Christ in the Camp [Hardcover]

J. William Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 1999

In the midst of the titanic struggle of the American War Between the States, a spiritual war for the souls of men was waged with equal vigor.

From 1861 to 1865, many thousands of soldiers professed Christ as their Savior and Lord, and many more were renewed in their commitment to serve God in camp and battlefield.

Herein are recorded stories of the heroism of chaplains who stood in the line of battle to minister to the fallen and to work at the bedside of fatally ill comrades. Some of the army pastors were themselves counted among the slain. It tells of worship services in camps attended by ten, a hundred, or a thousand men gathered to hear the Word of God expounded. Here, too, we read of the Christian generals who supported the many facets of Gospel work: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Jeb Stuart, and others. Hardback. 624 pgs. By J. William Jones.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 624 pages
• Publisher: The Vision Forum, Inc. (October 11, 1999)
• ISBN-10: 1929241593
• ISBN-13: 978-1929241590
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,839,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Civil War religious book, June 27, 2003

By 

Lamont G. Sible Jr. - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christ in the Camp (Hardcover)

First, I was surprised to find this book on line. My version is one of the original printed books, which sells for $150.00. ( this book is a real bargain at this price!)

J.W. Jones was a Chaplain who knew Lee, Jackson, Gordon and others very well. Jones meet with them, prayed with them, and of course was with them in the Army of Northern Virginia.

This is not a "WAR" of "BATTLE" book, but exemplifies the religious character of the aforementioned people. On this basis, I have to give it five stars.

As a book that touches your heart, with the feeling of those men that served in the ANV, I also give it the maximum of five stars.

I would like to quote just one page---

"Christ in the Camp" by J. William Jones D.D. page 50, Sprinkle Publications.1886

Feb 1864, Chaplains, Rev. J.W. Jones and Rev. B.T. Lacy, visited Lee along the Rapidan as a committee of the Chaplains Association.
After the meeting their were about to leave Lee's tent when Mr. Lacy said,
----" I think it right that I should say to you, General, that the chaplains of the army have a deep interest in your welfare and that some of the most fervent prayers we offer are in your behalf."
The old hero's face flushed, tears started in his eyes, and he
replied with choked utterance:
"Please thank them Sir,---I warmly appreciate it. And I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner trusting in Christ alone for salvation, and need all of the prayers they can offer me."

There are many pages of similar content.
This book sits in a place of Honor in my Library.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Religion in the Army of Northern Virginia, November 25, 2000

By 

Carl Hill (Carlsbad, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christ in the Camp (Hardcover)

Christ in the Camp, written by one of the regimental ministers of the Army's second corps came to my attention while reading Douglas Southhall Freeman's four volume epic Robert E. Lee. Dr. Freeman quoted excerpts from this book repeatedly. I ordered it from Amazon.com and it arrived within about a week. Initially, reading the book was interesting. The Reverend Dr. Jones disclosed little emphasized facts about the religious practices of Robert E. Lee, "Stonewall" Jackson and a host of other fairly recognizable southern military leaders. Most of this disclosure was in the form of letters, either written by the Generals or written by fellow ministers about the famous men. After covering the general staff officers the author began to recount the religious lives and deaths of some not so recognizable historical figures. While these were of some interest, mainly due to the dramatic way in which they were presented, these stories aren't ones that create a great deal of enlightenment. One of the areas that I thought would be of value to a Civil War buff like myself turned out to be the most disappointing part of the book. That is the religious revivals that spread through the southern camps along the Rappahanock and Rapidan Rivers in the winters of 1863 and 1864. What I got instead of something I could really sink my teeth into was a littany of repetative ministirial jargon with no hard cold facts to speak of. Although these letters did mention the brigades, individual names were left out on purpose, such as Colonel _____ of _______, Georgia. Almost all the letters spoke of the soldiers desire to be saved and how many each minister was responsible for baptizing. Unfortunately, this section made up about one-third of the book. But, just as I was about ready to give up on the rest of the book Dr. Jones' last chapter was what I was looking for. He spoke of the job of the coleporters during the war. Coleporters were people who distributed religious material to the soldiers, especially in the form of tracts. The last chapter in the book included a tract called the Soldier's Bible. It was very well written and if someone could get a hold of some of the other tracts Dr. Jones mentions I'm sure it would make a great study. Overall, the book was a primary source about a topic that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. The lives and deaths of these men were greatly influenced by their religious zeal. I recommend reading this book for anyone who is truely interested in this period of history. --- Carl Hill

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Light in the darkness, September 9, 2004

By 

Dan Schobert "Hamguy" (Plover, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Christ in the Camp (Hardcover)

This book came to be recommended by a pastor whose great-grandfather had been in the Union Army during the Civil War. I found the work very interesting, on several scores. One..it was fascinating to read the way in which people wrote in the days of the war. It may be unfair but seemingly safe to assume that most people in those days were illiterate and unable to write/read.. yet the accounts presented in this book spell out a different picture..of a time when men had skills to paint meaningful word pictures..a skill that is quickly fading away in our day. It was also interesting to note that the men in gray were praying to the same God as were the men in the blue. This irony was also evident in Michael Shaara's award winning book, The Killer Angels of 1974..a work about Gettysburg. If nothing else, this work of Dr. Jones presents yet another piece of important information in regard to the battle between the states and deserves to be reviewed by any serious student of American history. The work is not about the war so much as it is about the men behind the cannons, behind the rifles, seeking God in difficult moments, and of pastors and others who were there in those dark days, shedding light into a dismal situation. Though the book is written from the Southern perspective, we may wish to assume much of the same kind of evangelistic efforts were being conducted north of the Mason-Dixon Line. This is an old book but simply because it is old doesn't mean it isn't valuable. There are treasures here to be appreciated.