#535 
 
 Conf Pam 12mo #593 
 
No. 82. 
 
 THE SOLDIER'S BIBLE. 
 
 \>\ WILLIAM W. CKUMLY, 
 
 fHAIHAIN OF GUSORGIA HOSPIt^W* UICilMOD. 
 
 &woug the multiplicity of knapsacks, Iiavewacks, 
 
 bundles and old clothes, stored in one of the baggage 
 rowns of a hospital in Richmond^ I iound.a SokKef* 
 Hiblc. In thU mass of Beeuiinjgly worthless effects, 
 once owned by our brave soldiers wtto had died in 
 the hospitaL were many precious relics Intrinsically 
 worthless, and, to the common observer, rather offen- 
 ded, \30Mfn and strongly tinctured with 
 '.liar odor of tile ciiuip. Vet each article is a 
 mem, a link in the bright chain of memory 
 
 Urn peculiar odor of tile camp. Fet each" article is 
 precious gem, a link in the bright chain of memo; 
 around wl ■ ■■■- collection: 
 
 ct< 
 
 j h dM uniform, hastily uiade by a mother 
 
 ucu the loved one rushed at his country's 
 ick the invars; fe Here are the 
 
2 THE SOLDIER 8 BIBLE. 
 
 accoutrements of war that were buckled on by fair 
 and loving hands, while an earnest prayer was breath- 
 ed and a hot tear brushed from the flushed cheek of 
 a devoted mother, who whispered, in suppressed 
 tones, "G-o, my son, trusting in the God of thy fath- 
 er."' See that neat little case: it is a daguerreotype 
 taken from that coat pocket— the pocket near- 
 est the wearer's heart. . It was a noble, warm heart 
 — the heart of a Southern soldier — but now lies cold 
 and silent in Oakwood Cemetery, .that rich mine of 
 Southern wealth. 
 
 That daguereotype : Let us look in upon that 
 modest face, half-smiling,' half-blushing, in all the 
 charming beauty of early womanhood; her largo li- 
 quid eyes are the very soul of genius ; her full suit of 
 dark hair is thrown back from a lofty brow, white 
 and pure as the soul within; her dress is exquisitely 
 .simple — a closes fit ting black silk, with a Confederate 
 bow on a bosom as true to the honor of the South as 
 the ocean is to the rising moon. How much this to- 
 ken was prized by the former owner may be inferred 
 from the well-worn clasp, and that the last glance of 
 his dying eyes fell on it as it dropped from his trem- 
 bling hand, all moistened with the cold dew that dis- 
 tilled from his brow as the evening twilight of death" 
 closed aroimd him, and a low murmur escaped his 
 
THE SOLDIER'S BIBLE. Tit*. 3 
 
 fSd3 
 pale lips, furewcll, dearest, belored ojnlj lest than 
 
 my Saviour. 
 
 How changed is the original since the bright 
 
 spring morning when, with Albert by liev side, i>r.t 
 
 nie left her beautiful shadow on t e chemical plate — 
 
 the nape is faded to the liiy — the bright smile that 
 
 played on her swe€t face, like pure water sippling 
 
 over golden sands, has spread into a deep, calni eddy, 
 
 t lie repose of confiding faith, refl the untold 
 
 glory of the heavenly worlds above, while the eye has 
 
 a clearer, brighter tire kindling the light of I 
 
 that penetrates the thick gloom of the after. 
 
 In the same pocket with the daguerreotype,, 1 
 
 found the Sdldier's Bible. It was a. neat Loi 
 
 editiou. with a silver clasp, on which ' v. a- engraved 
 
 the initials A. !.. C. On the riy leai'was written, in 
 
 a neat and delicate hand, -'A present to my dear 
 
 son, on his fifteenth birthday, from his motiie 
 
 \ I '. Below was written m the >ame hand, "Search 
 febe Scriptares : for in them ye think ye ha\<- rtw- 
 nal life, and they are they which ■■ ■'..". — 
 
 ''Remember now thy Greater in the days of thy 
 youth/' u If sinners entice thee, consent thou not." 
 
 ^ The book had the appearance of being carefully 
 read, there being many chapters and verses m 
 with pencil, as though they had strengly impressed 
 
4 s THE SOLI)TT,R'g FTEL.L. 
 
 t&emselvea on the mind of the young render. Among 
 them v, as the chapters which describe the hereio 
 daring of tlie youthful David, the saintly purity of 
 Joseph, and the unfliliebrfiir fidelity of the three cap- 
 tive hoys at. the oouri of Babylon. '1 he first, twenty- 
 third and fifty-first, Psalms bore marks of an interest- 
 ed reader. In the New Testament such Scriptures 
 as speak of the love of God .to sinners, were carefully 
 noted: ''God m/ loved the world that he gaveHis 
 only begotten Hon, t))at v$Lomemt believetli in Him 
 should not perish, but. have everhistif.g-yite.'' Isaiah 
 1 : 18. ( 'Tuough your sins be as s«a,rlet, ihey shall 
 be as white- as snow : though they be red like'crimson , 
 they shall be tus^Qel." At ibis remarkably coeourag- 
 ing promise* was a large blood stain, as though gory 
 tinkers' had been tracing out every word.; also at John 
 xiv. 1..2— 'sLet not. your heart be' troubled j ye be- 
 lieve in God, believe aUo ifi are. In mj Father's 
 house are many mansions" — were the same stains of 
 still broader' and deeper dye. 
 
 ,' Some of the incidents in the-.life and death of the 
 soldier, who owned the. Bible, we have just examined, 
 may prove interesting and useful to our r.eatigrs. 
 ■ Albert was the only son of a pious and wealthy 
 planter of the ^outh . M^'ii of his time during his 
 childhood was spent hi the country on \m father's 
 
1 uf-. SOLDI£B B Bl BLF < 
 
 plantation. The lit! - half buried 
 
 in evergreens and richly • ■ ■ grant 
 
 !,„ which the wild birds nestle<J and satig 
 
 their 
 
 a long avehui . • trn try church, where 
 
 little Albert, accompanied by hi- rand 
 
 gimud mother, met the families and children of 
 the aeighborho udanhoui lib. school, 
 
 and then listen to the reverend man of God, who 
 preached to them the precious Word of the fyord. — 
 Here and around the family « :ve<l 
 
 that moral trainiug which laid a ^eep and broad 
 foundation for a character^ in many respects, worthy 
 of imitation by all who may read this simple narra- 
 tive. ' In the Sabbath school, Albert first formed the 
 acquaintance of Little Jennie, neatly dressed in a 
 white muslin with a blue sash, who afterwards be- 
 came the beautiful and accomplished Miss. S., whose 
 daguerreotype we found in the soldier's coat po< 
 She was the intimate friend of his sister ifafctie, and 
 often his successful competitor for prize* -offered by 
 the Superintendent of the Sabbath school. 
 
 In the year 1856 Albert was sent to college to 
 complete his education, and Jennie went to a female 
 institution of high grade to mature her classical 
 st Tidies. 
 
b THE -SOLDIER'S BIBLE* 
 
 A few tfdtes that ran th c college blockade and va- 
 cation meetings sufficed to keep up their acquaintance 
 and friendship. In the summer of I860, they both 
 graduated with honors highly creditable to them and 
 gratifying to their friends. On their return home, 
 early attachments ripened into something more than 
 friendship; but scarcely had the bright vision of 
 hope dawned, when it was overcast by the dark cloud 
 of war that 'suddenly rose upon our horizon. r l'he 
 country called the brave young men from every .quar- 
 ter to rally in Southern prowess, and with battle 
 shock roll back the invading foe. Albert was one 
 of the first to respond. He took his place in the 
 ranks as a common soldier, feeling it, was honor 
 enough to be a private, defending his country, his 
 home and his beloved Jennie; and all the more, as 
 he had her approving smile to encourage him. 
 
 Albert's departure and transfer to Virginia by rail, 
 are scenes so common to soldiers, that they can be 
 imagined or remembered far better than T could de- 
 scribe them'. 
 
 There is one incident, however, which I will men- 
 tion. Just before he took leave, they were all called 
 around the old family altar. Jennie was there. — ■ 
 Maum Patty, the nurse of his childhood, was there, 
 with snow white kerchief about her ebon brow and 
 
THE soldier's bible. 7 
 
 Bilyaripcks, Many were the bitter soba* while the deep, 
 eai Best voice of the lather in solemn prayer, like the pa- 
 triarch Abraham, bound his son, his only sou, a sacrifice 
 on his country '> altar ; she victim was covered with 
 a rich garland of warm embraces, gemmed with 
 many a burning tear ; when the amen was pronoun- 
 ced, there was in all a feeling tar too deep for utter- 
 ance. In this moment o£ominous silence, a mother's 
 band placed tfie Soldier's Bible in a pocket near his 
 heart. 'Albert moved slowly down the avenue, the 
 embodiment of youthful chivalry and manly beauty. 
 The spectator stood like breathless statues, tearing, 
 most ot^all, they would see hie face no more, -lust 
 as he turned the corner at the eud of the avenue, he 
 oae glance the scenes of his childhood, 
 
 which never before seemed half so dear. It is the 
 last sight — he will see them no more forever \ 
 
 His first night in camp was a trying one, surround - 
 ed. ashe was.; by many that were thoughtless and 
 gay, as if thoy were merely on a holiday campaign ; 
 but Albert was more serious and felt that he must 
 maintain his religious character, and that to begin 
 right was of great, importance in his new position. — 
 "By the camp fire he read a chapter in his Bible and 
 knelt on th<? ground and prayed, covered by the si- 
 lent heavens that looked down with a thousand star- 
 
8 • TH'E soldier's bible. 
 
 ry eyes on the lone worshiper, surrounded by the 
 glare of camp fires and the hum of the multitude, 
 that rose on the night wind like the voice of many 
 waters, and, died away among \he distant hills. Af- 
 ter a long and uncomfortable transit by rail and for- 
 ced marches, with weary limbs and blistered feet, he 
 was thrown into the battle of Manassas, on the 21st 
 of July, 1861, with scarcely time to kneel by an ap- 
 ple" tree in battle line, over which the shells were 
 howling furiously. Here, in prayer, he hastily com- 
 mitted his soul and body to his faithful Keeper, then 
 rose calm and serene,.with an assurance that no weap- 
 on of the enemy would harm him. 
 
 When the battle was over and victory perched up- 
 on our banner, Albert found himself surrounded, 
 with the dead and dying, among whom were some of 
 hi3 particular friends. He was strongly and strangely 
 exercised withamingled feeling of joy and grief, a sort 
 of hysteric paroxysm oflaughing and crying, weeping 
 ► for the slain, and rejoicing that he had escaped un- 
 harmed, with a deep consciousness that God had 
 been his shield and hiding place in the hour of dan- 
 ger. Albert endured all the sufferings of fatigue, 
 oold and hunger incident to a winter campaign-; none 
 murmured lees, none wore more faithful in-the dis- 
 charge of datf than he. The demoralizing effects 
 
TOM SoUHEH's BIBLE, 9 
 
 of the camp, with ahnost the entire "absence of reli- 
 gions privileges, produced a eoldnese in his state ; 
 mid although he did not compromise his moral char- 
 acter by profanity, gambling and drunkenness, as 
 
 many others did, yet he foiled to enjoy the close com- 
 munion and clear sense of the Divine presence which 
 he had done in former days, In this state of mind, 
 he entered upon the seven day.-' battles before Rich- 
 mond-. The solemnities of the occasion aroused him 
 to a sense of his danger, causing him to cleave 
 more closely to his Bible and its precious promises. 
 With his hand on this blessed book pressed to his 
 heart, he called on God to be his shield and support 
 in the hour of battle. He passed the terrible ordeal 
 of Haines' Mill on Friday, and xUalvern Hill on Tues- 
 day, where the men fell around him like grain before 
 the reapers, and. covered the ground thick as Autumn 
 leaves. A degree of joy and gratitude swelled his 
 heart as he surveyed the field of death, in view of his 
 own wonderful escape, but not so deep and warm as on 
 a former occasion, when his faith and piety were more 
 earnest and simple. Albert continued at times to read 
 his Bible ; but it was evidently more as a tas*k than a 
 pleasant, duty; his keen relish for divine things had 
 abated very much ; the excuses of camp life, long 
 marches, and the general indifference of officers and 
 
It) THE SOLDIER \s 33IBLE. % I 
 
 men upon the subject of religion, offered hid con- 
 science the consolation of a temporary opiate. So 
 times, however, on the reception of letters from 
 home, and sometimes when alone on his midnight 
 round of picket duty, he would shed a penitential 
 tear, and resolve to double his diligence and regain 
 his lost ground as a Christian; but a plant so tender 
 and unprotected by the pale of the Church, un water- 
 ed by the dews of the sanctuary, persecuted and 
 scathed by the lightnings of contempt. , nipped and 
 browsed upon by every wild beast of the forest, nec- 
 essarily became greatly dwarfed in life and growth; 
 a feeling of pelf security, a tmst in Pa fance, 
 
 impressed him more than a simple faith in jhe ever- 
 present. God. In this spiritually demoralized con- 
 dition, he entered the 8Iiarpsburg - fight, without.' 
 even asking God to protect and save him. from danger 
 and" death. Soon after the battle opened, he w$$' 
 struck by a ball and carried back to the rear a wound- 
 ed man; from profuse hemorrhage, a sick, dream}' 
 sensation stole over him; the light faded from his 
 eyes j while a thousand mingled sounds rilled his 
 ears, and a faint vision of home, friends., green turf, 
 battle-fields and grave-yards flitted by like phantoms 
 of the night. With returning consciousness, there 
 came a sense of shame and sorrow for having declined 
 
THE SOLDIER'S B1 1 I 
 
 in his reli inviction thatbia wound 
 
 was the cha ' wan- 
 
 derings and check his selt!-reliarj 
 
 (ficiently be drew 
 
 from his ; »cket his neglected Bil many 
 
 ttlries over, and bathing il in truly peniten- 
 
 tial as Peter when lie wept at the fe< 'is. — 
 
 'His blood . ■ cherished 
 
 promises of God, leaving matfj i tain on the 
 
 The law of the Lord 
 again became ! .<\ chink, on which he feasted 
 
 by day ant! by nighty a low 'life was infused into his 
 soul, which enabled him bo bear his sufferings with 
 true Chri - lisin. 
 
 In this condition f found him in the old Academy 
 Hospital in "Winchester, lying on the dir,ty floor, 
 with a blanket for his bed and a wisp of straw to pil- 
 low up his wounded limb. Whih ' y his side, 
 trying to minister to his soul and body, I received 
 from him this narrative substantially as f have given 
 it to you. After much severe Buffering, when our 
 army fell back, he was sent to Staunton and thence 
 to Richmond, where I again met him just in time to 
 witness his last triumphant conflict with suffering and 
 death, lie was in a hospital, reclining on a clean, 
 comfortable bed ; his head resting on a soft, white 
 
12 THE SOLDIER'S BIBLE. 
 
 pillow, on which the familiar name of a distinguished 
 lady of G-eorgia was marked— she having contributed 
 it from her own bed for the benefit of the suffering 
 soldiers. Near him sat the matron of the hospital, 
 rendering every possible comfort that the sympathy 
 of a woman could suggest, intensely sharpened by 
 the recent loss of a promising son,- who fell in a late 
 battle. Reduced by a secondary hemorrhage and 
 amputation* .Albert, with a calm, steady faith, came 
 down to the cold waters of Jordan, where he linger- 
 ed for x. short time, and dictated a letter to his moth- 
 er, which I wrote for him, in which he gave an ap- 
 propriate word to each, one of the family, not even 
 forgetting Maum Patty, his old nurse, and reserving 
 a postscript, the last and best, for Jennie. I would 
 like very much to give my readers a copy of this let- 
 ter, but it is the exclusive treasure of the bereaved 
 and afflicted ones, whose grief is too sacred for the 
 intermeddling of any save the most intimate friends. 
 After pausing a few moments at the close of the et - 
 ter, he seem self-absorbed, and soliloquized thus : "I 
 die for my country and the cause of humanity, and, 
 with many others, have thrown my bleeding body in- 
 to the horrid chasm of revolution to bridge the way 
 for the triumphal car of Liberty, which will roll over 
 me, b earing in its long train the happy million* of 
 
THE SOLDIER'S BIBLE 13 
 
 future generations, rejoicing in all the grandeur of 
 peace and prosperity. I wonder if they will ever 
 pause as they pass to think of Che poor soldiers whose 
 bones lie at the foundation of their security and Map-' 
 piness? Or will the soul he permitted from some 
 ' Pisgah summit to take a look at the future glory of 
 the country I died to reclaim from fanatical thraldom ? 
 Will the soul ever visit at evening twilight tne teenes 
 of my childhood, and listen to the sweet hymn of 
 praise that goes up from the paternal altar at which 
 I was consecrated to (rod: Though unseen, may it 
 not be the guardian angel of my loved one V* Theck- 
 Ing himself he said: "These are earthly desires, 
 which I feel gradually giving 
 
 ly sympathy.' ' Then, in a I voice, he re- 
 
 peated : 
 
 "(rive joy or grief, give ease m p*h>, 
 
 Take life or friends away, 
 .Si I but tin 1 them all again 
 
 In that eternal day." 
 
 lie repeated the last line with au emphasis tint 
 threw a beauty and force into it which I nc • 
 'felt before. Seeing that he was communing with 
 his own soul, and that spiritual things in theoperiing 
 light of eternity were rising in bold relief before his 
 vision of faith, I withdrew a short from him, 
 
 leering it was holy ground, "where the . 
 
14 THE SOLDIER'S BIBLE. 
 
 meets his fate, quite on the* verge of heaven.' 3 tie 
 then gently laid his hand on Ids Bible and the daguer-j 
 rooty pe that lay near his side, and amid this profound 
 ^illness, surrounded by a halo of more than earthly 
 glory, gently as the evening shadows, the curtain 
 dropped, leaving nothing visible to us but the cold 
 and lifeless clay, on which a sweet smile rested, as 
 though it had seen the. happy soul enter the pearly 
 gates of the New Jerusalem. Thus, far from }\< 
 and friends, this noble youth fell asleep in Jesus 
 swelling the long list of the honored dead ; but 
 "though dead, he yet speaketh." The preciou 
 treasure, " The Soldier 7 * Bible" has been returnee 
 to the family, and, is now one 0/ those valued relic; 
 that bine? many sad hearts with links of gold to by 
 gone days. . 
 
 Now, my dear feilow-seldier, I leave with you thf 
 simple narrative, without comment or applicatio: 
 hoping thai you may find something in it to interes 
 instruct- or encourage you while performing the' ho 
 orable, yet responsible and arduous, duties' of 
 soldier. 
 
 
TH2R£ 13 •■W££T RX8T. 
 
 MERE [S SWEET REST. 
 
 The m< 
 
 Tlr 
 
 Bu end, 
 
 Whcr 
 
 All ■ 
 
 : 
 Tli. 
 
 rnor 
 
 ■ i darken 
 
 Our 
 
 J'i- M in rfftavcn. 
 
 13 
 
MY BIBLE. 
 
 MY BIBLE. 
 
 This book is all that's loft meuow : 
 
 Tears will unbidden start — 
 With faltering lip and throbbing brow 
 
 [ press it to ray heart. 
 For many generations past, , 
 
 Here, is our family teee : 
 My mother's hands this Bible ehxsp'd — 
 
 She, dying, gave it me. 
 
 My father read this holy book 
 
 To brothers, sisters dear : 
 Howoalm was my poor mother's tank 
 
 A' 1 ( leanYl God's word to hoar. 
 Her angel face — I see it yet-! 
 
 What thronging memories come ! 
 A;nuu tb'at little group is met 
 
 Within the hall* iifknilK'. 
 
 Tijtki truest friend man _eyyv kliew, 
 
 Thy constancy I've tried : 
 Whore all were false I've found thee true 
 
 My counsellor and guide ! 
 The miues of earth no. treasures give 
 
 That could this volume buy ;- 
 [n teaching me the way to live, 
 
 Ji t:; ught me how to die, 
 • 
 
Hollinger Corp. 
 P H8.5