and desert shortly thereafter. A goodly number were on some active duty roster, even though they had been disabled or crippled during an Indian campaign or the Civil War. Despite such great diversity of tongues and backgrounds, the leadership of the Army managed to shape this body of men into a moderately effective instrument of the Federal government, so that the troops could sing. We're marching off for Sitting Bull, And this is the way we go- With the Regular Army, O! 11o And when the Army marched, it fought often. Both sides had their heroes: "Sandy" Forsyth, Custer, Crook, Miles, Carr, and Mackenzie; Red Cloud, Geronimo, Cochise, Victorio, Crazy Horse and Chief Joseph. And while it marched, the women-the officers' wives, the few wives of enlisted men, and the laundresses-hoped for its safe return. Also waiting were the usual camp followers, which included the traders and peddlers of vice. And when it returned, it got little rest. Wood had to be cut. Buildings had to be constructed and repaired. Gardens had to be planted and cultivated. Meat had to be hunted. Family responsibilities had to be met, and other tasks accomplished. Army life on the western frontier was dangerous, difficult, and dull. As time passed, however, life improved. The Indians became less of a threat, the trails safer, and the forts more pleasant places in which to live. Settlements expanded, especially along the railroads. All of this enticed more wives to join their soldier-husbands and experience the "glittering misery" of western Army life." RELIGIOUS CONSIDERATIONS The churches followed the western settlers, but found that a scattered and mobile population made it difficult to establish congregations. Mining towns were temporary communities whose populations cared little about religion and churches. Cowboys were constantly on the move and not prone to practice religion. The homesteaders, who made up a more stable populace, were more receptive to the efforts of the church, but droughts and grasshoppers frequently made them abandon their communities and move on. The churches were most successful in the trading centers that developed along the railroads.1 There congregations were organized and churches built under the leadership of clergymen who had served as 13 missionaries to the Indians or who had followed their people westward under the auspices of their church's mission board, occasionally with the assistance of an Army chaplain. These religious communities were largely oblivious to the theological issues being debated back East by the faculties of the seminaries and clergymen of the larger churches. Instead they invested their energies in Sunday schools; revivals; Sabbatarianism; the temperance movement; combating the vices of gambling, prostitution, and profanity; and frequently, especially among evangelical denominations, opposing dancing, theatre attendance, and card playing." The Army chaplains were not unaffected by life as they found it in the West. Each of them, wherever his station was, made his way among those whom he was charged to serve, and his personality, religious tradition, and the circumstances of the frontier uniquely shaped his style of ministry. There were only 36 of them between 1866 and 1869, and 34 from 1869 to 1898. None of them had an ecclesiastical superior within the Army, such as a chief of chaplains or chaplain general; they were all ultimately responsible to the one to whom they sent their reports, the Adjutant General of the Army. The Office of the Adjutant General maintained their records, made their assignments, approved or disapproved their requests for leaves of absence, and saw that they did their duties in accordance with Congressional legislation and Army regulations. However, it seemed to display little, if any, interest in the improvement of the chaplaincy and the religious welfare of soldiers and their families. Almost anything could be said about these chaplains, and it would be true, at least partially true. Some were obviously dedicated to their calling, others apparently indifferent. Some seemed suited to Army life, others unsuited. Some were held in high esteem, while others were regarded as of low repute. Some were unable to function effectively because of advanced age; others managed well in spite of it. Some were infirm, others healthy. Some received their appointments on their own merits, while others used political influence. Some were forceful speakers, others dull. Some were successful in forming congregations, others unsuccessful. Some accepted adversity as an opportunity or a challenge, others with resignation. Some were outspoken opponents of the various vices, others low-key. Some were Protestant, and others were Catholic. Some were white, others black. Regardless of what else they were, they were all Regular Army chaplains. PREPAREDNESS AND CHAPLAINS Although the news media, including the Army-Navy Journal, periodically reported that individuals and groups questioned the Federal government's national defense and Indian policies on moral and ethical grounds, there were only a few chaplains who addressed these issues, at least for publication. Generally, they followed the practice of Chaplain Thomas W. Barry, who believed that chaplains "should carefully avoid meddling in military affairs." 15 But when they did address these issues, they usually couched their remarks in moral and ethical terms and in support of the position of the Federal government. Chaplain Cephas C. Bateman, a prolific lecturer and author, promoted rudimentary military training for youths in public schools and colleges as a means of achieving national preparedness. To make his case, he quoted former President Benjamin Harrison, who wrote about the lack of military training and experience among Union volunteers in 1861 and the fortunate circumstance that the Southern volunteers had "only a little better preparation." Harrison also had said that since "war's pace has greatly quickened, and the arms of precision now in use call for a trained solder," the strength and safety of the United States “are in a general dissemination of military knowledge and training" among its people.1 Bateman not only agreed with Harrison, but he also espoused what he considered to be the advantage of army life, quoting General Wesley Merritt, who said that a "term of service judiciously spent in the army" is second only to a university course and that it improves a young man's physical and mental abilities, making him fit "to compete in life with the educated and enterprising." "In addition to those practical considerations, Chaplain Bateman envisioned an entire Army of talented men, representing the "high water mark in morals" and pursuing its "noble mission until the age of perpetual peace shall dawn." 18 One other chaplain, the scholarly Theophilus G. Steward, edited a book of articles by chaplains; although none of those by United States chaplains contained comment about national defense, one by a British chaplain did. He did not glorify or romanticize war, but said that men "slaughtering each other is a spectacle horrid to contemplate," and that war "at its best, is a fearful necessity." He advocated a defensive army which could receive the "approbation of humanity" and "sanction of religion," saying that although it would be "a happy thing" to "disband the army and embrace the peace principles of the Society of Friends," we " 19 cannot afford to "dispense with the means of protecting our country. Steward apparently agreed with him and several years later expressed a similar conviction.20 CHAPLAINS AND INDIANS As for the Indians, the chaplains viewed them in much the same light as the other white men did who lived in the West. The Indians often attacked the white man, and the chaplains buried too many of the victims. That the Indians considered themselves as defending their lives and property and as making a last stand to save their way of life was largely overlooked. Chaplain Charles A. M. Blake of Fort Whipple, Arizona, thought of them as wily and bloodthirsty savages, saying in his 1866 Thanksgiving Day sermon that: . . . the question is one of pure self-defense. Either you must unite Writing in 1869 to the Army-Navy Journal, Chaplain Gamaliel Collins of Fort Lyon, Colorado, expressed a similar sentiment. To civilize the Indians, he urged continuous war until they "believe and feel that the white man is [the] superior, the conquering, and therefore, the ruling race." Collins believed that they could “only understand the logic of force." 22 In contrast to those attitudes, however, was that of Chaplain Alpha Wright, who participated in an event that led him to regard Indians in more humane terms. One day in March 1866, Colonel Henry E. Maynadier, the Fort Laramie commander, received a message sent by Spotted Tail, the head chief of the Brule Sioux, which informed him that the chief's 17-year-old daughter, Mini-Aku, had died, and that before her death had "begged her father to have her grave made with the white." 23 Spotted Tail was one of the Sioux chiefs who wanted to make peace with the white man, and Mini-Aku, who may have been with him when he was a prisoner at Fort Leavenorth in the early 1850s, or with relatives on the outskirts of Laramie several years later, had some friends among the whites." After her death there was even a rumor that she had fallen in love with an Army officer and that was why she made her unusual request. Whatever her reason, Spotted Tail honored her request and asked Maynadier for consent to bury her at Laramie.2 25 Maynadier, who wanted the Sioux chiefs to sign a treaty at a peace conference the following June, sent assurance of his assistance. In addition, on 8 March, upon receiving word that the chief was not far away, he went to meet and escort him to the fort. Arriving at his headquarters, and in the presence of his staff-including Chaplain Wright-and Spotted Tail's party, the colonel expressed his sympathy and said he felt honored to be asked to care for the remains of Mini-Aku.26 Then, promising aid and urging peace, despite the coming of the whites, he said: Let them come. Look at that flag. . . You see a red stripe and Tears filled the old chief's eyes, and for some time he could not speak. And when he was finally able to do so, he spoke of peace between the red man and white man, but only briefly, saying, "My heart is very sad, and I cannot talk on business; I will wait and see the counsellors the Great Father will send." Maynadier wrote that the “scene . produced a marked effect upon all the Indians present, and satisfied some who had never before seemed to believe . . . that an Indian had a human heart to work on and was not a wild animal." 28 It was at this point that Chaplain Wright was introduced to the chief and a Christian burial offered, and "after a few moments of thought," Spotted Tail accepted the offer." Preparations were then made for the funeral, and just before sunset it was held. Many whites and Indians attended, and Maynadier said that Wright "delivered a touching and eloquent prayer . . . interpreted by Mr. Gott" and that he could hardly describe his feelings at witnessing the "first Christian burial of an Indian, and one of such consideration in her tribe." 30 Colonel Maynadier regarded this occurrence as a guarantee of peace with the Sioux, and Chaplain Wright said it was a sign of both peace and conversion." As it turned out, however, both men were mistaken. Chaplain David White also considered Indians to be savages, but for a very personal reason; he was once wounded and almost killed at their |