Chaplain John Paris - 54th North Carolina

[CSA Today]

"John Paris, D.D., Methodist Protestant, commissioned 11 July, 1862, and followed the regiment everywhere every day till the end. This holy man was perhaps the oldest Chaplain we had, having been born in Orange County, N.C., 1 September, 1809. While he walked hundreds and hundreds of miles to preach to the soldiers, he had a wife and six children at home that needed his presence and the labor of his hands. What a holy sacrifice. Having been one of the most efficient Chaplains, he continued to preach till 6 October, 1883, when he died at Buffalo Springs, Va."

"Paris participated in military action to a greater extent than was expected of chaplains and he suffered the same hardships as the men.

 

[Northern Light]

Maybe he was glad to get away from the wife and six children and parish problems and down to the nitty-gritty with the men!

 

[18thVirginia]

Here's the link to John Paris's most famous sermon, preached on the occasion of 22 Confederate soldiers being hung for desertion. The reverend compares their deaths and desertion to that of Judas Iscariot. As he deserted, so did they desert their duty to fight on to save slavery.

He rails against those from home who poison the common soldier against the Government and the need to fight on for slavery, explaining to his listeners the wickedness of desertion in the eyes of God and how the infamy will be visited upon the children of deserters for generations. He explains the horror behind talk of peace and that deserters are rarely Christians.

Paris details the evils of the pulpits of the North that produced this war. He concludes by noting that he has followed along with the common man and mentions the contributions of the country woman and how after these 4 deadly years, the highest Christian ideal is for them to continue to fight for the Confederacy and for slavery.

It's some kind of sermon. http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/paris/paris.html

 

[Northern Light]

Here's the link to John Paris's most famous sermon, preached on the occasion of 22 Confederate soldiers being hung for desertion. The reverend compares their deaths and desertion to that of Judas Iscariot. As he deserted, so did they desert their duty to fight on to save slavery.

He rails against those from home who poison the common soldier against the Government and the need to fight on for slavery, explaining to his listeners the wickedness of desertion in the eyes of God and how the infamy will be visited upon the children of deserters for generations. He explains the horror behind talk of peace and that deserters are rarely Christians.

Paris details the evils of the pulpits of the North that produced this war. He concludes by noting that he has followed along with the common man and mentions the contributions of the country woman and how after these 4 deadly years, the highest Christian ideal is for them to continue to fight for the Confederacy and for slavery.

It's some kind of sermon. http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/paris/paris.html

Ummm........ I think I will pass for the moment. Not to mention that he deserted his wife and the 6 kiddies. Oh, well! A aardvark's got to do what a aardvark's got to do! ( Aardvark is a term I used in front of my kids when they were young enough that I didn't want to say a***ole in front of them!)

 

[ErnieMac]

Here's the link to John Paris's most famous sermon, preached on the occasion of 22 Confederate soldiers being hung for desertion. The reverend compares their deaths and desertion to that of Judas Iscariot. As he deserted, so did they desert their duty to fight on to save slavery.

That execution was covered at some length in a previous thread titled Pickett - after his charge. http://civilwartalk.com/threads/pickett-after-his-charge.5640/#post-932460
The 22 men had been serving as Union soldiers when captured at the Battle of New Bern in February, 1864. They had previously deserted from Confederate units and Pickett had them hanged. There would be talk of trying Pickett for war crimes, but nothing came of the attempt.