sentiments of the American ministers on the great issues of the conflict. It was entitled "Christian Loyalty" and was founded on a passage expressive of the loyalty and love of the Hebrew people for their institutions and nationality. Brief extracts only can be given.
"By the riven of Babylon, there we sat down. Yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy."- Psalm cxxxvii. 1, 2, 5, 6.
This (said Dr. Tyng) is the patriot's devotion to his country. It is a living spirit in his heart. It clings to his own land and people in their lowest depression as truly as in their highest prosperity. It is living and active within him, to whatever contumely and reproach it may expose him.
1. My loyalty to Jerusalem is my love of her people. I am loyal to my nation. I will never give my consent to its dismemberment or its separation. I cling to the one Federal American people, - not to a confederacy of States, but to a consolidated nation. I desire not to live to see a disunion of them for any reasons or upon any terms. ... My loyalty is to the United States of America, that great federal nation, which, wherever scattered or however collected, have dwelt together under one glorious government, as one perpetual, indivisible people. . . . Be one people; be one nation. . . . Let Jerusalem be still a city at unity in itself, encircled with the walls of a common defence from foes abroad and bound together for a united subjugation of traitors at home.
2. My loyalty to Jerusalem is my love for her territory. I love my country; I love it with an intense affection. Every part of it is equally mine, and equally dear to me. I am a citizen of the United States. I will acknowledge no Northern rights nor Southern rights. I have a fee simple, indisputable right in every portion of this soil, from sea to sea, as a citizen of this nation. I will never consent to give it up. I am a citizen of the whole. I have a right to a domicil, a protected home, throughout the whole, which I will never yield. To separate this glorious hard-earned land, to divide it, to disintegrate it, cut it up, parcel it out to a set of wild conflicting provinces, farm it out to the ambition of petty contending satraps, gaining in blood a short-lived triumph, is a degradation and a social atrocity to which I will never consent. . ."
Let the land of your fathers, the sacred revered abode of a nation of freemen, be transmitted, unbroken, solid, entire, untarnished, to the children who succeed you. Die, if it must be so, for it, but never give it up.
3. My loyalty to Jerusalem is my love for the freedom which she has established. Men may call the testimonies of her Declaration of Independence a tissue of "glittering generalities," when they have no affinity with the liberty which it proclaims and no sympathy with the grandly humanizing influence which it is designed and destined to exercise. To my mind, it stands on the highest platform of uninspired testimonies. In it the noblest emotions, aspirations, sentiments, and principles of the heart of man speak out in golden, crystal sounds. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." What nobler testimony for human freedom or human exaltation was ever given? When did the representative mind of progressive, rising humanity ever announce its convictions and its purposes in a loftier strain or in a grander formula? . . . Never yield this priceless inheritance of human liberty; never sacrifice by any compromise the unrestricted, universal freedom of your nation; never consent to any arrangement in which you may not look back upon your fathers' line and home, and still triumphant say, "Jerusalem, the mother of us all, is free."
4. My loyalty to Jerusalem is my love for her Constution, Jerusalem had her glorious constitution from the Divine gift, - a book in the hands of every one, to be read at home, to be studied by children, to be talked of by the way. America has received her Constitution from the gracious providence of God, - the grand result of ages of human experience and observation, - the admired shape and cast of man's wisdom among the nations of the earth.
Never was there a more majestic exhibition of sovereign power; never was there a more honorable display of mutual concession and self-restraint.
Such is the American Constitution, - a beautiful machinery of intellectual conception and of moral influence, working with its powers and restraints, its checks and balances, its provisions and prohibitions, in a thoroughly adjusted harmony, and in remarkable order and grandeur of operation. . . . Never give up this contest for the Constitution. Compel this rebellion to submit to its authority. And, if you must perish, perish nobly maintaining the peerless cause of liberty, government, and order.
6. My loyalty to Jerusalem is my love for her government. Her Constitution is the charter of her government, the fixed and final scheme arranged for its construction and its perpetual control. . . .
I love this Government. I love it in its origin. I love it in its simplicity. I love it in its supremacy. I love it in its individuality. I love it in its constitutional strength. I love it in its personal power, determination, and will. It combines for me all the possible freedom of liberty for the many consistent with order and tranquillity for the whole, and the vast security of absolute authority in an ultimate ruler from whom there is no appeal. It seems to me to have gathered the gems from all regions to make this new, last crown of a monarchical people, - a ruling nation.
To my nation, to my country, to the principle of freedom, to the Constitution, to the Government, while I live, will I be faithful; and, how-ever depressed or downcast or desponding may be the incidents and elements of the day, even though in captivity I sit by the rivers of Babylon, I will never forget, dishonor, or deny the Jerusalem I have loved, beneath whose shade I have grown and been refreshed, and?? with?? sons and daughters I have gone to the house of God and found sweet delight??. Still in prayer for my beloved country will I ?? the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Dr. Byron Sunderland, paator of the First Presbyterian?? Church in Washington City, and chaplain of tbe Senate of ??the United States, preached a sermon on the national fast-day, April?? 30, 1863, entitled "The Crisis of the Times," which was read?? by an immense audience, and published by an "Association?? of patriotic citizens" and widely circulated through the country. The following is an extract : -
When the ship of state, freighted as it is with all our memories and all our hopes, lies tossing in the tempest, - when it is no longer a ???tion of policy or preference as between rival parties and candididates ?? time of peace, but a deeper, broader, more vital question of the triumph of the Government and the conscience of the American people over a systern of usurpation and despotism sustained by an organised and armed rebellion against them, - now, when a fierce and bloody attempt is made to undermine the very foundations of social order and to pull down the noblest structure of empire the sun has ever shone upon, and to sunder a land that was once most happy in all the arts and industries of advancing civilization, and to blot out from the face of the globe the unity of a mighty nation, and to impair forever the greatness and the usefulness of a people among whom the Divine principals and precepts of Chrirttianity itself have had their freest and their noblest scope, - would it not be thought a thing incredible that the Ohrlstian people and the Chiristian ministry of this land should stand aloof, should manifest a deep and profound indifference, should undertake to live and act and preach and speak and think and feel as though there were no war and no judgment of God among us whatever? And all this, too, while the whole history of the nation hitherto has been marked by one continued succession of providential interpositions for deliverance, one constant series of examples of the presence and influence of the Christian element in working out our national destiny! Without Christianity, the story of America could never have been told, -these manifold and mighty monuments which cover the land could never have been reared. None but God can tell the effect of Christian prayer and fidelity in the testimony of Christian truth upon the fortunes of this nation. And now, in such a land, with such a record and such a prospect, and in such a condition, when we feel and know that blows are being struck which, if not repelled, must not only destroy our civil heritage, but also roll back the chariot of human salvation for a thousand years, can the disciples and ministers of this religion, which has more than all other things made the land a blessing, be excused from the duties and trials which now rest upon the nation? Nay, do you not look to the Christian sentiment and opinion of this country for countenance and support ? Do you not rely on the loyalty and the prayers of the Christian people of this country as constituting, under God, the firmest and most unwavering prop and pillar of the nation's strength? If this be so, then I am here to declare, in the name of the Christian Church, and of all that follow the great Head of the Church in this land, that as they haye never, heretofore, been found wanting in the hour of the country's need, so they will now not be found wanting. For, when it comes to this, the old religion which has for eighteen hundred years produced the heroes and martyrs of the world, will rise again and lead her mighty processions into the thickest of the contest. And not until the Church of Christ has been utterly overthrown, and not until her last prayer goes out and her last soul is offered up on the altar of expiring liberty, will it be time for men to say, "there is no longer any hope." And not until then can the cause of America, which we believe to be the cause of human nature everywhere, be ruined. And for this reason it is that in the name of the Church we lift up our voice, cry aloud and spare not, showing the people their sins and transgressions. The Christian mind of this nation beholds the spectacle we now present with a feeling of the deepest solemnity and the most painful suspense. The Christian mind of this nation interprets the afflictions we are suffering now, as the judgments of God for our moral obliquity. It holds that there is a righteousness which exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any people. It holds that in a crisis like this there is but one inspiration that can carry us through in triumph, and that is the inspiration of the Almighty. It holds that among the first signs of the presence of such an inspiration is the general return of the people to sobriety and virtue; and therefore it views with pain and grief, with apprehension and alarm, the almost universal reign of vice, vulgarity, and impurity. And because the nation has been so long blind and indifferent to the principles of truth, and so long disobedient to the authority of God, he has not only kindled the fire of this furnace, but he is adding fuel to the flames, and holding us in them, that we may be either purified or consumed. That is the issue now before us, - purification or destruction. It is comparatively of little account what may be the tidings from the great sieges or the battle-fields of our military or naval operations, what may be the condition of the currency or the result of local elections, or, indeed, what may be the daily contingencies or details that fall out to us in the history of this great time; but the true question is, whether amid all these millions of human beings a sufficient number may be found upon whom the inspiration of the Almighty has descended, to render it consistent with his most gracious purpose and with the character of his supreme government over men, to interpose and give us the victory. If this point in the moral and religious condition of the American people can be attained, then we have no fear for the remainder. The same power that delivered the Hebrew nation with a high hand and a stretched-out arm, the same power that shielded the people of the Netherlands against the combined attack of the greatest potentates of the time in Europe, the same power that brought our fathers through the bloody baptism of the Revolution, and gave to them, to bequeath to us, their children, this glorious inheritance, will thunder for us along all our lines of battle, and put our enemies to rout and confusion forever.
The Day of Fasting and Prayer
Appointed by the President, on Thursday, April 30, 1863, the proclamation for which is on the 558th page of this volume, was memorable in its Christian influence through the loyal States. Stirring and timely truths were preached in the pulpits, which tended greatly to impress the public mind and conscience with religious sentiments and responsibility to God, and to urge the people and all in civil and military authority to repentance and reformation. "We believe," says Bishop Mcllvaine, in an address to the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Ohio, " the day was warmly welcomed by all the religious and patriotic people of the loyal States, and was observed with solemnity and prayerfulness in devout assemblies throughout those portions of our country." The resolution of the Senate requesting the President to appoint a day of fasting and prayer was gratifying to the Christian public especially, because it distinctly recognized Christ as mediator, and the New-School Indianapolis Presbytery, in view of it, passed the following: -
Resolved, That this Presbytery, as an ecclesiastical court, called to witness for Christ before the world, cannot refrain from a public expression of its gratification that the resolutions of the Senate of the United States, asking the appointment by the President of a national fast, make such distinct mention of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Heaven-appointed way of access to God the Father. This recognition of our Divine Mediator by our national authorities is as gratifying and appropriate as it is rare.
The Governors of several States, and the mayors of some of the larger cities and towns, responded to the proclamation of the President by issuing their own.
Washington City.
Proclamation by the Mayor.
Mayor's Office, April 28, 1863.
The President, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the United States, having set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation, renders needless any thing of a like character from me. As requested in the following joint resolution, my fellow-citizens will doubtless manifest their appreciation of the occasion, as well as their respect for the high authority from whence it emanates, by abstaining from secular employment and an observance of the day as enjoined on us, in common with the whole country, by the proclamation of the President.
Richard Wallace, Mayor.
Joint Resolution relative to the observance of Thursday, 30th April, as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer.
Whereas the President of the United States has, by public proclamation, recommended the observance of the 30th instant as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer throughout these United States, and whereas it is meet and proper that we should acknowledge our sins before Almighty God, and pray that the evils of civil war be removed from us: therefore
Be it Resolved, That the Mayor be, and is hereby, requested to issue his proclamation inviting and enjoining upon the citizens of Washington the observance of this day as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, and requesting the suspension of all secular business on that day.
Alex. R. Shepherd,
President of the Board of Comnon Council.Joseph F. Brown,
President qf the Board of Aldermen.Approved, April 28, 1863.
Richard Wallace, Mayor.
Order by the Military Governor of the District of Columbia.
General Orders, No. 15.
Head-Quarters Military District of Washington,
Washington, D.C., April 29, 1868.In compliance with the proclamation of the President of the United States, Thursday, the 30th of April instant, will be observed by officers and men in this command as a day of fasting and humiliation.
Within the limits of the city of Washington and the District of Columbia, the orders regulating the transaction of business and closing of shops, stores, and bars on Sunday will be applicable to Thursday, the 30th instant, and will be observed accordingly and enforced.
The President's proclamation devoutly recognizes the existence and presence of Almighty God. It is impossible that such a Being should not be interested in the affairs of men. No further appeal ought to be necessary to those who publicly profess a Christian faith.
But to others, who are inclined to ask, '* What good can be gamed by fasting?'' the commanding general, while desiring their respectful co-operation in the obsenranoe of the day, suggests to them the following answer:--
1. They will thereby manifest a soldierly respect to a recommendation which comes to them from the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States; and the company or regiment most imbued with that quality of respect affords signal evidence that it possesses the highest fighting quality.
2. A soldier who is moved to the performance of his duty in battle or elsewhere by the inspiration of God's presence in the mind and purposes will be incited by an influence of immense power.
Not the miraculous interposition of Divine agency, but the infusion of new determination and earnestness into our own hearts, will be the consequence, in the rudest minds, of our honest and manly observance of the fast recommended by the President.
A whole nation stimulated and exalted by such influences would be irresistible.
By command of Brigadier-General Martindale.
John P. Sherbourne, A. A. G.
GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK.
The President of the United States having set apart the last Thursday of April as a day of national prayer, fasting, and humiliation, I, Horatio Seymour, Governor of the State of New York, do recommend that the day be observed throughout the State with suitable religious solemnities.
Humbly acknowledging the manifold offences of our rulers and people, let us humiliate ourselves before Almighty God, and fervently pray that our sins may be forgiven. Acknowledging our dependence upon his powers and mercy, let us put away pride and ingratitude, malice and uncharitableness, and implore him to deliver our land from seditious fury, conspiracy, and rebellion, and to restore the blessings of peace, concord, and union to the several States of our distracted and afflicted country.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto afllxed the privy seal of the State, at the city of Albany, the 27th day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Horatio Seymour.
By the Governor :
R. B. Miller, Jr., Private Secretary.
Mayor of New York.
Whereas the President of the United States, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate, has issued his proclamation, setting apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer; and
Whereas the scourge of civil war which is now desolating our country and changing many of its happy homes into abodes of sorrow renders such solemn service peculiarly appropriate at the present time:
Now, therefore, in oflicial recognition of said proclamation and its just and timely admonitions to the nation, I do hereby request that all the public offices in this city be closed on that day, and that the people, refraining from all secular pursuits, devote themselves with humble and contrite spirits to the religious duties suitable to the occasion.
Given under my hand and the seal of the Mayoralty, at the City Hall, in the city of New York, this twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
George Ofdyke, Mayor.
Mayor of Brooklyn.
Mayor's Office, Tuesday, April 28, 1863.
Thursday, the 30ih day of April, 1863, having been set apart by the President of the United States, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer, in accordance therewith I do hereby direct that the various public offices of the city be closed on that day; and I respectfully recommend, also, that our citizens on that day refrain, as far as may be, from the pursuit of their ordinary business avocations. The suffering and misery and humiliation which during the past two years have fallen upon us as a nation would seem to render an earnest and universal appeal to the Divine mercy from us, as a people, especially a duty at this time; and I doubt not that the recommendation of the President will be appropriately responded to by our citizens.
Martin Kalbfleisch, Mayor,
Mayor of Cincinnati.
Now, therefore, in pursuance thereof, believing that our cause is just and righteous, feeling that in these times of trial to our beloved country we should humble ourselves before the Almighty in fjosting and in prayer, ask his forgiveness for our sinfulness in the past and implore His blessings and favor upon the future, I earnestly desire all citizens to observe the day thus appointed by our Chief Magistrate in a becoming and reverent manner, and that all places of business and amusement shall then be closed.
Len. A. Harris, Mayor of Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, April 28, 1863.
Mayor of Philadelphia.
Whereas the President of the United States, being moved thereto by the Federal Senate, has set apart Thursday next, the 30th day of April, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer; and whereas we have cause, as a people, to take shame to ourselves before all nations and before Almighty God that we have misused the civil blessings wherewith we have been signally favored, by setting at naught the wisdom of our fathers, betraying the trust of self-government, winking at unfaithfulness and corruption in high places, and giving ourselves to selfishness and disregard of ourselves as citizens:
Therefore it becomes us earnestly to beseech him that he will enlighten us to the honest discharge of our duties as freemen; that he will keep steadfast within us a true devotion to our country, to the confusion of all traitors and workers of sedition; that he will endow our rulers with wisdom and firmness, and that he will lead our hosts and give them strength in the conflict, that they may prevail over all rebellion. And I do hereby call upon the people of this city to keep such appointed day by foregoing the usual pursuits, closing their places of employment, and presenting themselves, after their respective manner of worship, before the Most High God; that, acknowledging his supreme power, and the righteousness of the judgments that he has visited upon our land, we may implore him mercifully to withhold his corrections from us, and give us welfare and peace through the speedy overthrow of all who resist the lawful authority of our national Government.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the city of Philadelphia to be affixed, this twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Alexander Henry, Mayor of Philadelphia.
Thanksgiving-Days for Victories.
As a Christian nation, it has been the uniform practice of the civil authorities, when signal blessings were received or important victories obtained, to issue proclamations of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God. During the winter and spring of 1862 important victories were won by the armies of the United States, at Mill Spring, Kentucky, at Fort Donelson and Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, and at Pea Ridge, Missouri. In view of these victories, Congress passed the following resolution: -
A Resolution giving the Thanks of Congress to the Officers, Soldiers, and Seamen of the Army and Navy, for their gallantry in the recent brilliant victories over the enemies of the Union and the Constitution.
Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Slates of America, in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress are due, and are hereby tendered, to the officers, soldiers, and seamen of the Army and Navy of the United States, for the heroic gallantry that, under the providence of Almighty God, has won the recent series of brilliant victories over the enemies of the Union and Constitution.
Approved, February 22, 1862.
The President and Secretary of War issued the following papers: -
A Proclamation.
Wasnington, April 10, 1862.
It has pleased Almighty God to vouchsafe signal victories to the land and naval forces engaged in suppressing an internal rebellion, and at the same time to avert from our country the dangers of foreign intervention and invasion. It is, therefore, recommended to the people of the United States that at their next weekly assemblages in their accustomed places of worship which shall occur after the notice of this proclamation shall have been received, that they especially acknowledge and render thanks to our heavenly Father for these inestimable blessings; that they then and there implore spiritual consolation in behalf of all those who have been brought into affliction by the casualties and calamities of sedition and civil war; and that they reverently invoke the Divine guidance for our national councils, to the end that they may speedily result in the restoring of peace and harmony and unity throughout our borders, and hasten the establishment of fraternal relations among all the countries of the earth.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
(Signed) Abraham Lincoln.
WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, April 9, 1862.
Order 1. That at meridian of the Sunday next after the reception of this order, at the head-quarters of every regiment in the armies of the United States, there shall be ofifered by its chaplain a prayer, giving thanks to the Lord of Hosts for the recent manifestations of his power in the overthrow of the rebels and traitors, and invoking the continuance of his aid in delivering this nation, by the arms of patriotic soldiers, from the horrors of treason, rebellion, and civil war.E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War,
The Secretary of War expressed the following sentiments: -
The glory of our recent victories belongs to the gallant officers and soldiers that fought the battles. No share of it belongs to me.
Much has recently been said of military combinations and organizing victories. I hear such phrases with apprehension. They commenced in infidel France with the Italian campaign, and resulted in Waterloo. Who can organize victory? Who can combine the elements of success on the battle-field? We owe our recent victories to the Spirit of the Lord, that moved our soldiers to rush into battle and filled the hearts of our enemies with terror and dismay. The inspiration that conquered in battle was in the hearts of the soldiers and from on high; and wherever there is the same inspiration there will be the same results. Patriotic spirit, with resolute courage, in officers and men, is a military combination that never failed.
We may well rejoice at the recent victories, for they teach us that battles are to be won now and by us in the same and only manner that they were ever won by any people or in any age since the days of Joshua, - by boldly pursuing and striking the foe. What, under the blessing of Providence, I conceive to be the true organization of victory and military combination to end this war, was declared in a few words by General Grant's message to General Buckner: - "I propose to move immediately upon your works!"
The thanksgiving appointed by the President was generally observed by the Churches in the loyal States. The following was a form used by the Episcopal churches in Ohio: -
To the Clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Ohio,
In obedience to the proclamation of the President of the United States, and responding cordially to his acknowledgment of the good hand of our God upon us in giving victory to our national forces, I hereby appoint and set forth the following collect of thanksgiving, and prayers for the wounded, sick, and dying, and for the bereaved, to be read during divine service in every church within this diocese, on the Sunday after the receipt of this notice, and at other times at the discretion of the minister. Affectionately,
G. T. Bedell, Assigiani, Bishop in charge.
Collect of Thanksgiving after Victory.
To be used before the General Thanksgiving,
(adapted.)
O Almighty God, the Sovereign Commander of all the world, in whose hand is power and might which none is able to withstand, we bless and magnify thy great and glorious name for these late happy victories. The whole glory thereof we do ascribe to thee, who art the only giver of victory. And, we beseech thee, give us grace to improve this great mercy to thy glory, the advancement of thy gospel, the honor of our country, and the speedy re-establishment of such peace as will maintain the supremacy of law, the securities of righteous liberty, and the welfare of the Union. And, we beseech thee, give us such a sense of this great mercy as may engage us to a true thankfulness, such as may appear in our lives by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before thee all our days, through Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, as for all thy mercies, so in particular for this victory and deliverance, be all glory and honor, world without end. Amen.
The following is the prayer of thanksgiving for our victories which Bishop Whittingham directed the Episcopal clergy of the Diocese of Maryland to use on all occasions of public worship during the next eight days: -
Almighty God, the Sovereign Commander of all the world, in whose hand is power and might, which none is able to withstand, we bless and magnify thy great and glorious name for the happy successes which thou hast of late vouchsafed in so many instances to the arms of this nation, and more especially for the deliverance of this city and district from the terrors of blockade and siege. And, we beseech thee, give to us and to all this people grace to use this great mercy shown towards us to thy glory, the advancement of thy gospel, the honor of our country, and, as much as in us lieth, the good of all mankind. Stir up our hearts, Lord, to a true thankfulness, such as may appear in our lives by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before thee all our days, through Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom, with thee, O Father, and thee, Holy Ghost, as for all thy mercies, so in particular for these victories and this deliverance, be all glory and honor, world without end. Amen.
On the first three days of July, 1863, a great victory was won by the army of the United States, under General Meade, over the rebel army under General Lee. Pennsylvania and Maryland were invaded by the army of the rebels, which threatened to capture Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, the capital of the nation. The two armies, each numbering about a hundred thousand men, met on the field of battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and a victory, great and important in its immediate and future results, was won by the national army. On the 4th of July, memorable in its historic associations, the news of the defeat of the invading army spread through the nation, and the President of the United States issued the following brief, comprehensive, and Christian address of congratulation to the country: -
Washington, July 4, 10 am., 1863.
The President announces to the country that news from the Army of the Potomac up to ten p.m. of the 3d is such as to cover that army with the highest honor, to promise a great success to the cause of the Union, and to claim the condolence of all for the many gallant ftdlen, and that for this he especially desires that on this day He whose will, not ours, should ever be done, be everywhere remembered and reverenced with profoundest gratitude.
Abraham Lincoln.
General Meade assumed the command of the Potomac army, by the appointment of the President, on the Sunday previous to this important and decisive battle. In his address to the army on Sabbath, June 28, 1863, he said, -
By direction of the President of the United States, I hereby assume command of the Army of the Potomac. The country looks to this army to release it from the devastation and disgrace of a hostile invasion. Whatever fatigues and sacrifices we may be called upon to undergo, let us have in view constantly the magnitude of the interest involved, and let each man determine to do his duty, leaving to an all-controlling Providence the decision of the contest.
In General Meade these traits crown his conduct, that "no one looks with more favor upon the true Christian who ministers to the spiritual wants of the wounded," and "an humble recognition that victory is of the Lord, and that to him belongs its glory." This is seen in the following order: -
HEAD-QUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, July 4, 1863.
General Order No, 68. - The commanding general, in behalf of the country, thanks the Army of the Potomac for the glorious result of the recent operations.
Our enemy, superior in numbers and flushed with the pride of a deceitful invasion, attempted to overcome or destroy this army. Utterly baffled and defeated, he has now withdrawn from the contest. The privations and fatigues the army has endured, and the heroic courage and gallantry it has displayed, will be matters of history to be ever remembered.
Our task is not yet accomplished; and the commanding general looks to the army for greater efforts to drive from our soil every vestige of the presence of the invader.
It is right and proper that we should, on suitable occasions, return our grateful thanks to the Almighty Disposer of events, that, in the goodness of his providence, he has thought fit to give victory to the cause of the just.
By command of Major-General Meade.
S. Williams, A.A,G,
On the 4th of July, 1863, Vicksburg, a strongly garrisoned town on the Mississippi River, and the key to the commerce of the Western States, surrendered to the national forces under Major-General U. S. Grant. This important event, occurring the same day with the news of the defeat of the invading army at Gettysburg, thrilled the national heart with gratitude and general joy. Thanksgivings to Almighty God ascended from the loyal people in all parts of the Northern States. The following scene at Philadelphia on the reception of the news on the 7th of July is one of great solemnity and sublimity, heightened by the associations and remembrances of the day on which these great victories were achieved, and the historic inspirations of Independence Hall. The ministers of religion who officiated in this scene of patriotism and piety stood exactly in the same spot where the Declaration of Independence was read eighty-seven years before. The editor of the "North American and United States Gazette," of Philadelphia, Morton McMichael, described the scene as follows: -
We have read of the first prayer offered in the Continental Congress, and of the sublimity and impressiveness of the scene as the assembled body knelt while Jehovah was praised for the workings of his providence in ordaining freedom to America.
Independence Square yesterday saw a sight emulating it in solemn grandeur, and presenting a spectacle Philadelphia never before witnessed, never may again. The tidings of the progress of the Union arms brought it about. When first promulgated, a large number of the members of the Union League met coincidently at the League rooms. The throng increased until the place was nearly filled. Everybody had left their places of business, and the members instinctively sought the League House for mutual congratulation.
It was proposed that something more than an informal recognition of so bountiful a blessing of victory should be made, and the gentlemen present took steps to make it. Birgfeld's Band of forty-six instruments was secured, and, with this at its head, the Union League, headed by the Rev. Kingston Goddard and Rev. Dr. Brainerd, moved down Chestnut street to Independence Square, keeping step to the glad strains of national airs that have been familiar since the dear days of youth's earliest dreams.
As the end of the line reached the square, all were uncovered. The line filed to right and left, when Hon. Charles Gibbons ascended the steps of Independence Hall. The concourse of people that now poured into the square were thousands in number. They spread over a surface beyond earshot of the loudest enunciation.
Mr. Gibbons made a brief address. He said that this day the beginning of the end is in view. The rebels are losing their strongholds, the cause of the Union is approaching its final triumph. He drew a picture of what we were as a nation, what we are, and what, in God's providence, we shall be. He spoke briefly and to the point, but was so overwhelmed with cheers that we failed to catch his speech as he uttered it.
Rev. Dr. Brainerd now bared his head; and instinctively - we believe reverently, as by an intuitive impulse - every man present was uncovered. A hush fell upon the densely-crowded assemblage as the hand of the reverend doctor was raised and an invitation given to the multitude to follow him in rendering thanks to Heaven for its many mercies
and for crowning the arms of the country with victory.Amid more profound silence, we verily believe, than an equal number of people ever kept before, Dr. Brainerd gave praise. He thanked the Almighty for the victories that were now crowning our arms. He had chastened us in his displeasure, and alike in that chastening as now in the blessing upon our work he recognized the hand of the Omnipotent. He implored the Divine blessing upon the country and its people, - that religion and truth and justice might take the place of pride and arrogance and vain-glory, and that this people might recognize in every event of life the ruling of Divine power. He prayed for the President and Cabinet, for the continued success of our arms and for the restoration of our national unity, for liberty to the oppressed, for freedom to worship God everywhere, and for the coming of that day when his kingdom shall extend over the whole earth.
When at the close of his prayer the Christian minister pronounced the word "Amen!" the whole multitude took up the Greek dissyllable, and as with one mighty voice re-echoed it, reverently and solemnly, "Amen!"
While this prayer was being offered, the band silently disappeared. As the final word of the supplication was pronounced, a strain of sacred music burst from overhead. The band had ascended to the State-House steeple, and there played, with effect that no tongue can adequately describe, the air of Old Hundred, written by Martin Luther more than three centuries ago.
Spontaneously a gentleman mounted a post, and started the melody to the words,
"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow."
The whole multitude caught it up, and a doxology was sung with a majesty that Philadelphia never before heard. Every voice united. The monster oratories that we have heard, with a vocal chorus of three hundred singers, dwindled into insignificance in comparison to it. Rev. Dr. Goddard then pronounced the benediction, and the vast audience again covered themselves and slowly dispersed. The whole scene was remarkable. It was a touching illustration of the fact that down deep in every man's heart, no matter what may be the utterance of his lips, or his daily walk and conversation, there is a recognition of the fact that the Lord reigneth.
Proclamation by the Governor of Maryland.
To the People of Maryland.
State of Maryland, Executive Department.
The recent occurrences within or near our borders are well calculated to profoundly excite the devotional feelings of our people, and incline their hearts to offer to Almighty God their earnest thanks for his agency in delivering the State from the dangers which recently threatened it, in driving the invaders from our soil, and in crowning with victory the efforts of those to whom, under his providence, we are indebted for that deliverance.
Humbly, therefore, acknowledging our dependence on his favor, so often before and now again so conspicuously extended to us, let us embrace the earliest opportunity of publicly confessing it.
I, therefore, earnestly recommend to the people of the State to unite, on Sunday next, the 19th instant, in their usual places of public worship, in humbling themselves before God in acknowledgment of his recent mercies; and, while we offer up our thanks for the deliverance he has sent and the victory he has vouchsafed to us, let us humbly entreat that his wisdom may so direct the councils of our rulers that the result of these achievements may be the speedy restoration of our beloved country to its former condition of a united, peaceful, and prosperous people.
Given under my hand and the great seal of the State, this fifteenth
day of July, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-three.A. W. Bradford.
By the Governor:
Wm. B. Hill, Secretary of State.
The loyal ministers and Churches of Maryland responded to the appointment of the Governor, and the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese issued the following circular letter: -
To the Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of Maryland.
Dear Brethren: - The Governor of the State having recommended to the people to unite on Sunday next, the 19th instant, in their usual places of worship, in humiliating themselves before Almighty God in devout thanksgiving for his recent mercies, in delivering this State from invasion and crowning with victory the arms of its lawful Government, you are earnestly requested and recommended to give due and religious heed to this laudable recommendation of the civil authority; and, in order thereto, I hereby set forth for use at the Morning Prayer, instead of the Venite the last "Psalm or Hymn of Praise" in the office of "Forms of Prayer to be used at Sea;" and in both Morning and Evening Prayers, after the general thanksgiving, the collect in the same office which follows the aforesaid Hymn of Praise.
Your loving friend and brother,
William Rollinson Whittingham,
Bishop of Maryland.Baltimore, July 16, 1863.
National Thanksgiving.
The President of the United States, in view of the important victories of the national armies, and in obedience to the wishes of the Christian public and his own feeKngs, issued the following
PROCLAMATION.
It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the supplications and prayers of an afflicted people, and to vouchsafe to the army and the navy of the United States victories on the land and on the sea so signal and so effective as to furnish reasonable grounds for augmented confidence that the Union of these States will be maintained, their Constitution preserved, and their peace and prosperity permanently restored. But these victories have been accorded not without sacrifices of life, limb, health, and liberty, incurred by brave, loyal, and patriotic citizens. Domestic affliction in every part of the country follows in the train of these fearful bereavements. It is meet and right to recognize and confess the presence of the Almighty Father and the power of his hand equally in these triumphs and in these sorrows.
Now, therefore, be it known that I do set apart Thursday, the sixth day of August next, to be observed as a day for national thanksgiving, praise, and prayer; and I invite the people of the United States to assemble on that occasion in their customary places of worship, and, in the forms approved by their own consciences, render the homage due to the Divine Majesty for the wonderful things he has done in the nation's behalf, and invoke the influence of his Holy Spirit to subdue the anger which has produced and so long sustained a needless and cruel rebellion, to change the hearts of the insurgents, to guide the counsels of the Government with wisdom adequate to so great a national emergency, and to visit with tender care and consolation throughout the length and breath of our land all those who, through the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, battles, and sieges, have been brought to suffer in mind, body, or estate; and finally to lead the whole nation, through the paths of repentance and submission to the Divine will, back to the perfect enjoyment of union and fraternal peace.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, the fifteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-eighth.
Abraham Lincoln.
By the President:
William H. Seward, Secretary of State.
In obedience to the proclamation of the President, Bishop Alonzo Potter, of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, prepared and sent to the congregations under his pastoral care the following form of thanksgiving. It expressed the Christian feeling of the nation: -
Almighty and everlasting God, who art the author and giver of all good things, who visitest the earth and blessest it, crowning the year with thy goodness, and giving to all their meat in due season, we praise and bless thee for thy unbounded kindness to the people of this land. Our fathers hoped in thee, they trusted in thee, and thou didst deliver them. We thank thee, Lord our God, for the goodly heritage which we enjoy, and for blessings unbounded, both temporal and spiritual, which through thy patience and long-suffering are still continued to us. We bless thee for civil and religious liberty, for the administration of justice, and for all the privileges which pertain to us as individuals and families, as Christians and as citizens. Grant that a sense of this thy great goodness may engage our hearts and lives in thy service. Give wisdom and strength and union to our public councils. Bless the Governor and magistrates of this Commonwealth, and all who exercise civil or military authority among us. Bless our Churches and all our religious institutions. Bring back once more peace and concord to our borders. Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy, that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we finally lose not the things eternal. All which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.
Almighty God, the sovereign commander of all the world, in whose hand is power and might which none is able to withstand, we bless and magnify thy great and glorious name for these happy victories, the whole glory whereof we would ascribe to thee, who art the only giver of victory. And, we beseech thee, give us grace to improve this great mercy to thy glory, the advancement of thy gospel, the honor of our country, and, as much as in us lieth, to the good of all mankind. Imprint deeply on our hearts such a lively and lasting sense of these great deliverances as may incite us to a true thankfulness, such as may appear in our lives by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before thee all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, as for all thy mercies, so in particular for these victories, be all glory and honor, world without end. Amen.
Eternal God, the shield of our help, beneath whose sovereign defence thy people dwell in safety, we bless and praise, we laud and magnify thy glorious name for all thy goodness to the people of this land, and especially for the success with which of late thou hast crowned our efforts to maintain the authority of law and to restore once more the blessings of union and peace. Inspire our souls with grateful love; lift up our voices in songs of thankfulness; make us humble and watchful in our prosperity, and prepare us for whatever reverses thou shalt see that we need. Give wisdom and grace to our rulers. Pour constancy and courage and charity towards all men into the hearts of our people. Draw towards us those who are now alienated from us in appearance or in heart, and hasten, Lord of hosts, the blessed day when as one people we may once more give thanks unto thee in thy holy Church, and by our daily lives show forth thy praise, through Jesus Christ our most blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.
The Governors of several States, and the mayors of some of the larger cities and towns, issued proclamations in harmony with that of the President, in which there were official recognitions of God as the author of these national victories, and of the responsibility of the nation to the Divine government. Christian denominations gratefully and joyfully responded to these invitations, and the people went up to the temples of God and entered into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. The day was memorable in the civil and Christian annals of the republic, and presented the sublime spectacle of a whole nation offering praise and prayer unto the Lord of hosts, who had ever been its shield and guide and who again had wrought this signal deliverance. It had the happy effect of diffusing and deepening the religious element of the nation, and giving to the public mind and conscience a more practical sense of dependence on God, and a higher appreciation of the value and vital necessity of the Christian religion to the perpetuity and permanent prosperity of the nation.
This volume, which traces to the Christian religion the life, character, genius, fruits, and fame of the civil institutions of the United States, closes while these songs of thanksgiving and praise are echoing through the land. The historic and Christian facts of the volume are full of sublime significance and instruction to all classes of American citizens, and reaffirm, in prophetic voice, the declaration of one of the purest patriots and most accomplished statesmen of the republic, "THAT THE BIBLE IS THE ONLY GENUINE MORAL CONSTITUTION OF SOCIETY, AND ITS PRINCIPLES THE ONLY SAFE FOUNDATION OF ALL CIVIL AND POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENTS."