Re-Enactors World

Shared by Allen Farley
Ministering to the Civil War Re-enacting Community Since 1984
Celebrating over 20 Years of Ministry

   At Home, July 17, 1861

My Dear Son,

It may have seemed strange to you that a professing
Christian father so freely gave you, a Christian son, to
enlist in the volunteer service. My reason was that I
regarded this as a purely defensive war. Not only did the
Southern Confederacy propose to adjust the pending
difficulties by peaceful and equitable negotiations, but
Virginia used again and again the most earnest and noble
efforts to prevent a resort to the sword. These overtures
having been proudly spurned, and our beloved South having
been threatened with invasion and subjugation, it seemed to
me that nothing was left us but stern resistance, or abject
submission, to unconstitutional power. A brave and generous
people could not for a moment hesitate between such
alternatives. A war in defense of our homes and firesides,
of our wives and children, of all that makes life worth
possessing, is the result. While I most deeply deplored the
necessity for the sacrifice, I could not but rejoice that I
had a son to offer to the service of the country, and if I
had a dozen, I would most freely give them all. As you are
now cheerfully enduring the hardships of the camp, I know
you will listen to a father’s suggestions touching the
duties of your new mode of life.
1. Take special care of your health. More soldiers die of
disease than in battle. A thin piece of damp sponge in the
crown of your hat during exposure to the hot sun, the use of
thick shoes and a water-proof coat in rainy weather, the
practice of drinking cold water when you are very warm as
slowly as you sip hot tea, the thorough mastication of your
food, the avoiding of damp tents and damp grounds during
sleep, and frequent ablutions of your person are all the
hints I can give you on this point. Should you need
anything that I can supply, let me hear from you. I will do
what I can to make you comfortable. After all, you must
learn to endure hardness as a good soldier. Having never
slept a single night in your whole life except in a pleasant
bed, and never known a scarcity of good food, you doubtless
find the ways of the camp rough; but never mind. The war, I
trust, will soon be over, and then the remembrance of your
hardships will sweeten the joy of peace.
2. The rules of war require prompt and unquestioning
obedience. You may sometimes think the command arbitrary
and the officer supercilious, but it is yours to obey. An
undisciplined army is a curse to its friends and a derision
to its foes. Give your whole influence, therefore, to the
maintenance of lawful authority and of strict order. Let
your superiors feel assured that whatever they entrust to
you will be faithfully done. Composed of such soldiers, and
led by skillful and brave commanders, our army, by the
blessing of God, will never be defeated. It is, moreover,
engaged in a holy cause, and must triumph.
3. Try to maintain your Christian profession among your
comrades. I need not caution you against strong drink as
useless and hurtful, nor against profanity, so common among
soldiers. Both these practices you abhor. Aim to take at
once a decided stand for God. If practicable have prayers
regularly in your tent, or unite with your fellow-disciples
in prayer-meetings in the camp. Should preaching be
accessible, always be a hearer. Let the world know that you
are a Christian. Read a chapter in the New Testament, which
your mother gave you, every morning and evening, when you
can, and engage in secret prayer to God for his Holy Spirit
to guide and sustain you. I would rather hear of your death
than of the shipwreck of your faith and good conscience.
4. As you will come into habitual contact with men of every
grade, make special associates only of those whose influence
on your character is felt to be good. Some men love to tell
extravagant stories, to indulge in vulgar wit, to exult in a
swaggering carriage, to pride themselves on their coarse
manners, to boast of their heroism, and to give utterance to
feelings of revenge against the enemy. All this is
injurious to young and impressible minds. If you admire
such things, you will insensibly imitate them, and imitation
will work gradual but certain detriment to your character.
Other men are refined without being affected. They can
relax into occasional pleasantries without violating
modesty. They can be loyal to their government without
indulging private hatred against her foes. They can be cool
and brave in battle, and not be braggarts in the absence of
danger. Above all, they can be humble, spiritual, and
active Christians, and yet mingle in the stirring and
perilous duties of soldier-life. Let these be your
companions and models. You will thus return from the
dangers of camp without a blemish on your name.
5. Should it be your lot to enter into an engagement with
the enemy, lift up your heart in secret ejaculations to the
ever-present and good Being, that He will protect you from
sudden death, or if you fall, that He will receive your
departing spirit, cleansed in the blood of Jesus, into His
kingdom. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put
confidence in princes. Commit your eternal interests,
therefore, to the keeping of the almighty Saviour. You
should not, even in the hour of deadly conflict, cherish
personal rage against the enemy, and more than an officer of
the law hates the victim of the law. How often does a
victorious army tenderly care for the dead and wounded of
the vanquished? War is a tremendous scourge which
Providence sometimes uses to chastise proud and wicked
nations. Both parties must suffer, even though one may get
the advantage. There is no occasion then for adding to the
intrinsic evils of the system the odious feature of
animosity to individuals. In the ranks of the foe are
thousands of plain men who do not understand the principles
for which we are struggling. They are deceived by artful
demagogues into a posture of hostility to those whom,
knowing, they would love. It is against such men that you
may perhaps be arrayed, and the laws of war do not forbid
you to pity them even in the act of destroying them. It is
the more important that we should exhibit a proper temper in
this unfortunate contest, because many professed Christians
and ministers of the gospel at the North are breathing out,
in their very prayers and sermons, threatenings and
slaughter against us. Oh! how painful that a gray-headed
pastor should publicly exclaim, “I would hang them as
quick as I would shoot a mad dog!”
6. Providence has placed you in the midst of thoughtless
and unpardoned men. What a beautiful thing it would be if
you could win some of them to the Saviour. Will you not
try? You will have many opportunities of saying a word in
season. The sick you may comfort, the wavering you may
confirm, the backslidden you may reclaim, the weary and
heavy laden you may point to Jesus for rest to the soul. It
is not presumptuous for a young man kindly and meekly to
commend the gospel to his brother soldiers. The hardest of
them will not repel a gentle approach, made in private. And
many of them would doubtless be glad to have the subject
introduced to them. They desire to hear of Jesus, but they
lack courage to inquire of his people. An unusually large
proportion of pious men have entered the army, and I trust
they will give a new complexion to military life. Let them
search out each other, and establish a fraternity among all
the worshipers of God. To interchange religious views and
administer brotherly counsel will be mutually edifying. He
that watereth shall be watered also himself.”
And now, as a soldier has but little leisure, I will not
occupy you longer. Be assured that every morning and
evening we remember you, at the family altar, to our Father
in Heaven. We pray for “a speedy, just, and honorable
peace,” and for the safe return of all the volunteers to
their loved homes. All the children speak often of
“brother,” and hear your letters read with intense
interest. That God Almighty may be your shield and your
exceeding great reward, is the constant prayer of your
loving father.