Terry Tuley - Stories of Faith and Courage from the Civil War

Battlefields and Blessings Series

Stories of Faith and Courage from the Civil War

Terry Tuley

Stories of Faith and Courage from the Cvil War

Copyright 2006 by Terry R. Tuley

Published by God & Country Press, an imprint of AMG Publishers

6815 Shallowford Rd.

Chattanooga, Tennessee 37421

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in printed reviews, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (printed, written, photocopied, visual electronic, audio, or otherwise) without the prior permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Version, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version.

Print ISBN: 978-0-89957-043-3

ePub ISBN: 978-1-61715-008-1

Mobi ISBN: 978-1-61715-037-1

First printingSeptember 2006

Third printingJanuary 2009

Cover designed by Meyers Design, Houston, Texas

Interior design and typesetting by Reider Publishing Services, West Hollywood, California

Edited and Proofread by Agnes Lawless, Dan Penwell, Sharon Neal, and Rick Steele

BATTLEFIELDS AND BLESSINGS and GOD AND COUNTRY PRESS are registered trademarks of AMG Publishers.

www.battlefieldsandblessings.com

In loving memory of my brother, Jeff Tuley, whose endurance during a long illness was reminiscent of the courageous struggles of the Civil War soldiers in this book.

Contents

To my wife, Jill, who has faithfully supported me in ministry and the writing of this Civil War devotional.

To my friend, Jeff Johnson, who gave me computer technical support.

A special thanks to Dan Penwell of AMG Publishers who patiently mentored me through the long process in the writing of Battlefields and Blessings. And to the whole AMG staff who have supported me with prayer and the sales of this book.

In the annals of history, no other war inspires such imagery in the American mind as the Civil War. When the call came for young men to enlist, the average age was twenty-two. The prospect of war presented a lure of adventure, romanticism, and patriotism that could not be satisfied by life on the farm. After these aspiring young soldiers left family and home, adventure soon transformed itself into the harsh realities of a bloody war.

The knife and saw of the army surgeon became familiar tools in battlefield hospital tents while the added threats of starvation, bad weather, and disease brought young soldiers face to face with their own mortality. With such a high death rate, young men and women were motivated to reexamine their personal relationship with God. Many recorded their inner struggles in personal diaries and letters to loved ones. Through these intimate writings one can find faith, hope, and courage for the toughest of times.

It is my prayer that the real-life experiences of the brave men and women of the Civil War will inspire the reader to draw closer to Christ. If that goal is accomplished, the labor of the author will not be in vain.

T. R. Tuley

General Robert E. Lee

The National Archives

The Tenderness and Compassion of General Robert E. Lee

Captain Robert E. Lee, son of General Robert E. Lee wrote about the compassion and tenderness of his father in a letter the general sent to his nephew Fitzhughs wife after Fitzhugh was wounded near Culpepper, Virginia.

Fitzhugh Lee

The Library of Congress

I am so grieved, my dear daughter, to send Fitzhugh to you wounded. But I am so grateful that his wound is of a character to give us full hope of a speedy recovery. With his youth and strength to aid him, and your tender care to nurse him, I trust he will soon be well again. I know that you will unite with me in thanks to Almighty God, who has so often sheltered him in the hour of danger, for his recent deliverance, and lift up your whole heart in praise to Him for sparing a life so dear to us, while enabling him to do his duty in the station in which He had placed him. Ask him to join us in supplication that He may always cover him with the shadow of His almighty arm, and teach him that his only refuge is in Him, the greatness of whose mercy reacheth unto the heavens, and His truth unto the clouds. As some good is always mixed with the evil in this world, you will now have him with you for a time and I shall look to you to cure him soon and send him back to me

While we can see the tenderness of Lee through this letter, we also sense his awareness of Gods mercy in bringing deliverance to his own nephew. Lees faith in God was strong. He knew that Fitzhugh would soon be healed, and he expected him to return to the battlefield, believing that the same God who protected and delivered him the first time could do it again.

Lee believed that his nephews wounds would teach him a greater dependence on God. Christians sometimes get wounded in the Lords service. We can either let our wounds destroy us or become a means to draw us closer to Christ.

Are you wounded? Try letting the Lord nurse your wounds.

And by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

The Goodness of God

Mary Bethell was a godly woman who lived in difficult circumstances spawned by the Civil War, yet she still rejoiced in Gods blessings. She reflected on the past two years in her diary saying:

January 1, 1861. Ground white with snow. This is new years day, the old year is gone forever with all its sorrows and joys. When I look back to the events of last year, I am led to say that the Lord has been good to me. I had more of joy last year than sorrow, my family was blessed with health, and I had no serious trouble (except when my husband went to Memphis, and Emeline and Dick died last year, and Cindas twin babies).

January 1, 1862. I am entering upon another new year, I am determined and resolved to live nearer to God, to deny myself, take up my cross and follow the Savior. I hope that I may be built up this year in the most holy faith that I may advance in the divine life.

Often in our difficulties, we fail to see Gods goodness. Like Mary who stood outside the garden tomb weeping, tears blur our vision of a risen Christ. If we will think over the past year we can rejoice like Mary Bethell who found Gods blessings in spite of lifes unexpected calamities. We are reminded in Psalm 30:5 that weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. When Mary Magdalene stopped weeping and refocused her eyes, she saw the risen Christ right in front of her. Sometimes tears blur our vision. But if we look through the eyes of faith, we will find that Jesus is there all the time.

They asked her, Woman, why are you crying? Jesus said to her, Mary!

John 20:13, 16

Gods Mercies Are New Every Morning

During 1864 Southern lady Emma LeConte felt hopeless and despairing as she walked through a valley of trials. But she soon realized that the darkest hour comes before dawn. With the beginning of a new year, Emma was ready to move on and put the past behind her as she wrote in her journal: