Christian Commision in camps

[apologia]

Hello gents,
We would like to set up a functioning US Christian Commission within our Federal camp and provide services to the soldiers, not just a table top presentation. In fairness, I need to find a citation of the Commision actually ever having been camped with the boys. While it's true they often stayed in the local towns, anecdotal evidence suggests they would have to have been on hand to do what they did.
Anyone have a source, picture, citation to help?

Regards,
Rich Holt

[markj]

Re: Christian Commision in camps

Hi,

The short answer is "Yes, they did." Standard accounts of Christian Commission activities are:

Smith, Rev. Edward P., Incidents of Shot and Shell, Union Publishing House, New York City, 1868. (also published as "Incidents of the United States Christian Commission," Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1869).

An extract from this work can be found here.

http://hometown.aol.com/firstmacav/USCC.html

A first-edition copy of this work is currently for sale on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4207991059&category=378

Another work is:

Christ in the army: A selection of sketches of the work of the U.S. Christian Commission / Ladies Christian Commission (Philadelphia, Pa.). Philadelphia: J. B. Rodgers, Printer, 1865.

Yet another work is:

Moss, Lemuel. Annals of the United States Christian Commission. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1868.

All of these works are available in either hard-copy or in microform through your local inter-library loan. Here is a pretty large bibliography for additional U.S.C.C. works:

http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/Bibliographies/ReferenceBibliographies/chaplains/christiancommcivwar.doc

Some writers, like Francis Lord, have denigrated the role of the USCC but, judging from all the material I've seen they're flat wrong. Letters, diary entries, and official documents regularly establish that the work of the USCC was overwhelmingly viewed in a positive light by officers and enlisted alike (particularly its "lending library" program).

USCC "delegate appointment" lengths of service varied according to the assignment. As I recall, appointments for rear-echelon areas were usually for six weeks. Field appointments were usually for four weeks. I actually own a rare delegate appointment letter, dated May 1864, that, with one exception, still has the free rail passes attached to the back of the document.

Here's another site that might be of interest:

http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/html/ymca/yusa0004-3.phtml

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[mastevens]

Re: Christian Commision in camps

Hello gents,
We would like to set up a functioning US Christian Commission within our Federal camp and provide services to the soldiers, not just a table top presentation. In fairness, I need to find a citation of the Commision actually ever having been camped with the boys. While it's true they often stayed in the local towns, anecdotal evidence suggests they would have to have been on hand to do what they did.
Anyone have a source, picture, citation to help?

Regards,
Rich Holt

Rich,
You can get the Incidents Of The U.S. Christian Commission book by Rev. Edward P. Smith from Reenactors Missions For Jesus Christ. They reprinted it last year. Their web site is rmjc.org. Hope this helps.

Mark Stevens

"My whole trust is in God, and I am ready for whatever He may ordain."
Gen. R.E. Lee - April 24, 1864

[apologia]

Re: Christian Commision in camps

The short answer is "Yes, they did." Thanks Mark your response was very helpful. I have all but two of those leads reveiwed and the missing piece is still eluding me. While it seems obvious to any reasonable person that to do all they did, they would have to have stayed in the camps at least some times. Unfortunately, I've yet to find a specific citation that explicitly states that. That is the level of authenticiy I have been asked to produce. I'll pursue getting some of those books,
Thanks again
Rich Holt

[marine05]

Re: Christian Commision in camps

Research that my wife has done for her impression as a U.S. Sanitary Commission worker has said that the USCC was not set up in the camps, but just outside, however their workers did go into the camps. The USSC did move and camp within the force encampments as they were a "government" agency. Both services did great work that was very appreciated by the troops.

That being said I have seen no citation that they were not allowed to bivouac in the force camps.

s/f

DJM

[apologia]

Re: Christian Commision in camps

That being said I have seen no citation that they were not allowed to bivouac in the force camps.

Thanks Dan, even this helps a bit.
Rich ]

[Yellowhammer]

Re: Christian Commision in camps

Guys,

A "camp" can mean many things. I think you need to clarify your terms to get a solid answer to this question.

"Camp," in the big mainstream reenactment sense is anywhere in the canvas sea. "Camp" in the Civil War sense is a well laid-out rigidly organized arrangement of living quarters be they tents, huts, or cabins.

Additionally, "camps" can be places like Camp Curtain, Camp Douglas, and Camp Morton which are, of course, very different from either temporary or winter camps.

Further, a "bivouac" is another thing entirely. According to Gilham's glossary and Scott's Military Dictionary, a "bivouac" is an informal encampment in which the normal organization is not required. For example, if a regiment just plopped down on the side of a road while on the march and didn't erect their shelters in company streets, that would be a "bivouac."

Not trying to be preachy on this but I've always found that precision in language, particularly when asking a question, generally yields the best results.

[markj]

Re: Christian Commision in camps

Greetings,

You might want to do a little digging through wartime letter and diary collections as I've seen various references to troops forming prayer and Bible study groups "at the Christian Commission tent." Not long ago I noted such a statement in an unpublished diary written by a man who served in the 20th Indiana Volunteer Infantry (2nd and 3rd Army Corps, Army of the Potomac).

Having said this, I can't immediately think of USCC delegates actively accompanying troops on campaign (although this may have happened on occasion). My uneducated guess is that such delegates were sent to the rear, much as what normally happened with sutlers. Attending to the spiritual needs of campaigning troops was obviously a job normally assigned to regimental chaplains.

If I see anything that might help you, I'll post it. You might also want to do a search through the "Official Records" too.

Regards,

Mark Jaeger