The Keystone Regiment




Chaplains' Call
Chaplain Captain Thom Gressman, Officiating
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When the War broke out in 1861, there were fewer than 40 Chaplains for the entire Federal Army. Those Ministers who joined the Army, were patriots, like their friends and neighbors, and wanted to fight to defend the Nation. Some were persuaded to revert to their role as Ministers of the Gospel. Some chose to remain combat soldiers, and some filled a dual role.
Aside from leading religious services, the primary duties of a Chaplain were consoling the distressed, the anxious, and those facing death, aiding the sick and wounded, and. In addition, the Chaplain often ran a camp library, wrote letters for and read letters to the illiterate, the sick and the dying. Frequently they acted as postmaster for the regiment.
Chaplains' duties encompassed many areas beyond the five-fold ministry. The Chaplain was teacher, clerk, banker, medic, ambulance driver, defense counselor and Army recruiter.
The soldiers had no time for Chaplains who proved battle shy, or for those who were unable or unwilling to withstand the hardships of camp life. Yet, the soldiers, as well as the officers, were just as quick to give their approval to Chaplains who proved their physical courage and devotion to duty. Honesty, sympathy, warm-heartedness, and a dedication to spiritual matters were regarded as essential traits.

THE SWORD OF THE LORD…
Three Chaplains won the nation's highest award in the Civil War — the Medal of Honor.

Chaplain John M. Whitehead of the 15th Indiana Infantry won it for carrying wounded to the rear under very heavy fire at Stone River, Tennessee, in 1862.

Chaplain Francis O. Hall was awarded his for his actions at Salem Heights, Virginia, in 1863, while serving as regimental Chaplain to the 16th New York Infantry.
The third Medal of Honor was won by Chaplain Milton L. Haney of the 55th Illinois Infantry during fierce fighting near Atlanta in 1864. Unlike Chaplains Whitehead and Hall, Haney, according to his citation, "voluntarily carried a musket in the ranks of his regiment and rendered heroic service in retaking Federal works which had been captured by the enemy."

Milton L. Haney
1825 ~ 1922
circa 1900
John M. Springer, of the Third Wisconsin, fell mortally wounded at Resaca, after having "seized a musket" and fought for four hours in the "hottest of the fight."
Chaplain Arthur B. Fuller, of the Sixteenth Massachusetts, had resigned from the service and had just received his discharge, when he learned that his regiment was about to go into action, at Fredericksburg. Crossing the river in the boats with the forlorn hope, he joined the skirmishers of the Nineteenth Massachusetts, who were then fighting their way through the streets. He fell dead, rifle in hand, in front of a grocery store on Caroline Street.
Arthur B. Fuller
1822 ~ 1862
Horatio S. Howell, of the Ninetieth Pennsylvania, was shot at Gettysburg during the retreat through the town, and died on the steps of a church, where he had moments before been ministering to wounded and dying soldiers of both armies.
Horatio S. Howell
1820 ~ 1863
Like his more famous brothers, Joshua and Tom Chamberlain, Chaplain John C. Chamberlain went into the fighting at Gettysburg on July 2nd, 1863. As the three brothers rode at the head of the Regiment, heading for the rocky hill on which Joshua’s legend would be written, a solid shot streaked past them. “Boys,” Joshua said. “I don’t like this. Another such shot might make it hard for mother.” He sent Tom to the rear of the column to watch for stragglers. John was sent ahead, up the hill, to find a place where the wounded could be laid. The Chaplain went on ahead and found a shaded place where an aid station could be established. He scavenged gum blankets, shelter halfs, whatever he could find to provide shade for the wounded soldiers. As the battle raged, John Chamberlain walked up and down the hill serving as both Chaplain and surgeon to the wounded men of his brother’s regiment. Even after the 20th Maine was moved off Little Round Top, John stayed behind ministering to the bodies and souls of those placed under his charge.
The Rev Lorenzo Barber, Chaplain to the 2nd US Sharpshooters, was known as the “fighting Chaplain.” One soldier wrote that “he was a fine man and one of the best shots in the regiment, and doesn’t hesitate to show his skill in shooting rebels.” The Chaplain alone was not quite popular among the rank and file, and they rather envied the Second Regiment of Sharp Shooters who were encamped near them, and whose Chaplain, the Rev. Lorenzo Barber, was the beau ideal of an army Chaplain. Tender hearted and kind, he was ever ready to help the weak and the suffering; now dressing a wound and now helping along a poor fellow, whose fingers were all thumbs and whose thoughts were too big for utterance (on paper), with his letter to the old mother at home; playing ball or running a foot race, beating the best marksmen at the targets, and finally preaching a rousing good sermon which was attentively listened to on Sunday. His faith was in the "Sword of the Lord and of Gideon," but his best work was put in with a twenty pound telescopic rifle which he used with wonderful effect.
During the fighting at Chancellorsville, Chaplain Barber took up a rifle and went out to fight with the skirmishers.
HEROES OF THE FAITH

Chaplain Lorenzo Barber
2nd U.S.Sharpshooters
Chaplain John Calhoun Chamberlain
20th Main Volunteer Infantry
During the Battle of Gettysburg, Chaplain Eastman, riding in the area of the Peach Orchard was thrown from his horse, “splitting his knee-pan” He was unable to walk and so laid down to wait for a stretcher party. As he lay there in the darkness, he heard a man crying out “O my God!” He thought “How can a man be cursing at a time like this?” As he listened, he realized the man was praying. Feeling the call to go to the wounded man to minister, Chaplain Eastman, unable to walk, or even crawl, tucked himself up and rolled across the bloody field, until he reached the wounded soldier. There, he provided comfort and council, presenting the Gospel of Christ to the dying man. Soon an officer came looking for a Chaplain who could minister to a dying staff officer. The wounded man called out “Here he is.” Chaplain Eastman explained that he could not walk, and the officer detailed two men to carry the injured Chaplain. For the rest of that night, and into the next day, Chaplain Eastman, rolled, or was carried to and fro across the field, to minister to wounded and dying men. Chaplain Eastman can rightly be said to have fought a more difficult, and more important battle, and won far more important victories than both of the armies which struggled over the fields and wood lots of Gettysburg.
Chaplain William Reed Eastman
72nd New York Volunteer Infantry
GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS…

A number of Chaplains were killed in action. Among them were:
Maj. Gen.
William A. Pile
1829 ~ 1889
Some 97 Union clergymen served in a combat role prior to their appointment as Chaplains. A number of clergymen moved the other way, serving as line officers. One, the Reverend William A. Pile, who was originally appointed as a Chaplain to a Missouri regiment in 1861, ended the war as a brevet major general of infantry.
Reverend William E. Corby, C.S.C. Congregation of Holy Cross. This memorial depicts Father Corby,
Chaplain of the Irish Brigade, giving general absolution and blessing before battle at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.
To the memory of Rev. Father William Corby, C.S.C. Chaplain 88th Regiment New York Infantry, 2nd Brigade 1st Division 2nd Corps, The Irish Brigade, July 2nd 1863.
Father William Corby
1833 ~ 1897
Rev. William Corby
Irish Brigade
Rev. William Corby, CSC (October 2, 1833 – December 28, 1897) was a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Perhaps best known for his giving general absolution to the Irish Brigade on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Fr. Corby also served twice as President of the University of Notre Dame. The school's Corby Hall is named for him. Fr. Corby was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Daniel, an Irish native, and Elizabeth, a Canadian citizen. Widely remembered among military chaplains and celebrated by Irish-American fraternal organizations, his statue with right hand raised in the gesture of blessing was the first statue of a non-general erected on the Gettysburg Battlefield.
Civil War Chaplains
U.S. Christian Commission