cause of Christ among the soldiers of the army. Among those that deserve to be held in grate- ful remembrance by the people of Arkansas were Dr. J. B. Searcy and S. Cochran, of the Baptist Church; and J. M. Brown of the Presbyterian Church; and Dr. S. H. Buchanan, of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The writer was intimately associated with Rev. S. Cochran, as a chaplain in the same brigade, and had ample opportunity of learning something of his character, and can bear testimony to his devotion, and fidelity to the trust committed to his hands. The writer's information is that he was foully murdered soon after the close of the war. Dr. Searcy still lives, and is an honored minister in the Baptist Church in the State, and is justly recognized as one of the ablest ministers of the de- nomination in the State.
Rev. J. M. Brown was one of the best chaplains of the service, and is today one of the purest and best men in the State. Dr. Buchanan was a faithful chaplain, and after the close of the war became pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, which position he filled for many years. He is regarded as one of the most schol- arly men in the State, and is held in great esteem by all classes of people. The writer regards it as an honor to have been associated with such men as Cochran, Searcy, Brown, and Buchanan, men whose names call up the tenderest recollections of the past. The earnest lives and labors of such men, show us that the Church of Christ is larger than any one denomination of people.
169
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
The twenty-sixth session of the Arkansas Conference met at Dover, October 23, 1861. No Bishop being present, John M. Steele was chosen to preside over the Conference. Hilary Y. Gareson, Henry B. McCowan, William R. Knowl- ton, Joel T. Hamby, John W. Patton, Isaac T. Rice and Francis Moore were received on trial. R. R. Roberts and Jesse Griffin were readmitted into the Conference. C. W. Corsey was received by transfer from the Louisiana Con- ference, and J. M. P. Hickerson from the Tennessee Con- ference.
The locations were Jonathan D. Stockton and Jordan Banks. There was one death during the year. Thomas B. Hilburn came from Alabama to Poinsett County, Arkansas, in 1849 as a local preacher. In the spring of 1851 he was employed as a supply on the Mount Vernon Circuit, and in the autumn of the same year was admitted into the Confer- ence on trial, and appointed to Gainesville Mission, where he labored faithfully for two years. In 1854 he was appointed to the Smithville Circuit, in 1855 to the Pocahontas Circuit, in 1856 to the Jacksonport Circuit, in 1857 to the Huntsville Circuit, in 1858 and 1859 to the White River Mission, in 1860 to the Newton Mission, where he finished his work in great peace in the month of June. He filled all the ap- pointments assigned him with credit to himself and honor to the Church. As a preacher, he was zealous, practical, and highly efficient. He was strongly attached to the doc- trines of our Church, yet he was courteous, charitable, and gentle in his intercourse with members of all religious de- nominations. His many virtues will ever be cherished by his fellow-laborers.
The Ouachita Conference for this year met at Camden, October 23, 1861, Bishop Paine, President. John G. Rat- cliffe, Moses Hill, Edmund R. Harrison, and C. C. McCrary were received on trial. Thomas Hayes, John P. Holmes, and John P. Standfield were received by transfer. There
170
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
was one death. Lewis Sylvester Marshall was born in Arundel County, Maryland, April 22, 1789. His father, Joseph Marshal, of France, left his native country during the revolutionary struggles. He left this country in 1800 to return to France to arrange his worldly affairs, but was. never heard from afterward. Thus at four years of age the son was left an orphan. After a few years he was taken by his grandmother and sent to a school in Light Street Balti- more, taught by Rev. Daniel E. Reese. He was converted at the age of fifteen, under the ministry of the Rev. Ezra Groover. He began to preach at the early age of seven- teen. He was admitted on trial in the Tennessee Conference in 1818. He was of the same class with Robert Paine, (Bishop), Hartwell H. Brown, Joshua Butcher, Thomas Madden, and others of like note. His first circuit was Rich- land. In 1833 he was appointed Presiding Elder of the Greenville District in the Holston Conference. In 1836 he was appointed to the Knoxville District. He located in 1837, and was readmitted into the East Texas Conference in 1845. In 1847 he was transferred to the Arkansas Confer- ence, and appointed agent for Washington Seminary. He was supernumerary in 1849 and 1850. He traveled in suc- cession the following circuits : Pine Bluff, Mill Creek, Ben- ton, Warren, Richmond, Lewisville, and Ouachita. During the year 1861, while traveling the Ouachita Circuit, this. faithful servant of Christ was called to his reward.
Such was the confusion attending the first year of the war that the Conference failed to obtain a memoir of this vener- able and devoted soldier of Christ. While the country was engaged in deadly strife, he too was called to encounter the last enemy, and though he fell in the contest the shout of victory was on his lips, for he triumphed in the name of Christ-the Captain of his salvation.
The Conference year of 1862-3 opened with the dark clouds of war hanging heavily over the country. Nothing:
I7I
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
was heard on every side but the noise of war. The terrible slaughter of the battle-fields made it necessary to make still heavier drafts upon the country to supply the place of those who had fallen in battle or died in camp.
The Arkansas Conference for this year met at Searcy, November 5, 1862. There being no Bishop present, John M. Steele was elected President of the Conference. The fearful effect of the war upon the Church was seen in the fact that there were no admissions on trial at this session of the Conference. There were two deaths during the year, Pleasant Basham and C. W. Corsey.
We have but little information in reference to these breth- ren, as there were no memoirs furnished for the Conference. Pleasant Basham was received on trial in the Arkansas Con- ference in 1849, and was regularly engaged in the work until the time of his death in 1862. C. W. Corsey was received on trial in 1860, and had traveled but two years at the time of his death.
The Ouachita Conference for this year met at Tulip, An- drew Hunter, President. John N. Doyle and Jonathan A. Clower were admitted on trial.
Such was the terrible condition of the country during this year that the preachers could do but little else than try to hold their scattered congregations together. In the majority of neighborhoods all the able-bodied men had been called into the army, and none were left to sustain the churches at home except a few old men, the women and the children. The churches at home were passing through a most trying ordeal, and many of them were entirely destroyed by the ravages of the war. It required as high an order of patriotism and fidelity to Christ to fill the Conference ap- pointments and labor to hold the churches together as it did to enter the army as chaplains. The army chaplain had this advantage over the circuit preacher of that day. The chaplain was in the midst of the most intense excitement,
172
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
and was sustained by a public opinion that surrounded his name with a kind of military glory that was very gratifying to human nature, while the circuit preacher labored in com- parative obscurity, and patiently bore the privations to which he was constantly exposed. All honor to the faithful men, who preserved the integrity of the churches at home and maintained the sacredness of the home churches, which offered such an asylum to weary soldiers as they returned from the terrible scenes of the camp and field at the close of the war.
The Conference year of 1863 opened with the clouds of war growing thicker and darker over the country, and the sufferings of the people every day growing more intense. The constant depletion in the ranks of the army had its ef- fect upon the churches at home.
The Arkansas Conference for this year met at Batesville, October 21, 1863. John M. Steele was chosen President, and E. T. Jones, Secretary. Such was the disturbed condi- tion of the country that the Conference was in session but three days. The reports were necessarily very imperfect. The only wonder is that the preachers were able to approach such accuracy as they did. The fact that they were able to preserve their organization and pass through even the forms of business was a tribute to their devotion to their work, and illustrates the efficiency of the system that enables it to adapt itself to every emergency of society. There was only one admission on trial, Marion E. Griffin.
The Ouachita Conference met at Lewisville. There were two admissions on trial, James F. Hall and Richard P. Davies. One readmission, Richard F. Colburn.
The chaplains in the army in Arkansas received a very strong reinforcement during the year in the addition to their number of Dr. B. T. Kavanaugh, a brother of Bishop Kavanaugh, and Enoch M. Marvin, afterwards Bishop Marvin, The chaplains and Christian men of the army had felt for
173
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
some time the necessity for a more perfect union and con- cert of action among themselves. There was such a large proportion of the membership of the Church in the army that it became necessary to have some general oversight of them in order that they might have the advantages of regular religious services. During the year 1863 the atten- tion of Bishop Paine was called to the condition of affairs in the Church. As a part of the history of the times, the commission under which Dr. Kavanaugh undertook his. work is given just as Bishop Paine wrote it :
" ABERDEEN, MISS., June 29, 1863. " Dr. B. T. Kavanaugh :
" DEAR BRO .- Yours of the 24th inst is received, in which you express a preference for a missionary chap- laincy in Gen. Price's army corps. This meets my approba- tion, and I hereby appoint you to that work. Your duty is to visit and preach to the soldiers in your corps; to visit the sick and wounded ; to ascertain the moral necessities of the army and recommend suitable persons as chaplains where they are wanted. In a word, you are expected to devote your whole time and energies to the welfare of the corps. You will report to me the acceptance of this appointment, and from the date of your beginning the service in your corps you may draw upon Rev. E. H. Myers, Assistant Treasurer, Augusta, monthly, for $250, until relieved from this appointment by me, or by another appointment from the President of your Conference.
"You express a desire that Brother Marvin should have a similar appointment, and there is no man to whom I would sooner give it, but I understand I can give it only to those who act for an army corps. If he wishes it and will operate under Kirby Smith, Magruder, or any other corps to which no other general missionary is appointed, I will gladly give it, and if you can communicate with him you
-
174
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
may say to him that he may select his corps, go to work immediately and report to me.
" Yours truly,
" R. PAINE."
It will be seen from this that these eminent servants of the Church received their appointments as missionaries to the army directly from the appointing power of the Church. The writer very well remembers the first time he ever saw Dr. Kavanaugh. The division to which he (the writer) be- longed was stationed near Camden, and being in town, was holding the Wednesday evening prayer meeting. During the service a venerable looking old man walked in and took his seat. His very appearance indicated that he was no ordinary man. At the conclusion of the service he intro- duced himself to the writer and stated his mission. The writer, as a chaplain in the command of which Dr. Kava- naugh was appointed superintendent, was rejoiced to meet him. In a short time we had the pleasure of hearing him preach in the camps to hundreds of delighted hearers. Whenever it was known that Dr. Kavanaugh was to preach in the camps, the soldiers came by the hundreds to hear him. I doubt not that some of the finest efforts of his life were made in the camps preaching to the soldiers. But great as were the results of his personal labors, his ability to write and direct the labors of the chaplains was even greater in permanent good to the soldiers.
The first appearance of Rev. E. M. Marvin in Arkansas was in the spring of 1863. He was at that time connected with the command of Major General Price at Little Rock. While at Little Rock he was the guest of Rev. T. R. Welch, D. D., pastor of the Presbyterian Church. At the solicita- tion of Dr. Welch he continued to preach in Little Rock for several months with great power and acceptability to large and interested congregations of citizens and soldiers. The profound impression made by Marvin upon the officers
175
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
and soldiers gave him a wonderful influence over them, and was very helpful to the army chaplains in the prosecution of their work. He possessed the faculty of organization in a remarkable degree, and by his counsel enabled the chap- lains to so nearly perfect their organization that their influ- ence was greatly increased among the soldiers.
It will be seen from the list of chaplains in the army that the soldiers were well supplied with religious services dur- ing the whole period of the war. Whatever may be said of the ordinary army and navy chaplain, whose whole idea of the duties of a chaplain consists in a perfunctory perform- ance of a round of mere official duties, the chaplains of the Confederate army were a body of earnest, devoted men, whose single aim was to administer to the spiritual wants of the soldiers committed to their care. Many of these chap- lains have testified that some of the best results of their whole ministerial lives were during their labors among the soldiers of the army.
Speaking of the labors of Marvin and others, Dr. B. T. Kavanaugh says : "These services were not fruitless. Under the faithful ministry of gospel truth by Marvin and other faithful chaplains and missionaries very extensive revivals of religion occurred in the army, especially during the winter encampment in Arkansas during the winter of 1863 and 1864. At Little Rock, Camden, Camp Bragg and Three Creeks, revivals continued for months. I kept an estimate for two years of the number of conversions actually re- ported, and whose names were reported as belonging to the Army Church, and in two years they amounted to more than 2000. Before these revivals commenced it was a common remark among many who professed to be Christians that they 'could not see how a man could live a religious life while in the army,' but after the revivals had extended their salutary influence through all our camps, then I often heard it remarked that they did not see how a man could pre-
176
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
serve his religious character unless he belonged to the army."
It was during the summer of 1864 that a portion of the army under General Price were encamped at Camp Yell, six miles south of Camden, where one of the most gracious revivals occurred that it was ever the privilege of the writer to witness. An immense arbor was built by the soldiers, which, in connection with a large grove, formed a beautiful place for worship. There were four chaplains present-Thompson, S. Cochran, J. B. Searcy and Horace Jewell. These alternated in conducting the services, and were sometimes assisted by Rev. A. R. Winfield, who at that time was Post Chaplain for the garrison at Camden. Two of these chaplains were Baptists and two of them were Methodists; yet it would have been very difficult for a stranger to have discovered any difference from their preaching and the instructions given to those who pre- sented themselves for prayers. The writer has counted more than two hundred penitents present at one service for prayers. The number of conversions at that meeting could not be accurately obtained. Several hundred are known to have joined the Army Church. The only times when anything like denominational distinctions were drawn were during the reception of members into the Army Church. By agreement of the chaplains it was the duty of Brother Cochran (who was a Baptist) and the writer to attend to their reception and baptism. It was our cus- tom to designate certain seats for those who expected to be. Baptists when they returned to their homes after the war, and other seats for those who desired to be Methodists or Presbyterians, or any other Church that could recognize the baptism performed by the writer as valid baptism. Brother Cochran would receive all those who expected to be Bap- tists according to the forms of that Church, while the writer would receive the others according to the forms of the Methodist Church.
177
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ARKANSAS.
There was a beautiful pool near by, which had been built by the Primitive Baptists for the purpose of immersion. It was our custom to take all our candidates for baptism down to this pool because it was convenient. It was frequently the case that a number of the candidates to be baptized by the writer desired the ordinance by immersion, while the remainder would receive it by affusion. We would first baptize those who received it by affusion, kneeling at the water's edge; after which we would immerse the others in the pool. While nothing was said, it was observed with some degree of amusement that the good brother would meet our immersed candidates at the water's edge and give them a vigorous shake of the hand ; but he did not notice our candidates who received the ordinance by affusion. It is due him to say, however, that he was one of the purest men we ever knew. We have learned that some years after the war he was foully murdered by a half-breed Indian for what little money he was supposed to have about his person.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.