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declared that the slaughter exceeded that of the 12th of May.
The loss of the
Confederates was only a few hundreds.
The number of Christian men who freely offered their lives in the battles in all parts of the
South can never be fully known until the last day. Before the writer now lies a letter in which are the names of seven ministers of the different Churches, who fell killed or wounded in the battles in
Georgia on the line of
General Johnston's movement from
Dalton to
Atlanta.
The writer of this letter,
Rev. S. M. Cherry, says in reference to the mortality among the ministers who fought in our armies:
A very large proportion of our ministers who have gone into the army as officers or soldiers have been killed or wounded.
Is it merely accidental or an intimation that the proper sphere of the preacher is to minister to the spiritual wants of the soldiers, and not voluntarily to shed human blood?
Jesus said to a disciple who wielded a sword for the defence of his Saviour.
βAll they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.β
Should not the minister of peace be β pure from the blood of all men,β and not simply of the soul but also of the body?
Among the most eminent men who buckled on the sword was
Bishop Polk, of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
He had received a military training at
West Point, and felt it to be his duty to offer his services to the cause of the
South.
Hie commanded a corps in the Army of Tennessee.
On the 14th of June he fell instantly killed by a cannon-ball on
Pine Mountain, near
Marietta, Ga. In company with
General Johnston and several other
Generals, he rode out to reconnoitre the
Federal lines.
Reaching the top of the mountain about eleven o'clock
the party dismounted, and all their horses were left below the crown of the knoll.
Some one had suggested that so large a group of officers at so exposed a point might attract the fire of the enemy.
The suggestion
