USA > New Jersey > New Jersey and the rebellion : a history of the service of the troops and people of New Jersey in aid of the Union cause, Pt. 2 > Part 38
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NEW JERSEY AND THE REBELLION.
If it shall be inquired how a pulpit, which for so many years had been faithless, could thus suddenly rise to the height of its great duty, the answer is obvious. The good and evil qualities of men inevitably declare themselves in a vital social crisis. In the face of tremendous peril, the moral nature comes necessarily upper- most. A torpid age develops only the sensuous life of a people ; but when God compels them to stand in some central current of His providence and grapple with problems of life and death, conscience, though slumbering through drowsy years, becomes a spur, a burning fire, consuming all the dross of life, preserving only the fine gold-kindling with a ruddy blaze forgotten truths, quickening the soul to new discoveries of duty, and rousing the whole moral nature into keener scrutiny and more vigorous action. The Northern pulpit, with all its failings and omissions; its mis- conceptions of its true relations to political and social questions- was not in the main without a latent conscience ; did not lack genuine religious life. The one had been, indeed, perverted ; the other had not borne the fruits for which men looked; but both existed. For some years, moreover, before the outbreak of hos- tilities, many in the pulpit had began to question among them- selves whether, after all, slavery was a divinely instituted system, and whether men, presuming to teach the truth of God, were justified in keeping silence touching its growing evils. Now and then a voice was heard breaking the silence of years and calling the people, in manly tones, to defend their heritage. At last that monstrous crime lifted its hand in actual menace against the Nation's life. Its triumph, beyond all peradventure, would involve not merely the downfall of liberty but the desolation of Zion; the corruption of the morals, the defilement of the whole life of the people. The hideous spectre of a nation debauched and cast to the tormentors, rose solemnly into view. Then it was that the better qualities of the pulpit declared themselves, and the moral nature of clergy and laity alike became irresistably dominant. Then it was that the Church, girding her loins and calling her sons around the standard of the Cross, set beneath it the Nation's flag, and bade them go, with her blessing, to the battle whose lines were already arrayed.
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ATTITUDE OF THE CHURCH.
Thus the Church, in the blood of some of her best and bravest, wiped out the guilt of years of infidelity. In conscience and before God she could not have done less. To maintain the duty of allegiance to the Government in time of civil war is the mani- fest, the imperative duty of all religious bodies. "The same civil obligations rest upon the Church, in her corporate or organic capacity, as rest upon any other organizations of men, or upon the individual citizen, so far as they may apply to each respect- ively. These bodies, as such, are under civil protection, which the Government is bound to render; they enjoy immunities which the civil authorities grant and guard ; they hold property under the laws of the land; their charters and franchises are from the State; they have the same rights and privileges at law and in equity which other corporations enjoy. By virtue of these things, they owe, in their organic character, full allegiance to the civil authority. Every principle of the Word of God, of human law, of common sense, and every principle in any way entering into the welfare of society, shows this beyond dispute."1 The Church, then, in declaring for the Government and denouncing the rebel- lion, only did her duty-that and nothing more.
In New Jersey, the attitude of all religious bodies was from the very first positive and unequivocal. There was no pelting the monstrous wickedness of rebellion with dainty pellets of rose- leaves ; but sharp, courageous, telling blows were rained down upon it from nearly every pulpit. On the Sunday following the assault upon Sumter, voices which had long been hushed found strength to speak for order, loyalty, and freedom. In some cases, full com- panies of volunteers were at once raised in individual churches for service in the field .? In whatever direction, and in whatever way, sympathy could be shown with the Government, there and in that
1 Reverend R. L. Stanton in "The Church and the Rebellion."
: The First Baptist Church of Newark sent one hundred and seventy-two of its members into the military and naval service of the Union, of whom some thirty were killed. Besides this number of volunteers, some thirty of the church and congrega- tion were represented in the persons of substitutes. Other churches in the same city sent an almost equally large number to the field, and in several other cities, almost entire companies were recruited in individual churches.
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manner it was manifested. All denominations, without exception, at the earliest opportunity, gave formal expression to the preva- lent sentiment of loyalty. The first formal "deliverance" was made by the Presbytery (New School) of Rockaway, on the 18th of April, 1861, in the form of resolutions denouncing the rebellion as designed to " perpetuate and extend a system of human oppres- sion, abhorrent to reason, religion, and the best interests of the country," and calling upon all patriots and Christians to stand by the Constitution and laws, and to do all in their power to repel the attack of traitors upon the peace and welfare of the Nation." About the same date, Bishop Odenheimer of the Protestant Epis- copal Church, issued a Pastoral letter, specifying and authorizing the use of a prayer for the country in the trials which had come upon it; but that Church by no means confined its supplications in behalf of the Nation's cause to that somewhat cold and rigid for- mula. The prayer may have been the prayer of the Bishop; but it was not that of the great body of his flock. These apparently preferred to address the Throne of Grace in language of sincere, heartfelt longing, rather than in the delicate phrases of polite indif- ference, not believing, perhaps, that God could be mocked." The next authoritative " deliverance" was made, so far as evidence exists, by the East New Jersey Baptist Association, composed of representatives of some fifty churches, which, on the 5th of June, adopted, unanimously, resolutions invoking the favor of God upon our arms, and declaring it to be "a Christian duty to sustain the authorities in their eminently righteous endeavors to enforce the laws, holding with Paul that 'whoso resisteth the powers re- sisteth the ordinance of God.'" The Association also addressed a circular letter to the churches urging the duty of showing respect to those in authority, placing person and property at the service
" The laity in the Episcopal Church and a greater part of the clergy, were in full sympathy with the Government. All over the State, the National ensign floated from their churches, and the willing hands of men and women identified with that commu- nion labored for the Nation's defenders. But it is none the less to be regretted that a too strict construction of the canons of the Church prevented any authoritative expres- sion, in its annual conventions, of the real sentiment of its membership, and that every proposition to speak officially on the state of the country was met by the objection that " the Church has nothing to do with affairs of State."
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ATTITUDE OF THE CHURCH.
of the Government, and contributing, in a word, in every possible way, to the public weal. During the whole period of the war, this Association was conspicuous for its outspoken loyalty, suffering no occasion for manly utterance to pass unimproved. On the 13th of September, the West New Jersey Baptist Association, in session at Mount Holly, declared, in a formal deliverance, that "it is our duty as citizens, as Baptists, and as Christians, to resist traitors, North and South, by speech, with the pen and with the press, and if need be with the implements of death on the field of battle."4 On the 18th of September, the Presbytery (New School) of New- ark, convened at Caldwell, in a series of resolutions on the state of the country, committed itself and its churches to a vigorous and unfaltering support of the Government; and in later expressions, cordially approved the policy of emancipation and all the meas- ures which grew out of it-declaring it to be the duty of all loyal men to labor for the purification of the Nation from all taint of sympathy with the sin which had so long defiled it. Early in October, the Synod of New Jersey (Old School) meeting at Potts- ville, Pennsylvania, (two or three Presbyteries in that State ·being attached to this Synod) adopted unanimously the following reso- lution : " That this Synod, in the spirit of that Christian patriotism which the Scriptures enjoin, and which has always characterized this church, do hereby acknowledge and declare an obligation to promote and perpetuate, so far as in us lies, the integrity of these United States, and to strengthen, uphold and encourage the Federal Government in the exercise of all its functions under our noble Constitution ; and to this Constitution, in all its provisions, require-
+ This Association in 1862, declared that "as slavery is the sole and vital cause of this wicked treason, which by its continuance has forced the issue upon us of deciding between a continuance of slavery and the Union, we are convinced that a sure and lasting peace cannot be secured short of its complete overthrow, and
* # we earnestly urge the adoption of such a line of policy" (as emancipation), &c. These resolutions were transmitted to the President, who replied in a strain of " sincere and grateful emotion." In 1863, similar resolutions were adopted, and at each subsequent session of the Association during the war, deliverances were made exhibiting with cqual emphasis the loyalty of the Church it represented. Partial reports show that two hundred and thirty-two members of the churches connected with this Associa- tion were engaged in the country's service during the period of the war.
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ments and principles, we profess our unabated loyalty."" On the 1.7th of October, the Synod of New York and New Jersey (New School), the largest ecclesiastical body in the United States, in ses-
5 This Synod held advanced ground during the whole period of the war, and at the meeting in 1865, held at Princeton, unanimously adopted the following, as attested by Reverend Doetor R. R. Rodgers, Clerk of the Synod :
" WHEREAS, Since the Synod last met our beloved country, then afflicted and deso- lated by one of the most fearful wars which have ever seourged our race, has been, in God's good providence, restored to peace and measurable harmony;
"WHEREAS, This happy result has been connected with the destruction, almost total, of the system of human bondage, which had so long divided, agitated and cursed the nation, and for the extinguishment of which the General Assembly of 1864 exhorted all to strive and pray ; and WHEREAS, This Synod, during the progress of the war, again and again, by both example and precept, urged united and earnest prayer for the restoration of the Union, the overthrow of its enemies in arms, the removal of the causes which had been so prolific of discord and confliet, with the pardon of our National and individual sins, and the return of God's favor to our afflicted land-thereforc
" Resolved, That we would humbly recognize, as a Synod, and would press upon our churches the duty of thanksgiving to the Great Head of the Church and Ruler among the nations, for the mereiful answer which he has vouehsafed to our prayers, for the triumph of our National eause, for the re-establishment of our Government over the whole Union, for the almost universal emancipation of the slaves, and for the bright- ening prospeet of a happy restoration of fraternal and Christian fecling throughout our pacificated country."
The Presbytery of New Brunswick, at a meeting held in Princeton, April 20, 1865, adopted the following minute in referenec to the death of President Lincoln :
"The Presbytery of New Brunswick regard the assassination of President Lineoln as one of the most atrocious erimes which stain the annals of our guilty race. We have no words in which adequately to express either our sorrow for his loss, or our indignation at the authors and abettors of his assassination. That a Chief Magistrate so great, so good, so beloved, and who had rendered sueh inestimable services to his country and to humanity, should be suddenly cut down by the hand of violence, has plunged the whole Nation into the profoundest grief.
"In view of this great affliction, this Presbytery acknowledges the Sovereignty of God. God reigns, and the Judge of all the earth must do right. We therefore bow in submission to His will. The Presbytery also feels called upon to record its repro- bation of Treason, and of the spirit of pride, insubordination and malice from which this fearful erime has sprung."
In reference to the attitude of the Presbytery of West Jersey, consisting of twenty- onc clergymen and twenty-two churches, we have the following statement:
"While the Presbytery of West Jersey has but seldom taken aetion directly upon the questions of loyalty and slavery, it has never held a doubtful position. When voting in the Synod, sometimes in the minority, it has been almost if not quite a unit for the country and thic Assembly.
" It appeals for its record to the minutes of the General Assembly from 1861 to 1866 inclusive ; and can proudly say that through its Commissioners it has never failed to record its vote on the side of the country and the Assembly : while the reports of our Com- missioners have been approved without a dissentiug voice.
"No church within our bounds failed to send her sons to the reseue ; and every pul- pit (save one for a part of the time) was voeal with the fervent prayers of a loyal peo- ple.
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ATTITUDE OF THE CHURCH.
sion in the city of Newark, adopted unanimously a minute on the aspect of national affairs breathing the purest spirit of loyalty- pledging to the Government the undivided support and confidence of the churches within its bounds, and counseling the use of all lawful means and efforts to aid in maintaining constituted authority and putting down the rebellion. Moreover, believing that slavery " lies at the foundation" of the existing troubles, the Synod declared it to be the duty of all Christian men to pray more earnestly than ever for its removal. Some days later, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of New Jersey gave expression to similarly emphatic senti- ments of loyalty, and on October 30th the New Jersey Baptist Convention, speaking for all the churches of that denomination in the State, in a solemn " deliverance," reaffirmed the resolutions adopted a few weeks previously by the West Jersey Association.ª Meanwhile, the Methodist' and other denominations in all parts of
"There are unmarked graves where our truest and bravest fell ; and there are bleed- ing hearts that still thank God for the sacrifices that have helped to redeem the Nation. "J. W. HUBBARD, Stated Clerk of Presbytery."
The following resolutions were adopted by this Presbytery, with only two dissenting votes, on the 5th of October, 1864:
" Resolved, that this Presbytery greatly rejoices in the action of the General Assem- bly, on the subject of slavery-action which, as we believe, brings the church into more entire harmony with the manifest purposes of God, as made known in His provi- dence-into more perfect harmony also, with the spirit of her own past deliverances, and with the spirit of her Master-(both her's and ours) whose great and blessed mis- sion it was to open the prison doors to them that are bound, and to break every yoke -and that we hereby pledge ourselves to do with our might whatsoever in our judg- ment God in His providence may make it our duty to do, to the end that the stupen- dous evil referred to, the manifest occasion of all our woes as a Nation, may be has- tened to a speedy and everlasting extinction."
6 In 1802, this convention formally approved of the emancipation proclamation, and appealed for increased vigor in the prosecution of the war. In 1863, it expressed the hope that the conflict would terminate "in the utter extinction of the system of slavery throughout all the National territory," and in 1865, after the cessation of hos- tilities, declared: "That as nothing is settled until it be settled rightly, we recommend that prayer, vigilance and effort do not cease until treason and traitors be rendered so odious and so impotent as to sink into everlasting obscurity and ignominy, and until equality before the law be secured to all, both white and black, who may claim to be American citizens." In 1866, going still further, the convention asked "in the name of God, and justice and National tranquillity, the right of franchise for all men, white or black."
7 The annual conferences of the Methodist Church had been held (in 1861,) before hostilities commenced, but the position of the denomination was never for a moment doubtful. Its pulpits rang with appeals for Liberty and the Union of the fathers from the very outset of the conflict. Upon the meeting of the New Jersey Conference, in
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the State had spoken in no less positive and unqualified terms as to the duty of loyalty and the necessity of purging the land of every abomination invoking the divine displeasure; and the Church as a whole, within six months after the opening of the bloody tragedy, stood firmly, inflexibly and grandly on the side of liberty and the Union.
There can be no question as to the great influence of these decla- rations of our religious bodies upon the minds of the people. All experience shows that the more intelligent classes in society- statesmen and others of the highest abilities, who are connected formally with the Church, as well as the mass of her members- have their opinions formed or modified, in a good degree, as to the moral and religious aspects of public questions, by the views and teachings which the Church proclaims; by the formal action of her ecclesiastical assemblies ; by the writings of her distinguished min- isters and by the discussions of the pulpit. In a land like ours, the press is, indeed, a great and marvellous power, but the Church exerts a yet greater influence ; appealing to the habitual reverence which men have for sacred things, to the emotional as well as the intellectual nature, and sometimes to superstitious fear and preju- dice, it sways to an extent which no line can measure the thoughts and opinions of the masses. When, therefore, the religious bodies of New Jersey, reaching in their declarations, remotely or directly, nearly every household in its borders-proclaimed, promptly, clearly and with fervid enthusiasm, the duty of standing by the Government at whatever cost, and exacted of every man profess- ing fellowship with them, prayer and effort for the Nation's cause, they gave the most powerful aid to the Government-each fresh exhibition of ecclesiastical confidence and loyalty being worth to the cause infinitely more than millions of money. Thus stimulated
1862, resolutions of the most emphatie character were at once adopted, the rebellion being characterized as "abhorrent in spirit, and proposing objects the accomplishment of which would be one of the greatest calamities to the interests of civilization and Christianity." The Newark Conference, meeting soon after, adopted similar resolu- tions, one declaring that "with our prayers, with every element of our influence, and · with all our strength, we will stand by the Government in its patriotic efforts to sup- press rebellion."
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and encouraged, men went confidently and eagerly to the field ; and to-day in all our churches there are scores of vacant seats, the manly forms that once filled them lying under the turf of trampled fields where, with the battle flame upon their faces, they fell with all their armor on.
Nor has the Church of New Jersey, since the termination of the war, shrunk from the great responsibilities which the changed condition of Southern society has imposed. She has taken up bravely and carried forward faithfully the work to which Provi- dence summoned her, in the education of the freedmen, the enlargement of missionary efforts among the degraded whites, and the occupation of the whole Southern field with every possible agency of moral and intellectual cultivation. In this work, the Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists have been especially active, contributing liberally in support of all movements looking to the elevation of the suddenly emancipated population of the revolted States, and sending scores of laborers and teachers to assist in the sublime work of laying the new foundations in justice, purity, intelligence, and an enlarged recognition of religious truth. The results of these efforts, time alone can disclose; but it is some- thing to know that the Church, here and elsewhere, thus promptly accepts the logic of events and faithfully performs the work which, evolved from the ruins of war, has in it blessing and honor for the Nation.
CHAPTER XLV.
DISTINGUISHED GENERAL OFFICERS-KEARNEY.
IN the list of distinguished General officers who entered the field from New Jersey, General Kearney was confessedly first and foremost. In the highest sense, Philip Kearney was the type Volunteer General of the war. More nearly than any other, he represented in his views and theory the popular conception as to the methods upon which the war should be fought. He reflected, moreover, more truly than any other high commander the exalted, unselfish, uncalculating patriotism which glowed in the hearts of the people. His fiery nature took affront at every attempt to dwarf the grand contest into anything else than a struggle for the sublime principle of Nationality. He had no confidence in politicians, but little respect for dignitaries, no love for anything but the Cause. Intriguers, cowards, martinets, small men essaying to crowd down great ones, he detested with implaca- ble detestation. But to Courage and upright Manliness, he lifted his hat with instinctive reverence. For the soldier, whether officer or private, who cherished a genuine pride in his profession, and labored, only for duty's sake, to excel in every requirement of the service, he had esteem unbounded-not always exhibited, indeed, by outward act, but none the less genuine or profound. In battle, fierce as a lion, on parade sometimes stern and impetu- ous, almost to injustice -in the hospital, by the bed-side of the . wounded and dying, his heart grew tender, his voice as soft as a woman's; even his touch had healing in it. Men who only saw him with the hood of pride upon his face, judged him incapable of emotion. They did not know how, under all the hard crust, there lurked the tenderest thoughtfulness for the health, comfort, and lives of his command; how, out of his own purse, he minis-
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tered to their wants ; how, even in the heat of battle, thoughts of home and kindred, like flashes of sunshine, illumined the seemingly stony, stoical nature ; how, in the battle-pauses, he was wont to pen messages of remembrance from the ghastliest fields to those who afar off watched his plume with solicitude and affection. It is no wonder, indeed, that men misjudged him ; he had no mirror set in his breast, that all the world might see and know his thoughts ; rather, he was reticent, reserved, surrounded by a hauteur which few men cared to penetrate ; and so, in the estimation of all but a few intimates, he suffered a sort of martyrdom when he should have been crowned a king of men.
Philip Kearney was born June 2, 1815. On his father's side his lineage was Irish. His mother was descended in part from Huguenot ancestry. From his boyhood, Philip inclined to military pursuits, and having passed through Columbia College, and then studied law, he sought and obtained, upon reaching his majority, a commission as Lieutenant in a regiment of dragoons, in which · Jefferson Davis was a Captain, with which he proceeded to the West. Here he spent something over a year, applying himself to the details of the military profession, acquiring skill in horseman- ship, and perfecting himself in all branches of his duty. In 1839. the French Government having accorded to the United States per- mission to send three officers to pursue the course of instruction in their military school at Saumur, Lieutenant Kearney was selected as one of them, and, going out in 1840, he at once addressed him- self to the work of mastering the profession. After a time, quitting the school to go with the French forces to Africa, he was attached to the First Chasseurs d'Afrique, and was present at two engage- ments, being distinguished for his skill and fearlessness, and win- ning the warmest encomiums from his superiors. Returning from France in 1841, he was attached to the staff of General Scott, in whose military family he remained until the outbreak of the war with Mexico. Having at that time risen to be Captain of dragoons, he recruited a company in the West, offering from his private purse a premium additional to Government bounty, in order to secure both men and horses of the very best character. As a result, his
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