LIBRARY OF THE COMMANDERY OF 
 THE STATE OF MASSACH US ETTS MILITARY 
 ORDER OFTHE LOYAL LEGION OF THE 
 UNITED STATES 
 
 CADET ARMORY, BOSTON 
 
 
 5 - 
 
 WIIHDRAI^ 
 
 .'^ 
 
""^-i^wim 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE WILMER COLLECTION 
 
 OF CIVIL WAR NOVELS 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 RICHARD H. WILMER, JR. 
 
UNCLE JOHN 
 
 IN THE ARMY 
 
 AND 
 
 AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE 
 AMEEICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 
 
 150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK. 
 
A sketch of "Uncle John," prepared by Eey. E. J. Ham- 
 ilton, chaplain in the army of the Potomac, was published 
 in the Appendix of "Toils and Triumphs of Union Mission- 
 ary Colportage for Twenty-five Years." Its vivid and ac- 
 curate delmeation of the characteristics of this remarkable 
 man, awakened so much interest in those who were famil- 
 iar with his work, that it has been thought advisable to 
 issue it in the present form. The nai-rative of his labors 
 since the war on the field of the Richmond Agency of the 
 American Tract Society, is continued to the present time ; 
 and a condensed view of the OTj^en^tious of the Society in 
 its efforts to evangelize the South is presented. 
 
 July, 1867. 
 
UNCLE jonx 
 
 IN THE ARMY. 
 
 If one sliould visit the army of the Poto- 
 mac, and stay for some time in any part of it, 
 he would be pretty certain to meet an odd 
 little man going round among the boys. He 
 generally has a satchel slung over his shoul- 
 der, or a package under his arm, or both ; 
 and if you should see him approaching your 
 home, where scenes are peaceful, you would 
 prepare for an interview with an old-fashion- 
 ed, energetic dealer in some kind of small- 
 wares. His appearance, though not remark- 
 able, excites interest ; and you say to your- 
 self, "I wonder what that man iff doing in 
 the army." He is about five feet six inches in 
 height, and of a square-built, chunky frame ; 
 he wears a soft felt hat and a brown coat, both 
 of which have done good service ; his vest and 
 
4 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 pantSj a little soiled, suggest that he works 
 actively sometimes ; his warm shirt, of gray 
 stocking-web, has been selected for comfort 
 rather than beauty ; the paper collar, without 
 an}" necktie, buttoned carelessly on the shirt, 
 is the only mark about him of any deference 
 to fashion ; and the plain, unpolished shoes, 
 which are of the kind that soldiers have, put 
 it beyond denial that the little man is given 
 to walking. His face has a somewhat ab- 
 stracted expression, yet indicates kind-heart- 
 edness, vivacity, humility, and shrewdness. 
 He seems between fifty and sixty years of 
 ago; time and care have made furrows on 
 his cheeks, and his dark brown hair is grow- 
 ing thin and sparse. But his eye is bright 
 and restless ; and he shoves along with his 
 bundle under his arm, as though he had 
 plenty of business on hand. 
 
 Mark him as he enters a camp and is rec- 
 ognized by the soldiers. "Hey, Uncle John, 
 is that you?" says one, who starts to meet 
 him. "How are you, Uncle John?" echoes 
 another from within his tent. " I am glad to 
 see you, Uncle John. Have you any soap 
 
 turn 
 
IN THE AEMY. 5 
 
 to-day ?" cries a third ; aud a fourth nephew 
 inquires, "Uncle John, have you brought the 
 writing-paper and envelopes you promised?" 
 The wide-awake, earnest man is at home among 
 them, and answers in a cheery, lively way, 
 "How are you, dear boys? I 'm glad to see 
 you. I guess I 've got a little something for 
 you — I was thinking you'd be wanting a 
 little paper and needles, for the paymaster 
 has n't been round for a good Avhile, has he ? 
 Just step up, boys ; I can't carry much, you 
 know, but I '11 give you what I 've got." He 
 is instantly surrounded by a circle of our 
 blue-coated heroes, ready for his little gifts, 
 and yet more ready for what Uncle John may 
 have to say ; for they know well that he 
 never finds himself among soldiers without 
 saying something that is worth listening to. 
 
 Hark to the merry laughter, as Uncle John 
 makes some singular observation ! See the 
 fixed attention, as he relates some stirring 
 news, or interesting incident ! Listen to 
 "That's so, Uncle John; that's so," as he 
 renders some excellent sentiment or advice, 
 in his terse, striking way ! And all the time 
 
UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 both his hands are busy dispensing sheets of 
 paper, and pens, and thread, etc., with skil- 
 
 ful and impartial generosity. After these 
 gifts, tracts and religious reading are produ- 
 ced from the black satchel, and distribu- 
 ted to many glad recipients. Uncle John 
 meanwhile continuing his remarks. Now 
 his stock is exhausted ; and he earnestly 
 
IN THE APtMY. 7 
 
 repeats an invitation wliicli he lias already 
 given incidentally, perhaps half-a-dozen times. 
 "Now boys, don't forget the prayer-meeting 
 the chaplain is going to have this evening. 
 Come, come, dear boys, and let iis ask God 
 to bless us." "We will. Uncle John, we 
 will," is the response of many voices ; and 
 possibly the evening hour will show that the 
 invitation has been also accepted by many 
 silent, softened hearts that did not dare to 
 speak. The next moment "Uncle Johnnie's 
 gone," but the influences of his genial soul 
 are scattered all around. 
 
 The full name of this ubiquitous wide-awake 
 man, who has all the soldiers in the army of 
 the Potomac for his nephews, is known to but 
 few of those who are familiar with his coun- 
 tenance and. person ;,but it is a name which 
 is enrolled for everlasting life and honor in 
 the blessed book above. He labors as dis- 
 tributing agent for the Sanitar}^ Commission, 
 and as army coljDorteur of the American 
 Tract Society, by whom he is supported ; but 
 he is so. original a genius, and such an active, 
 whole-souled, liberal-hearted philanthropist. 
 
8 UNCLE JOHX. 
 
 that it is difficult to think of him as connect- 
 ed with any particular institution. I was 
 struck with the remark of a colored man, as 
 some were discussing the character of Uncle 
 John : "I '11 just tell you, then, what I thinks ; 
 I thinks this — I thinks Uncle John is a real 
 Christianity y The truth could scarcely -be 
 expressed better. While entertaining decided 
 denominational sentiments and attachments, 
 Uncle John labors everywhere with such a 
 largeness of spirit, and such a loftiness of 
 view, that one can regard him only as be- 
 longing to the church of God and the religion 
 of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The first half of his life was passed in his 
 cousin's brewery, and was thoroughly given 
 to business ; but about fifteen years ago God 
 touched the brewer's heart, and claimed him 
 for a higher service. A severe struggle with 
 old views and habits terminated in complete 
 'triumph, and he consecrated to the cause of 
 Christ those energies which had been devo- 
 ted to secular concerns. Uncle John aban- 
 doned his position in the brewery, and with 
 it flattering prospects of wealth. He felt that 
 
IN THE ARMY, 
 
 it could bjo his calling no longer. " Heaven," 
 I have heard him say, " seemed too far away 
 -when I looked up at it fi-om among the beer 
 barrels." Disengaged from worldly pursuits, 
 he gave himself with zeal to tract distribu- 
 tion, exhortation, prayer-meetings, and vari- 
 ous evangelical labors, so that tlie good peo- 
 ple of P were astonished ; many even 
 
 thought him crazed. They did not under- 
 stand the case. A mind of natural strength 
 and fervency had received a strange and 
 powerful impulse from new-born faith and 
 love. To him, religious things, no longer in- 
 visible and distant, were seen and present. 
 His awakened soul accepted Bible truths as 
 living and Avonderful realities. Christ's cross 
 and judgment-seat seemed very near, radiant 
 with tender attractions and with awful glories. 
 The curtain concealing futurity had fallen ; 
 and from beholding the endless destinies of 
 the righteous and the wicked, he turned to 
 his fellow-men, and earnestly besought them 
 to seek the divine favor and preparation for 
 heaven. 
 
 This practical zeal for God and souls, ari- 
 
10 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 sing partly from natural character and yet 
 more from yivid realization of the truths of 
 religion, was no temporary flame. Burning 
 to-day with its original brightness, and with 
 more than its original fervor, it is the imme- 
 diate source of the ceaseless Christian activ- 
 ity of our beloved Uncle John. He found 
 
 but a limited sphere of usefulness in P , 
 
 and possibly had cause to feel that it was 
 *' his own country." Going westward, he 
 spent some years traversing the prairies of 
 Illinois with horse and wagon, as colporteur 
 of the American Tract Society. God went 
 with him over those grassy solitudes, and 
 blessed his labors, and filled him with joy 
 and praise. It was in this service that he 
 gained that experimental familiarity with the 
 best thoughts of Christian authors, and that 
 Avonderful command of religious language 
 which have compensated in great measure 
 for the want of a liberal education, and which 
 have contributed greatly to his success in the 
 work of the Lord. 
 
 Returning to P , he began visiting the 
 
 churches as Providence opened the door, and 
 
IN THE ARMY. 11 
 
 became instrumental of untold good in seve- 
 ral wide-spread re\dvals. He went from place 
 to place, " feeling liis way" and working with 
 
 tlie pastors. P county especially thrice 
 
 witnessed a great outpouring of the Divine 
 Spirit, chiefly in blessing upon his efforts. 
 Finding an interest in some members of a 
 decayed backsUdden church, he would spend 
 the day visiting in the congregation from 
 house to house, conversing and praying with 
 every one, and in the evening he would attend 
 a i^rayer-meeting at the residence of some 
 pious family ; "for," says he, " it would never 
 do to commence in a cold church ; but after 
 God pours down his Spirit in answer to 
 prayer, then the lecture-room will be needed, 
 and the church too." In those times his 
 soul overflowed with happiness, when sanc- 
 tuaries were nightly crowded with inquirers, 
 and God came down in love and power, and 
 many souls were saved. 
 
 As one of the almoners of the royal bounty 
 of the Sanitary Commission, Uncle John is 
 indefatigable. It is his special dehght to find 
 unseen and neglected spots, and to secure for 
 
12 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 them their share of comforts. Thousands of 
 poor fellows bless him for timely and thought- 
 ful care. Indeed, I never met any one who 
 combined in a similar degree prompt and ex- 
 act attention to items of business with unre- 
 mitting spiritual aims and efforts. It seems 
 part of his religion to neglect nothing. Those 
 evangelical labors, however, to which his 
 other j)ursuits are subsidiary, are the chief 
 exponents of his character and power. In 
 these — I can exj^ress myself in no other way — 
 in these Uncle John is great. His pleading, 
 particularizing prayers ; his varied, choice, 
 and ready store of hymns ; his rapid, yet un- 
 offending directness of personal appeal ; his 
 easy and quick command of thought and lan- 
 guage ; his homely, pointed, and solemn 
 method in public address ; and his very 
 appearance, and voice, and manner, unpre- 
 tending and deferential, yet as earnest and 
 sympathetic as they possibly could be — all 
 qualify him to succeed anywhere, but espe- 
 cially with soldiers. 
 
 I have been amazed sometimes at the 
 beauty of his prayers. On one occasion, dur- 
 
I'X THE AKMY. 13 
 
 ing the heats of summer, we rode together 
 through the woods to a distant pasture, that 
 our horses, then fed only on gram, might en- 
 jo}' grazing for an hour. Uncle John had 
 been somewhat depressed, and we sat under 
 the shade of a little tree. Suddenly he ex- 
 claimed, " Brother H , let us pray," threw 
 
 himself forward upon the grass, and instantly 
 began, " O God, on this 'beautiful day, amid 
 these old woods, and beneath thine own clear 
 heavens, we lift up our souls to thee." His 
 voice, at first slow and full, was rich with 
 melody and pathos ; and as petition after 
 petition, exquisitely expressed, followed each 
 other in beautiful succession, I thought the 
 sacred eloquence of that unstudied prayer 
 such as I had never heard before. While the 
 prostrate body rested on hands and knees, 
 crouching in lowliest humility, and the face, 
 with close shut eyes and intensity of expres- 
 sion, sometimes almost touched the ground, 
 the longing, believing spirit seemed to rise, 
 as on angels' wings, into the presence and 
 glory of its God. AVhile we were returning, 
 he said that he seemed to have had a glimpse 
 
14 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 of heaven, and was refreshed and comforted. 
 I could easily believe it. 
 
 Uncle John is a great power in a soldier's 
 prayer-meeting, for he generally imparts to 
 his fellow-worshippers much of his own spirit. 
 "With excellent wisdom, he invariably looks 
 to the chaplain for the organization and con- 
 trol of religious assemblies, even of those in 
 which he himself may be the principal actor; 
 "for," he says, ^'I'm nothing but an old shep- 
 herd dog, and I try to help the pastors in 
 tendino; their flocks." But after the meeting: 
 has been set a-going. Uncle John, "assisted," 
 as he would say, "by the good Sj)irit of the 
 Lord," is the very life of it. 
 
 The first time I ever saw him was last win- 
 ter, near B , in a chaplain's meeting in 
 
 the log church of the brigade. The quaint 
 sprightliness, the overflowing brotherly love, 
 the humility and Christian readiness of the 
 good man, were apparent. Ever since the 
 completion of the log chapel in our brigade, 
 an increasing interest in religion had been 
 manifested among the boys, and Uncle John 
 promised to attend one of our meetings. He 
 
IN THE ARMY. 15 
 
 came, and moved us all by his earnest words 
 and fervent prayers. After this I ^vas going 
 away for ten days, and asked him to look 
 after my boys in my absence. He consented 
 at once. On my return I was prepared for 
 something of a revival, but not to learn that 
 the chapel was crowded, and that meetings 
 were kept up three times a day. • And when 
 I entered the chapel that afternoon, what a 
 scene presented itself! The place was half 
 Babel, half Bochim. Such a murmuring of 
 confused sounds never before had greeted 
 my ears. Most of the soldiers were kneeling 
 by the benches, several were engaged in 
 prayer, and sobbings and groanings, loud 
 responses, and fervent ejaculatory petitions, 
 resounded in every part of the building. 
 Uncle John was in the midst of the congrega- 
 tion, kneeling in the aisle in front of the pulpit, 
 and seemingly the most engaged of all. 
 
 After the principal prayer was over, he 
 rose, and in his sweet tenor voice began a 
 favorite hymn ; all joined ; and the swelling 
 praise went up through the white trembling 
 canvas roof. Other prayers were offered, 
 
16 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 interspersed with verses of hymns and with 
 remarks by Uncle John and the chaplain ; 
 and before the meeting was dismissed, all 
 present were earnestly invited to attend the 
 evening service. It seems that he had insti- 
 tuted the morning assembly for inquirers and 
 young converts, and that in the afternoon for 
 the prayers and exhortations of Christians 
 generally, while more formal exercises occu- 
 pied the meeting at night. The excitement 
 and confusion at first seemed to me excessive 
 and injurious : but I found that they were to 
 a certain extent the natural consequences of 
 religious feeling among the soldiers, and that 
 they were rather checked than stimulated by 
 Uncle John ; for our soldiers sometimes re- 
 mind one of those ancient warriors — ''homi- 
 nes Tustici Clique militares'' — whom Cicero 
 mentions as having given vent to their enthu- 
 siasm in loud shouting. Besides, the other 
 chaplains did not find the noise objection- 
 able. The evening meeting was the most 
 important. Generally there was regular ser- 
 vice, including a sermon by one of the chap- 
 lains, after which those who loved the Lord 
 
IN THE ARMY. 17 
 
 and those who desired to do so, were request- 
 ed to remain. Commonly very few went 
 away; and then Uncle John's work began. 
 After some prayers and hymns, he would 
 make a short address, and conclude by ask- 
 ing those who felt themselves in need of sal- 
 vation, and who desired Christians to pray 
 for them, to stand up. And then what ear- 
 nestness in persuading sinners to declare for 
 Christ. He would continue making his re- 
 marks, and looking over the assembly, per- 
 haps for a minute, till some one rose, " There's 
 one," says Uncle John with, visible emotion. 
 "Oh, bless the Lord ! There is joy in heaven 
 over one sinner that repenteth." Then, after 
 a short pause, he would add in the most in- 
 viting tones, "And is there no other precious 
 soul here that w^ants a Saviour? Yes, there 's 
 another. God bless you, dear brother. Oh, 
 it was for such that Jesus died — Jesus the 
 Son of God !" and Uncle John would sing : 
 
 "He died for you, 
 
 He died for me, 
 He died to set poor sinners free. 
 
 Oh, who 's like Jesus, 
 That died on the tree ?" 
 
 rncleJihn 2 
 
18 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 Another pause. '' AdcI is n't there any more 
 Avlio want to love this blessed Saviour ? Yes, 
 I see you, dear brother. I knew there would 
 be more. I feel that God is here to-night. 
 And there's another, and another, and an- 
 other. Oh, hallelujah ! Praise the Lord !'* 
 Another pause. "Now come, dear friends; 
 don't be afraid. The Lord is waiting; and 
 Oh, he is waiting to be gracious. You do n't 
 suppose }'ou 're too great sinners to be saved, 
 do you ? The blood of Jesus Christ cleans- 
 eth from all sin. Yes, precious Saviour, pre- 
 cious Saviour, thy blood could cleanse a uni- 
 verse from guilt." In this way he would go 
 on till perhaps a dozen or twenty had risen; 
 after which, in order to intensify good resolu- 
 tions, he would invite them to the front seats, 
 Avhich were vacated for them. This he did 
 often, not always. After more prayers and 
 hjmms, the audience were dismissed, only the 
 inquirers remaining; and then Uncle John 
 and the chaplains conversed and prayed with 
 each individual according to his case. 
 
 " Talking meetings," designed chiefly for 
 remarks, exhortations, and relations of per- 
 
IN THE AiniY 19 
 
 sonal experience, sometimes took tlie place 
 of these that I have described ; they proved 
 very useful. Uncle John participated in them, 
 as he did in all the rest. The revival interest 
 continued with little abatement for five or six 
 weeks, and resulted in the establishment of 
 small congregations of believers in those regi- 
 ments that had chaplains. Nearly one hun- 
 dred and fifty — about one-tenth of the whole 
 brigade — professed faith in Christ, either 
 renewedly or for the first time. Yery few of 
 these dear boys are with us now ; many are 
 in soldiers' graves; many are sick or wound- 
 ed at home; some are in southern prisons; 
 and some have finished their term and been 
 discharged. But so far as I know, the great 
 majority have shown that their profession 
 was well-founded. 
 
 In all our meetings, Uncle John's singing 
 did excellent service. To use an expression 
 of his own, he is "a walking hymn-book." 
 He has a large variety of hymns at command, 
 set to appropriate tunes, and a wonderful 
 faculty of instantly producing in a meeting 
 the verses and notes specially suitable to 
 
20 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 each particular conjuncture. How often have 
 r heard him, so soon as a prayer or address 
 might end, strike up the hymn needed to cor- 
 rect or to carry out the impression of it. He 
 N^'ould seldom sing the whole hymn; but if 
 one or two verses satisfied the occasion, he 
 would cease, that the meeting might go on. 
 This tact often helped to render the interest 
 of our exercises continuous and progres- 
 sive. 
 
 Uncle John's voice is not strong, but it is 
 clear and pleasant; and as he sings with ear- 
 nestness and truthfulness of expression, his 
 lips sometimes seem to clothe old verses with 
 new beauty, and to impart a striking and 
 unexpected fulness of meaning to words that 
 have long been familiar. Those who have 
 heard him will not forget with what joyous 
 faith he sings, 
 
 "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun 
 Does his successive journeys run ;" 
 
 nor how invitingly and solemnly he renders 
 
 ' ' There is a fountain filled viith. blood, 
 Drawn from Immanuel's veins ;" 
 
 nor the tenderness of those lines, 
 
IN THE AllMY. 21 
 
 "Come, trembling sinner, in whose breast 
 A thousand thoughts revolve ; 
 Come with your guilt and fear opprest, 
 And make this last resolve ;" 
 
 Dor the heartiness of the verses, 
 
 "Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, 
 Weak and wounded, sick and sore ; 
 Jesus ready stands to save you. 
 Full of pity, love, and power." 
 
 How boldly he raises that Christian battle- 
 song, 
 
 ' ' Am I a soldier of the cross ?" 
 
 What thankfulness and love he puts into that 
 
 grand hymn, 
 
 '• Oh for a thousand tongues to sing 
 My dear Eedeemer's praise!" 
 
 With what plaintive melody he sings, 
 
 "Did Christ o'er sinners weep? 
 And shall my tears be dry':" 
 
 and with what affectionate longing, 
 
 "Jerusalem, my happy home." 
 
 These and many other old hymns, and the 
 tunes which accompany them, are weapons 
 of power with Uncle John. Besides these, 
 he has a collection of modern religious melo- 
 dies, generally lively in character, and very 
 
22 UNCLE JOHN. ^ 
 
 popular with soldiers. Those beginning, 
 "My heavenly home is bright and fair;" 
 " There 's a light in the window for thee, 
 brother;" "Must Jesus bear the cross alone ?" 
 " A beautiful land by faith I see ;" and those 
 which tell of the " Sweet hour of prayer," 
 and of "The gospel ship," which is "sailing, 
 sailing," and of " The heavenly shores," to 
 which we are "homeward bound," are fair 
 examples. They commonly have a chorus, 
 which adds to their effect. 
 
 I shall not soon forget the delight with 
 which I first heard him singing a song, whose 
 lively notes and cheerful rejoicing confidence 
 accorded admirably with his own spirit. It 
 was towards the close of a crowded meeting 
 in the log-chapel. He rose after a prayer, 
 and turned round in the aisle so as to face 
 the congregation. His right hand held the 
 left by two fingers, and kept it out of the way 
 behind his back. Standing in his humble but 
 easy manner, he began in a clear voice, 
 
 "We are joj'onsly voj'aging over the main, 
 
 Bound for the evergreen shore, 
 • "Whose inhabitants never of sickness complain, 
 And never see death any more. " 
 
IN THE ARMY. 23 
 
 Warming as lie went on, lie kept looking 
 over the audience to observe their feeling ; 
 and before he had finished, he was clapping 
 his hands quietly in time to the tune, and 
 leading us all in the chorus, like an enthusi- 
 astic singing-teacher. The hymn, though 
 familiar now, was then new to most of us, but 
 we could not help joining with Uncle John 
 to the best of our ability in the chorus, 
 
 " Then lot the Inirricaiie roar, 
 It will the sooner be o'er ; 
 TVe will weather the blast, and we '11 land at last 
 Safe on the evergreen shore." 
 
 Few, perhaps none, went away from the meet- 
 ing that night without resolving to secure 
 transportation in that good ship, for which, 
 according to his wont. Uncle John was look- 
 ing up passengers. 
 
 Some striking qualities of Brother Y 's 
 
 character are exhibited in his dealings with 
 others relative to their religious state and 
 duty. His earnestness of manner, his un- 
 feigned and affectionate interest in one's per- 
 sonal welfare, and his entire freedom from 
 any sort of conventionality or constraint, 
 
24 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 soon make the heart trustful, and beget open- 
 ness of conference and confession. During 
 a time of religious awakening, he labors with 
 
 inquirers night and day. At B , all who 
 
 witnessed his zeal marvelled that flesh and 
 blood could endure such incessant excite- 
 ment and activity. Three meetings a day, in 
 all of which he prayed and spoke and sang, 
 seemed in no degree to diminish his energy 
 for special and private exertions. For weeks 
 he spent his spare time in going from tent to 
 tent conversing and praying with every one 
 who manifested any concern regarding reli- 
 gion. As he set out one morning to follow 
 up the impressions of the preceding night, I 
 went with him down into the company streets. 
 Entering a tent where two out of the four 
 occupants were Christians, he addressed him- 
 self to each man in suitable inquiries and 
 exhortations, and led in a short prayer. Then 
 he asked for a sergeant whom he knew to be 
 under deep conviction. The young man came 
 in as we were going out to find him. Uncle 
 John instantly read the trouble of his face, 
 which expressed the most profound melan- 
 
IN THE ARMY. 
 
 25 
 
 cholj ; and laying his hand affectionately on 
 the shoulder of the young man, exclaimed 
 with sadness and tenderness, " O Albert, 
 Albert, my dear boy, have n't you given your 
 heart to the Saviour yet? "What is the mat- 
 ter, Albert ? Why do n't you throw every 
 thing else away, and trust only in the Lord 
 Jesus ?" The young man answered that he 
 was trying to do that, but could not find any 
 
26 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 peace. Every thing seemed dark, somehow. 
 Uncle John replied, " Then you must pray 
 to God to make it li^jht. He can cause liirht 
 to shine in darkness. And now, dear boys, 
 let us all pray for Albert, for nobody but 
 God can help him, and let Albert i^ray for 
 himself. Chaplain, lead us in prayer." We 
 all knelt down in the little shanty, which 
 barely held us. The chaplain prayed, and 
 then Uncle John said, "Now, Albert, you 
 pray." The lad offered a few simple and ear- 
 nest petitions. We left him with some words 
 of encouragement. Several days afterwards 
 I met him going to one of the meetings with 
 a shining and happy face. " Well, Albert," 
 said I, "how do you feel to-day?" "Oh, 
 bright as a shilling," was the singular but 
 expressive repl}-; and bright ever since has 
 been his Christian character and course. 
 
 Uncle John, without being exactly abrupt, 
 is wonderfully quick and direct in personal 
 appeaL His preparatory remarks, if he makes 
 £inj, are very short ; sometimes merely the 
 manner and evident spirit of the man intro- 
 duce what he says; but, in any case, the first 
 
IX THE AEMY. 27 
 
 startling seuteuce clears the way for any that 
 may follow. "Here," said I, as we went 
 
 down the street, " is Sergeant M , Uncle 
 
 John." "How are you, sergeant?" says the 
 ever-ready man, taking the sergeant by the 
 hand. "And I hope, chaplain, this good 
 soldier has enlisted under the banner of King 
 Jesus? Dear sergeant, how is it? Now 
 just tell Uncle John. Are you trying to be 
 a faithful servant of God? Have you given 
 yourself to that blessed Saviour who died for 
 you, and who bought you ^^ith his precious 
 blood ?" As these words were uttered with 
 great earnestness and affection, the sergeant 
 looked thoughtful. He confessed that he 
 was not a Christian, but said that he often 
 desired to be one. " Oh, why then delay ? 
 Why risk your eternity ? Who knows how 
 soon the whizzing bullet or bursting shell 
 may lay one low ? And then, to enter God's 
 presence unprepared ! Oh, sergeant, will you 
 not seek the Lord now, and secure that glo- 
 rious hope which is full of immortality?" 
 With such words, spoken by the way, Uncle 
 John has moved many to seek Christ. 
 
28 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 The treatment given to Lis approaches and 
 exhortations by different parties is very vari- 
 ous; but he is equal to any emergency. He 
 instantly appreciates the nature of each case, 
 and gives the instruction, encouragement, 
 reproof, or reply which is needed. I have 
 been astounded sometimes to hear officers, 
 of whose profanity, drunkenness, gambling, 
 and dishonesty, I was well aware, and who 
 never to my knowledge showed even decent 
 respect for religion, tell Uncle John that they 
 were Christian men. I suppose they meant 
 that they had been church-members while in 
 civil life. They seldom deceived him. His 
 interviews with such miserable men are gen- 
 erally made brief. Without even insinuating 
 distrust, he utters a few awakening words, 
 and is gone. " Oh," I have heard him say, 
 "how solemn a thing it is to be called by 
 the name of Qheist. What a responsibility 
 lies on us to adorn the doctrine of God our 
 Saviour in all things; and how hard it is to 
 be a Christian in reality, in deed as well as 
 in name. Yes, dear fi'iends, we must strive 
 to enter in at the strait gate. I often think 
 
IN THE AEMY. 29 
 
 what a mercy it will be if Uncle John ever 
 gets to heaven. It will be by the triumph of 
 grace divine. Oh, the riches of the grace of 
 God !" AVith such sayings he leaves the 
 backsliders thinking and ill at ease. Con- 
 sistent believers, on the contrary, seldom 
 meet him without enjoying some bright view 
 of heavenly things, by which their hearts are 
 strengthened in faith and hope and love. 
 
 The skill and spirit with which he replies 
 to the pretences of unbelief and to the ex- 
 cuses of the unconverted, could not be sur- 
 passed. While maintaining the best temper, 
 and exhibiting overflowing kindness and affec- 
 tion for souls, he attacks every form of sinful- 
 ness and error with unsparing fidelity. " O 
 dear captain," I heard him say, " how I wish 
 you would make up your mind to give your- 
 self to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to become 
 a faithful soldier of the cross." " Well, Uncle 
 John," said the captain, "I try to do my 
 duty, and I think that is all that is required 
 of me." "Why, captain," answ^ered the hon- 
 est man in tones of astonishment, " how can 
 you say so? No man does his duty who 
 
30 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 does not give liis heart to God, and live in 
 God's love and service. What would you 
 think of a man brought up by a kind father, 
 and provided by him with every means of 
 happiness, who should be a good brother 
 and husband and neighbor and citizen, and 
 yet be a heartless and un dutiful son ? Don't 
 you think his wickedness would be unspeak- 
 ably great?" "But the cases are different," 
 rejoins the captain. " No, they 're not," said 
 Uncle John. " That man would be con- 
 demned by the moral sense of the commu- 
 nity ; and the godless sinner, you may depend 
 upon it, will be condemned by the public 
 opinion of the universe." Thus boldly does 
 this humble servant of God contend with the 
 adversary, and assert the prerogatives of his 
 Master; and he is as ready to do this with 
 officers in high command as he is with pri- 
 vate soldiers. Colonels and generals have 
 received faithful admonition from him on 
 things vital to their eternal peace. 
 
 On one occasion, I cannot say whether I 
 was more amused to see the familiar yet 
 respectful assurance, or gratified to witness 
 
IN THE ARMY. 31 
 
 the startling directness with which he inter- 
 rogated a brave colonel whom he had never 
 seen before. A meeting had been concluded 
 in front of the headquarters' tent, and Uncle 
 John had conversed and prayed with a young 
 man who had shown deep conviction and 
 anxiety regarding his sins. Utterly uncon- 
 scious of human presence, and with a sim- 
 plicity and earnestness which rose above all 
 influences of time and place, and surrounded 
 themselves with their own proprieties — 
 silence, solemnity, and attention — he knelt 
 with the lad in the midst of a crowd of by- 
 standers, and prayed for him, for his com- 
 rades, for the officers of the regiment, and 
 for the whole army. The vigorous colloquial 
 language of the prayer, and its particular- 
 izing petitions, in which names and places 
 and circumstances were freely mentioned, 
 interested and impressed the hearers of it. 
 Conventionalities plainly had little to do with 
 Uncle John's reUgion. The young man went 
 away comforted, and trusting in God; and 
 the crowd dispersed. Then we entered the 
 colonel's tent, in which we found one or two 
 
32 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 officers of the command, together with their 
 chief. After a few words of conversation 
 regarding the history of the regiment and 
 its part in the summer's campaign, in which 
 it had lost heavily, Uncle John remarked that 
 it was a blessed thing to have a hope that no 
 bullet or cannon-ball can touch, and a life 
 indestructible and immortal. Then turning 
 to the colonel, he said in a confidential and 
 coaxing way, " And now, colonel, just tell 
 Uncle John how^ it is wdth you. We are all 
 perishing creatures, and must soon be iu 
 eternity together. Have you, dear colonel, 
 a good hope in Christ ? Can you say that 
 you hnoit' that your Redeemer livetli ? You '11 
 pardon Uncle John for asking you ; he 's a 
 poor dying old man that loves your soul, and 
 wants it to be saved." This aj^peal, made 
 rapidly, without any apparent premeditation, 
 and with great tact and tenderness, evidently 
 affected the colonel. Uncle John proceeded 
 in the same manner as before : " You know 
 what I mean. I do n't mean. Are you a pro- 
 fessor of religion ? for there are many unwor- 
 thy professors; but, has your heart been re- 
 
IX THE AKMY. 33 
 
 newed by grace divine ? That is the point. 
 Have you become a new creature in Christ 
 Jesus? Have you experienced that change 
 of which our Saviour speaks when he dechxres 
 that a man must be born again before he 
 can see the kingdom of God ?" The colonel 
 expressed a hope that he was a Christian; 
 
 and Brother Y replied that he rejoiced 
 
 to hear him say so; that he prayed the Lord 
 to bless him and make him faithful to the 
 end; and that he wished before God that all 
 our leaders were earnest, believing men." 
 
 I have not spoken hitherto of Uncle John 
 as a public speaker, because the peculiarities 
 •of his character are better illustrated by other 
 topics, and perhaps also from a consciousness 
 of inability to describe correctly his more 
 sustained efforts. During the revival of last 
 winter he frequently moved tlie audiences in 
 the log chapel with short but thrilling strains 
 of extemporaneous eloquence. Few of those 
 who listened to these addresses regarded 
 them in a rhetorical aspect ; criticism is not 
 in the line of soldiers ; but all felt his power, 
 and agreed that "he knew how to talk." 
 
34 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 Those of us, lioweTer, who were accustomed 
 to notice mental metliocls, could not but won- 
 der at the man's gifts. For myself, I listened 
 to passages in liis oratory sucli as, I think, 
 are seldom heard from either pulpit or ros- 
 trum. His style at times reminded one of 
 the more serious and moving utterances of 
 Gough. But his discourses showed more 
 argument than is commonly attempted in 
 those of that interesting lecturer. Thought 
 after thought was presented and illustrated 
 with admirable though untaught adherence 
 to the rules of art. The logical order of the 
 ideas, their progressive continuity of impulse, 
 their practical development and application, 
 were faultless. Homely condensed language, 
 natural and striking metaphors, unexpected 
 similes, antitheses, and turns of expression, a 
 becoming gesticulation, and a voice wonder- 
 fully persuasive and rich with sympathetic 
 feeling, engaged attention, awoke the heart's 
 best emotions, and excited new interest in 
 the saving truths of Christianity. The sin- 
 cere and humble earnestness of the man was 
 also a chief element of his power. Xot a 
 
IX THE ARMY. 35 
 
 word was uttered for oratorical effect. Every 
 senteuce manifested 3'earning love for souls, 
 vivid conceptions of eternal things, and a 
 solemn sense of the presence of God. Suc- 
 cess too, though confidently looked for, was 
 expected solely through the divine blessing. 
 What wonder was it that such speaking pro- 
 duced results that have been visible ever 
 since ? For my part, I doubt not that it was 
 instrumental of everlasting good. 
 
 During the early part of last summer he 
 labored in the arni}^ of the James, among the 
 colored regiments, and as might be conjec- 
 tured, was very successful in arousing the 
 lively African soldiers to the duties and 
 attractions of religion. Nowhere were his 
 visits more welcome, or the results of his 
 efforts to lead men to the Saviour more 
 apparent, than among the colored troops. 
 They prepared a place in the pine woods 
 with seats and a stand for speakers, where he 
 often addressed them. From one thousand 
 to fifteen hundred souls were frequently pres- 
 ent at these meetings. It was a scene wor- 
 thy of a painter's skill, when the little man, 
 
UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 in his own tender and telling way, addressed 
 the gathered hundreds of his sable brethren ; 
 and when he led those assemblies in one of 
 his stirring hymns, I think that the loud notes 
 of praise rivalled in sjDirit and grandeur any 
 that ever echoed from cathedral roofs. 
 
 After a time he was induced to have his 
 headquarters with us, and to make our divis- 
 ion the principal field of his labors. In this 
 
IN THE AKMY. 37 
 
 way I had the i^rivilege, several times during 
 the summer, of heariug him speak in pubHc. 
 His addresses are invariably extemporane- 
 ous. He says that deliberate composition is 
 very difficult and irksome for him; which, 
 indeed, might be inferred from his vivacious 
 and emotional temperament, and his want of 
 Hterary training. His efforts too, though 
 always interesting to his hearers, are not 
 always of equal power. I was particularly 
 pleased with an address which he made one 
 September evening in the plaza of Fort Da- 
 vis to a regiment drawn up before him in 
 line. The colonel had directed a notification 
 of the companies for a prayer-meeting which 
 we proposed to have; but the adjutant, 
 thinking, I presume, to do the business thor- 
 oughly, ordered out the whole command, as 
 if for dress-parade. Uncle John stood with 
 his hands behind him, leaning against a tree 
 in front of the headquarters, while company 
 after company filed past him, faced to the 
 rear, and dressed into correct position. The 
 men evidently were wondering what was 
 going on; and some of the officers seemed to 
 
38 UNCLE jonx. 
 
 think that a joke was being perpetrated on 
 the chaphains and Uncle John. However, we 
 were ready for the emergency. A prayer- 
 meeting was out of the question; so we re- 
 solved on some public exercises. After an 
 introductory address, a hymn, and a prayer, 
 Uncle John was invited to speak. He began 
 by expressing his gratitude to the colonel for 
 that opportunity of addressing the officers 
 and men of "the dear old Seventh." He 
 had come expecting only to attend a jDrayer- 
 meeting, but was glad to meet so many brave 
 men. As he looked on the faces before him, 
 and saw how very few were present of those 
 whom he had seen last winter, the thought 
 arose, "Where were those brave boys that 
 
 left the old cafop at B ?" They are 
 
 gone ; they lie on the battle-fields of the 
 Wilderness, and of Spottsylvania, and of the 
 North Anna, and of Coal Harbor— all along 
 the way from the Kapidan to Petersburg. 
 Some are at home in the North, or in hospi- 
 tals; but how many occupy their long, last 
 home — a soldier's grave! Scarcely one is 
 left of the famihar faces. Ah, well did he 
 
IN THE ARMY. 39 
 
 remember some of those noble boys that he 
 used to see in the old log chapel, and whom 
 he should see never more on earth. But, 
 blessed be God, he had a bright hope of 
 meeting them in heaven. They were heroes 
 of Christ, and of his cross. Now they have 
 fought their fight, they have finished their 
 course, and they have received their crown. 
 Oh, how he wished that every soldier was a 
 ti-uly Christian man, and prepared for any 
 chance that might befall him. He knew 
 many brave men who were not Christians; 
 but it was always a mystery to him how any 
 man could face death without a hope in that 
 blessed Saviour, who had triumphed over 
 death and the grave. He supposed a sense 
 of duty would do much, but how much bet- 
 ter was it to be sure that one's soul has been 
 saved with an eternal salvation. Then the 
 king of terrors is dethroned, and death be- 
 comes the gate of heaven. Did you never 
 think, he asked, against what love you ofiend 
 while you remain unreconciled to God ? Oh, 
 it filled all heaven with wonder, when God's 
 glorious Son took on him our salvation, and 
 
40 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 offered himself for our sins. Never was love 
 like His love. How can 3-011 refuse jour 
 hearts to that loving, dying Saviour? Surely 
 you will not suffer it to be that Christ should 
 have died for you in vain. 
 
 "The Sou of God in tears. 
 Angels with wonder see ; 
 Be thou astonished, my soul 
 He shed those tears for thee. 
 
 "He wept that we might weep ; 
 Each sin demands a tear. 
 In heaven alone no sin is found, 
 And there 's no \^ eeping there.' 
 
 Dear soldiers, if I know my own heart, I ear- 
 nestly desire the welfare of you all. God 
 knows that I love you, and want to see you 
 happy. And when I think of the fatigues 
 and exposures and dangers which soldiers 
 must undergo, Oh, how" I wish to have them 
 sustained and comforted by the hopes and 
 consolations of the gospel. I would that 
 every one of you had a sure title to a man- 
 sion in the skies. I would that you could all 
 look from these scenes of conflict and suffer- 
 ing and death to that blessed land where 
 there is war no more. Oh, yes ; no whistling 
 
IN THE ARMY. 41 
 
 minie ball, no bursting Parrot shell shall dis- 
 turb the peaceful inhabitants of that heav- 
 enly country. In that land there shall be 
 rest for the weary ; pain and grief shall not 
 enter there; 
 
 "No groaus shall mingle with the songs 
 That warble from immortal tongues." 
 
 Now let me say a few words to those of you 
 who are Christians. Dear brethren, you are 
 surrounded by temptations ; but strive to live 
 faithfully; hold fast your profession; let no 
 man rob you of your crown. Trust not in 
 yourselves, but in One that is mighty. Keep 
 looking up to Jesus, and you will be conquer- 
 ors, and more than conquerors, through him 
 that loves you. Recently, by the bedside of 
 a dear corporal that formerly belonged to 
 your regiment, but that now sleeps in Jesus, 
 I felt what truth, what power there is in the 
 religion of Christ. All was peace with him, 
 perfect peace. He knew that he was dying; 
 but he rejoiced in the hope of a better life, in 
 the sure prospect of a glorious immortality. 
 "Oh, let me die the death of the righteous, 
 and let my last end be like his." And as for 
 
42 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 you, dear friends, who are without Christ, will 
 you not seek an interest in his salvation? 
 Will you not begin to love and serve that Re- 
 deemer who can save and bless you for ever? 
 Yes, Jesus is the Saviour that you need. 
 
 '• None but Jesus, 
 None but Jesus 
 Can do helpless sinners good." 
 
 Oh, then, do not hesitate. To-morrow may 
 be too late. Who knows how soon the bolt 
 of death may come ? Now, while it is called 
 to-day, give your hearts to God, and kneel 
 before him in penitence and prayer. Dear 
 soldiers, I thank you for the kind attention 
 with which you have listened to me. May 
 the Lord bless you all, and bring you to his 
 heavenly kingdom. 
 
 Such, as nearly as memory serves me, was 
 the course of thought and style of language 
 employed by Uncle John. But the forego- 
 ing sketch can give no adequate idea of the 
 living power with which he spoke. His allu- 
 sions to the uncertainty of life and the near- 
 ness of death had a peculiar significance Avith 
 those whom he addressed. Several of their 
 
IN THE ARMY. 
 
 43 
 
 Dumber had been iustantaneously killed, not 
 long before, on the picket line in front of the 
 fort; and a day or two subsequently to our 
 meeting, one poor lad was struck by a minie 
 ball and died in five minutes, a few paces 
 from the spot where he had listened to Uncle 
 John. The summer's campaign had made us 
 all too much accustomed to these things. 
 
 Uncle John's labors during the summer 
 with the sick and wounded of the army were 
 
44 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 abundant. He went with the trains and the 
 steamboats laden with the disabled of the 
 great battles, and exerted himself incessantly 
 for the welfare of both body and soul. He 
 considered no service too laborious or too 
 menial to perform for the helpless sufferers. 
 Many owe their lives to him, and by him 
 many have been led into the way of life eter- 
 nal. The large tents which constitute the 
 hospital wards receive daih' visits from him, 
 and any special want of their inmates enga- 
 ges his immediate attention. He is particu- 
 larly ready to converse and pray with those 
 who are dangerously ill, or who express spir- 
 itual anxiety. Every evening also, if duty 
 does not call him elsewhere, he assists a 
 chaplain in conducting short exercises. The 
 wards, to the number of eight or nine, are 
 successively visited, and in each of them two 
 or three verses are sung and a prayer is offer- 
 ed. In these services Uncle John's gift of 
 song is most happily emj^loyed. His choice 
 variety of hymns, his tact in selecting verses, 
 and his admirable use of tunes, both old and 
 new, contribute greatly to render this even- 
 
IN THE AKMY. 45 
 
 ing worship interesting and profitable. I 
 Lave noticed, too, that occasionally he gives a 
 line according to a version of his own, no way 
 inferior to the variations of the hymn-books. 
 Besides these employments at the hospi- 
 tals, a great part of his time is taken up in 
 visiting the camps, where he distributes re- 
 ligious reading and sanitary comforts, and 
 helps the chaplains at prayer-meetings and 
 public services. These journeyings call into 
 play his powers as a pedestrian, which are 
 most extraordinary. He thinks nothing of a 
 stretch of eight or ten miles; and one hot 
 day of last summer I knew him to walk fifteen 
 miles and back again, with very little appear- 
 ance of fatigue. Everywhere, and among all 
 classes, he finds a cordial welcome. Many 
 chaplains particularly, and among them the 
 writer of this, feel themselves under profound 
 obligations to him ; for we are generally 
 agreed that it would be difficult, perhaps 
 impossible, to find another- man in the coun- 
 try so well qualified as he for religious labor 
 among soldiers, at least for that kind of labor 
 which Uncle John performs. And certainly 
 
46 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 no one could enter upon sucli work with more 
 self-devoting zeal than that which animates 
 this singularly-gifted man. The camp and 
 hospital, the march and the bivouac, the 
 siege-line and the battle-field, have witnessed 
 his untiring energy in the service of a Divine 
 Master. Ten thousand thanks to the Amer- 
 ican Tract Society for sustaining such a man 
 in so blessed a work. 
 
 When I look upon Uncle John as he is 
 now, a ready and mighty laborer in the 
 cause of man's regeneration, and compare 
 him with what he was sixteen years ago, the 
 lively and driving manager of work in a 
 brewer}^, I exclaim, "How powerful is the 
 grace of God; what changes it can effect; 
 how marvellously it fashions the most un- 
 likely materials into blessed instrumentali- 
 ties of good !" Under its influence, abiUties 
 and habits developed in a life of eager world- 
 liness are employed with singular efficiency 
 in the pursuit of heavenly objects; the want 
 of early preparation and instruction is com- 
 pensated by the improvement of a devoted 
 mind ; and a holv consecration of purpose is 
 
IN THE ARMY. 47 
 
 UDflinchiiigly sustained for years, and crown- 
 ed with ever-increasing success. Such an 
 instance is rare; so that none should pre- 
 sume to squander precious time in the hope 
 of future faithfulness; but what encourage- 
 ment it contains for those, of whatever age or 
 condition of Hfe, who feel themselves called 
 to some special department of the service of 
 God. How surely he can sustain and pros- 
 per us, while in some fitting sphere we labor 
 earnestly for him ! 
 
 I now bring to a close my intellectual com- 
 panionship with Uncle John; and I do so 
 with regret. It has pleasantly occupied some 
 evenings, which otherwise might have passed 
 unimproved in the bomb-proof and the wall- 
 tent. Fare ye well, dear, good man. You 
 have sometimes been a sad reproof to me for 
 my want of resolution and fidelity in the dis- 
 charge of a holy calling — a reproof none the 
 less potent because all unconsciously admin- 
 istered : but for that I bear you no ill-will ; I 
 rather render thanks to Heaven that I have 
 seen the living power of Christianity brightly 
 illustrated, and I pray God for a baptism of 
 
48 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 his Holy Spirit, that I may more successfully 
 emulate the example of his devoted servants, 
 in closely following the footsteps of our divine 
 Saviour. Fare je well, dear Uncle John. 
 May God long spare you, a blessing to your 
 kind, and at last take you gently to his heav- 
 enly home. And when separating years shall 
 have passed away; when the great war, now 
 nearing its end, shall have been succeeded 
 by times of national prosperity; when 3*our 
 friend the chaplain shall have attained his 
 desire, and be the pastor of some peaceful vil- 
 lage flock ; when your moving and persuasive 
 voice shall be hushed in death; when your 
 face and form, now welcome and familiar, 
 shall present themselves no more for cordial 
 greetings; and when your triumphant spirit, 
 freed from earth's fetters, shall be rejoicing 
 on high, in the activities of an immortal 
 life — then it may give pleasure to review 
 these pages, the souvenir of the acquaint- 
 ance of a twelvemonth; to recall lovingly 
 the most cherished memories of one's army 
 life, and to think of a sainted Uncle John. 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 49 
 
 AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 
 
 Such is the record of this faithful, earnest 
 seeker of souls, as given by Chaplain E. J. 
 Hamilton, ^vho watched his course as an 
 army missionary of the American Tract So- 
 ciety in the Army of the Potomac. He was 
 actively engaged in this work to the close of 
 the war, ministering to the temporal and 
 spiritual wants of his beloved soldier-boys 
 through the terrible battles of the spring of 
 1865, that resulted in the capture of Peters- 
 burg and the evacuation of Bichmond. 
 
 The active work of campaigning being 
 over, his heart turned with ardent longing to 
 relieve the spiritual necessities of the people 
 that had been so long desolated by the pri- 
 vations and ravages of war. Over one-third 
 of the land, schools and colleges had been 
 broken up, the churches were closed or dis- 
 mantled, the congregations dispersed and the 
 pastors gone, and the religious literature that 
 for years had been accumulating in the fam- 
 
 Uncle John. <4 
 
50 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 ilies and churclies and Sabbatli-scliools had 
 been scattered or destroyed during the Avar. 
 At the anniversary of the Tract Society in 
 May, 1865, the question, How shall the ruin 
 thus wrought be overcome, the schools be 
 regathered, the churches reopened, the pas- 
 tors recalled, the libraries of ministers and 
 people be supplied with a Christian litera- 
 ture, and all the agencies for evangelization 
 be again set fully to work ? pressed with 
 painful weight upon the committee and offi- 
 cers. Realizing that the Society possessed 
 peculiar facilities for an immediate and most 
 beneficent work over the whole South, they 
 proposed the following resolution for the 
 adoption of the meeting : 
 
 ^^ Resolved, That the desolated South reopens to 
 the missionary colportage of this union Society a 
 field of labor vast and needy ; and in Chi'ist's name 
 we will strive, with all good men, to make it a garden 
 of the Lord." 
 
 The sentrment of this resolution met a 
 hearty and prompt response, and the way was 
 opened at once. for renewing the work which 
 in former years had been so useful, and which 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 51 
 
 seemed now so peculiarly fitted for the emer- 
 gency. 
 
 Immediately after the anniversary, Eev. 
 George L. Shearer was commissioned as 
 District Secretary of the Southern Atlantic 
 states, and with a large supply of books and 
 tracts was sent to Eichmond, and authorized 
 to prosecute colporteur operations as the 
 way should be opened. When the plan was 
 proposed to Uncle John Yassar to engage in 
 the work witli Mr. Shearer, he replied with 
 characteristic promptness, "I am ready to 
 go; my heart is in Kichmond; I long for 
 their souls." He reached that city on Sat- 
 urday, and the next day entered on the Avork 
 of winnincr souls to Christ with all the ear- 
 
 o 
 
 nestness of his loving heart. 
 
 In his first communication, after giving 
 details of his interesting work, he says, " By 
 the help of God, I would plead for the poor 
 white and colored people of this desolated 
 part of our country, until every Christian 
 and friend of his country shall feel the re- 
 sponsibility God has rolled upon us to hel}) 
 them in this hour of need. What shall bo 
 
52 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 the character of this population ? How may 
 we labor to stamp the image of Christ on 
 the hearts of thousands ? These are weighty 
 questions with me. Oh for youthful strength 
 and heavenly grace to labor for my dearest 
 Lord." 
 
 He has since continued his labors in that 
 Agency, making repeated visits to various 
 portions of Yirginia, North and South Caro- 
 lina, ascertaining the necessities of the peo- 
 ple, supplying them with books, organizing 
 day-schools and Sabbath -schools, holding 
 religious meetings, and laboring wdth great 
 zeal in many revivals of religion. While his 
 tender sympathy is ever quick to respond to, 
 and as far as possible to relieve, the physical 
 suffering so general and widespread over his 
 field, his absorbing concern is for the educa- 
 tion of the children and youth, white and 
 black, and particularly for the conversion of 
 the souls of all. And in these efforts his 
 labors have been richly blessed. 
 
 Soon after the commencement of the work 
 in Kichmond, he wrote: "I am busy every 
 day and night among the colored people. A 
 
AMONG THE FKEEDMEN. ",3 
 
 large number are under conviction, and need 
 constant instruction. I find a good opportu- 
 nity to reach the children, and labor for their 
 good at the close of their schools. Quite a 
 number of our scholars in our Sunday-school 
 have found Christ, and it is blessed to see 
 their happy faces on Sunday morning as they 
 make their way in haste to school. Hun- 
 dreds know me, and cry, ' Uncle John, how 
 do you do ?' I am getting more and more 
 interested in the children. I have thousands 
 of nephews and nieces, and feel no shame as 
 they recognize me as 'Uncle John.' All I 
 want is to meet these thousands in the house 
 of many mansions. Jesus will have many 
 jewels set in dark caskets to stud his crown. 
 "The success of the colored schools has 
 awakened the interest of the white churches 
 for the education of the blacks. I am doing 
 what I can to put the Bible and our good 
 books into the hands of the colored children 
 that have learned to read. Some of our 
 meetings are largely attended, as many as a 
 thousand having been present. I am com- 
 forted in the assurance that a good religious 
 
54 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 interest is arising in all tlie cliurclies. Let 
 prayer be offered continually for tliis great 
 object. In the widespread influences of the 
 religion of Christ, I see the only great and 
 permanent jDrosperity of the South. 
 
 " The great field among the whites is found 
 on Oregon Hill, a village in the suburbs of the 
 city. A little be3'ond the village, I passed 
 over a large field of graves, where lay so 
 manv of the men of both armies. I thouG^ht 
 of the many hopes buried with the bodies of 
 the poor boys sleeping away from friends and 
 home. My heart was touched with the re- 
 membrance of the past; but another feeling 
 filled my bosom as I saw crowds of living 
 forms, small and great, passing before me as 
 I entered the city, and to-day I look out 
 upon the thousands I have been mingling 
 with, and feel impelled to lift my heart to 
 heaven for their salvation. Oh that the 
 church of Christ was awake to the interests 
 of these unnumbered souls that are ready to 
 perish in the midst of poverty. 
 
 " Such a field as we find in Yirginia is sel- 
 dom looked upon by Christian men. There 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 55 
 
 are thousands of colored people who need to 
 be taught to read and to be led to look to 
 Jesus for salvation. In their unsettled state 
 they need God-fearing men to encourage them 
 religiously, and teach them in temporal mat- 
 ters what is for their good. The Tract Soci- 
 ety has already done a work in its colporteur 
 labors that is priceless. While the Freed- 
 men's Bureau is doing much to feed this class 
 of the suffering at the South, the Tract Soci- 
 ety is meeting a want that has not been met 
 by any other to any great extent. Thousands 
 of the colored people thank us for our labors 
 and our prayers, aiid the poorer class of whites 
 receive us gladly when they know our object 
 in coming among them. Could we only have 
 the books and men to reach the different 
 counties of this great state, God only knows 
 the good that might be done." 
 
 While laboring in Eichmond, the Spirit of 
 God was poured out upon the colored peo- 
 ple. He engaged in the work with all the 
 ardor of his soul, devoting his efforts partic- 
 ularly to the First African church, the great 
 church of the colored people, where the work 
 
5G UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 continued for a long time with deep interest. 
 At one period almost the entire body of the 
 church was given up to those inquiring the 
 way to Jesus. He met the members of the 
 church in prayer at daybreak, visited and 
 prayed in the families until noon, conversed 
 with the children in the schools who were 
 awakened from 12 to 1 oVlock, met the in- 
 quirers with the pastor at 4 p. M., and in his 
 simple yet direct and effective way addressed 
 the body of the people at 7 o'clock. Over 
 three hundred were added to the church as 
 the result of this revival. His labors here, 
 and in his frequent A'isits to other parts of 
 his field, were very arduous ; but his heart 
 was greatly cheered by the anxiety of the 
 people to learn, and by the constant eviden- 
 ces of the Holy Spirit. "Two things," he 
 says, "keep me from fainting by the way: 
 the children learn so fast, and many are com- 
 ing to Christ. Sometimes as many as fifty 
 have united with the colored churches on a 
 Sunday. They organize churches in the 
 woods, and build log-houses to worship God 
 in, and teach their children to read. Every 
 
AMONG THE FEEEDMEN. 57 
 
 visit to the country convinces mc that Ave 
 have the grandest mission field in America." 
 The desire manifested by the colored peo- 
 ple, old and young, for education, which is 
 justly prized by them as the highest boon of 
 their newly-acquired freedom, and which has 
 known no abatement till the present time, 
 affected Uncle John from the very first with 
 peculiar interest. He has not regarded it as 
 a matter of transient importance, but with 
 far-seeing wisdom has. discovered in this new- 
 born zeal a solution of the problem that has 
 awakened so much solicitude : What shall 
 be the future of that large class so suddenly 
 introduced into the duties and responsibili- 
 ties of freemen ? Deeply impressed that 
 they are to be the teachers of their own race, 
 if they are to be extensively taught, he has 
 been earnestly at work, under the direction 
 of the District Secretary, in organizing and 
 encouraging schools among the colored peo- 
 ple, sending repeated appeals to the North, 
 that the friends of the African should do all 
 in their power to supjDly them now with the 
 means of education. 
 
58 rXCLE JOHN. 
 
 While none have been more cleliglited at 
 the repeated and remarkable instances of 
 progress in the acquirement of knowledge, 
 his rejoicing has not been so much at the evi- 
 dence of personal improvement, as at the 
 prospect that these scholars were thus pre- 
 paring to become teachers, and would thus 
 aid in the diffusion of knowled^^e so essential 
 to the elevation of their race. 
 
 " This is the way," he says, "that much of ' 
 this great field must be reached. If we have 
 to depend on teachers from the North, and 
 money to support them in every part of the 
 South, we should never see half of the field 
 occupied. "\Ye get every colored man and 
 woman to work that can read or spell. They 
 must be encouraged to help one another. 
 Millions of money could not do this work if 
 we have to depend on Northern teachers 
 alone. Several schools have been started to 
 fit young persons to go to the country as soon 
 as possible, and teach their race. We shall 
 have thousands of young colored people to 
 take these little schools in rural districts ; 
 and who can tell the results of this wonder- 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 50 
 
 ful work ? A door of usefulness like this has 
 never been opened to the church in our land." 
 
 He has also been gratified in noticing the 
 awakening desire on the part of many young 
 men, after becoming interested in their stud- 
 ies, to make preparation for the gospel minis-* 
 try. This desire he has always encouraged, 
 believing that their people, as they realize 
 the advantages of education, will demand a 
 higher order of preaching than that with 
 which they have been supplied. 
 
 Thus is this earnest man indefatigably en- 
 gaged in the work so dear to his heart, of 
 spreading the gospel in the South, through 
 the instrumentalities placed in his hand by 
 his " good old mother," as he always affec- 
 tionately styles the American Tract Society, 
 in whose service he has labored for seven- 
 teen years. His work has been most fruitful 
 in removing prejudice, in melting down hos- 
 tility by the ardor of his Christian love, in 
 disseminating widely the privileges of educa- 
 tion, and in building up the kingdom of 
 Christ, gathering into it from the waste places 
 long desolated by war many souls, the tro- 
 
GO UN'CLE JOHN. 
 
 pliies of bis faithful, personal, ceaseless activ- 
 ity, AvLo, liad it not been for his missionary 
 colportage, might have remained in sin, un- 
 sought, unwarned, unsaved. 
 
 We have thus brought down to the present 
 time the record of this useful man, who, as 
 Army Missionary and as Missionary Colpor- 
 teur, has written his name and stamped the 
 impress of his soul-loving spirit imperishably 
 upon many hearts. 
 
 Following his example and imbibing his 
 spirit, more than forty others -have joined 
 him in this colporteur work of the American 
 Tract Society, to elevate and save the neg- 
 lected and the lost in that wide portion of 
 our land. No field ever more needed this 
 personal, hand-to-hand and heart-to-heart 
 method of supplying the people with the 
 blessings of education and religion, and on 
 no field have the results been more signal 
 and evident, testifying to the wonderful adap- 
 tation of colportage to this emergency. 
 
 The situation of the South at the close of 
 the war was truly deplorable. Four years 
 of strife had caused great impoverishment. 
 
AMONG THE FKEEDMEN. 61 
 
 Desolation marked the path or the sojourn 
 of the armies ; plantations were devastated, 
 churches burned, congregations scattered, 
 and Sabbath-schools broken up. Children 
 were growing up in ignorance, the prey of 
 idleness and vice. The sudden emancipa- 
 tion of a third of the people placed them in 
 pressing need of sympathy and Christian 
 instruction. The general impoverishment of 
 the peoj^le rendered the support of the min- 
 istry entirely inadequate, and left large dis- 
 tricts without stated preaching. Christians 
 on the field who longed to see their children 
 taught God's word, were unable to purchase 
 the requisite elementary books. 
 
 Such was the character of the field pre- 
 sented to the American Tract Society, which, 
 in the Lord's name, entered upon its work of 
 evangelization. The dearth of religious lit- 
 erature that prevailed, and the religious des- 
 titutions that everywhere abounded, called 
 for just such labors. 
 
 Something has been done to relieve the 
 great need; but in the districts remote from 
 the lines of travel, ince:isant and highly sue- 
 
62 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 cessful labor for two years has scarcely begun 
 the great work to be accomplished. A short 
 thne since a colporteur in Xorth Carolina yis- 
 ited in a single week forty-three families, of 
 whom twenty were desiitute of the Bible and 
 all religious books. Another in the same 
 state reports a thickly-settled district, where 
 one may travel seventy miles without finding 
 a Sabbath-school. A clergj-man in Virginia 
 tells of two whole counties, whose population 
 in 1860 exceeded six thousand, in which there 
 has never been a Sabbath-school. 
 
 The colporteurs in their work visit every 
 family in the community, and converse with 
 nearly every individual on personal religion. 
 Sometimes they succeed in organizing a 
 prayer-meeting, and sometimes can induce 
 the people to make provision for the regular 
 preaching of the gospel. But the usual and 
 most successful means of relieving the great 
 destitution is the organization of Sabbath- 
 schools. The children are gathered, and 
 such as are ready to engage in teaching 
 them, whether among the white or colored 
 people, are furnished with books, cards, etc. ; 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 63 
 
 SO that all desiring to learn to read the Bible 
 are freely offered the necessary elementary 
 education. 
 
 A colporteur in North Carolina, who estab- 
 lished schools in several prominent places, 
 says : " The first Sabbath I organized a flour- 
 ishing school of twenty-four scholars and six 
 teachers; and what is remarkable, not one is 
 a member of any church. On my arrival 
 there, I stated the object of my visit to some, 
 who at once opposed it, saying it was too 
 cold, and no comfortable house could be ob- 
 tained. I soon found many were disposed to 
 discourage it, which only assured me that 
 God had sent me there to do good. 
 
 "So I commenced by asking some little 
 boys if they did not wish to have a school, 
 like other places. They were delighted, and 
 said they would get me a house by morning. 
 Sure enough, on Sabbath morning by sun- 
 rise, thirteen children called on me with 
 smiling faces, and informed me that they 
 had a house and a good fire. I soon found 
 my way there, and a crowded house. Sev- 
 eral young ladies accompanied me, who said 
 
64 ' UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 the boys begged so hard they could not re- 
 fuse, saying, 'Miss E , please, madam, 
 
 come help us start our school; I know you 
 can.' 
 
 " On arriving at the house, I read a chap- 
 ter, prayed with them, and lectured the best 
 I could. I then registered the names of 
 twenty-four, praying in my heart for God to 
 also record their names in his book of life ; 
 and such were my feelings, that I found my- 
 self in tears in spite of me. Six offered them- 
 selves as teachers, and I gave them all, as the 
 first lesson, the Lord's Prayer and Ten Com- 
 mandments. 
 
 " I called on the teachers a few days ago, 
 when they informed me the school was in- 
 creasing, and a doctor was aiding it, saying, 
 'We are collecting money, and want as large 
 a hbrary as any school has in the state.' The 
 merchants said to me, ' We wish now to build 
 a church and an academy, and we will want 
 you to get a teacher for us after a while.' 
 
 "XI Q ^ I met with a joyful school 
 
 when I' delivered the libraries there. The 
 superintendent said, ' Children, save all your 
 
AMONG THE FKEEDMEN. 65 
 
 change, and we will get the colporteur to fill 
 our bookcase.' I patiently visited all tlie 
 houses in the place, and must say that they 
 did all they could, and parted Avith the last 
 cent. It was court week, and taxes to pay, 
 but nearly every one begged me to call again. 
 I saw ten wagons from the mountains with 
 tobacco and butter. Many of the teamsters 
 I knew, and they were glad to see me, and 
 purchased some books. 
 
 " I went next to W , where I delivered 
 
 the libraries and books to the teachers, the 
 preacher being absent. It is a flourishing 
 town, noted for its Hberality. This place was 
 not molested by either army. The people 
 are happy here, are kind to the freedmen, 
 and give them good wages and homes, and 
 in return are blessed with faithful laborers." 
 
 The cooperation of Christians in this work 
 has been encouraging. The whole number 
 of teachers in secular and Sabbath-schools 
 thus provided with the implements of labor, 
 furnished by the Richmond Agency, is about 
 four thousand. The whole number of schools 
 organized, resuscitated, or aided in these 
 
 Uncle John. 5 
 
66 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 two yeai'S exceeds one thousand and fifty, 
 with about seventy-five tliousand scholars, at 
 an expense of about a third of a dollar to 
 each scholar. Most of these are entirely 
 dependent on this mode of instruction. A 
 friend in North Carolina, acknowledging " a 
 donation of books admirably adapted to our 
 purpose," says: "There are probably more 
 than three thousand children and young 
 persons in this county to whom a door of 
 access is now open, and who will look to and 
 must rely upon colportage, not only for reU- 
 gious but elementary instruction." Similar 
 testimonies might be added from all parts of 
 the field. 
 
 Peculiar as is the adaptation of colportage 
 to supplying the wants of the families and 
 neighborhoods and schools of the white pop- 
 ulation, THE FEEEDMEX are even more de- 
 pendent upon it. Just entering on their new 
 life of freedom, they have displayed an almost 
 insatiable desire to learn to read, and a re- 
 freshing readiness to receive the truth of the 
 gospel with a simple, child-like faith. Through 
 the various benevolent agencies of the North, 
 
AMONG THE FllEEDMEN. 67 
 
 and the self-sacrificing labors of many noble 
 teacliers, common schools have been estab- 
 lished in most of the cities and larger villages. 
 The Freedmen's Bureau reports that one hun- 
 dred and fifty thousand scholars have been 
 tau-ht in these schools, at a yearly expendi- 
 tur^ exceeding $1,200,000, in addition to ap- 
 propriations made through that Bureau. It 
 is evident that a very small portion of the four 
 millions of freedmen are thus brought under 
 instruction ; nor can the benevolence of the 
 churches support a free school system for the 
 far larger part of this population who reside 
 in the rural districts. 
 
 How then are they to be furnished with the 
 means of education? If this is to be done, 
 the scholars already taught must engage in 
 the work. Many of them are now employed 
 by the colored people on the plantations, 
 who are so anxious for instruction, that from 
 their scanty resources they contribute cheer- 
 fullv for their support. The. colporteurs of 
 the"^ Society have aided extensively in the 
 organization of these schools in the country, 
 which through want of suitable buildings are 
 
68 
 
 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 often held under the shade of forest trees or 
 of brush-arbors, making grants to them of 
 the Society's elementary books. Where it 
 has been impracticable to organize schools, 
 for want of buildings and teachers, the col- 
 porteurs have enlisted members of planters' 
 families in the work of teaching those in their 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. G9 
 
 employ, and their yoluntary aid lias been a 
 feature of marked and increasing interest. 
 The progress in this direction has been mar- 
 yellous. Indiflerence has passed away, and 
 now the principal obstacle to Sabbath-school 
 instruction among the colored people is the 
 ■want of bool's. The Society has already dis- 
 tributed two hundred and thirty-four thou- 
 sand of its "United States Primers;" but 
 what are they among so many? 
 
 The spirit of these yoluntary teachers is 
 best understood from a few facts connected 
 with their efforts. A colporteur in Virginia 
 T^Tites : " I feel that my labors haye not been 
 altogether in yain, having organized a large 
 
 Sabbath-school for the freedmen at W . 
 
 I found one gentleman willing to engage in 
 the work of teaching them, who assured me 
 that he could get the cooperation of some 
 others. As he made an appointment for me, 
 I preached on the second Sabbath to a good 
 congregation, principally of freedmen. They 
 were all interested in the subject, and an- 
 other gentleman promised to assist in teach- 
 ing them. Not haying suitable books with 
 
70 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 me, I appointed the fourth Sabbath to organ- 
 ize the school. I was met by a large con- 
 gregation of freedmen, with some whites. 
 Another gentleman assured me that his heart 
 was in the work, and that the female mem- 
 bers of his family would also assist. He at 
 once entered into the organization ; and hav- 
 ing formerly ov/ned a large number of the 
 freedmen present, knew them and rendered 
 valuable assistance. I was also told that his 
 father would materially aid the enterprise in 
 every way he could. These gentlemen, who 
 took such ready hold of the work, were for- 
 merly large slaveholders. 
 
 " It was deepl}' interesting and touching to 
 see the anxiet}^ to learn that was manifested 
 by the negroes. Gray -headed old men were 
 there, and gave their names as scholars 
 wanting to learn to read. There were those 
 from near eighty years of age down to ten, 
 or perhaps younger, evincing the greatest 
 satisfaction and pleasure at the prospect. 
 One man said to me that he did not expect 
 to learn much himself, but he wanted his 
 children to be taught. I am deeply interest- 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 71 
 
 ed in this work, and believe that Christians 
 have a large and inviting field of usefulness 
 open before them in this direction. I rejoice 
 that so many of the most influential of our 
 citizens are lending their influence to the 
 work of educating the blacks." 
 
 A young lady of fine literary attainments, 
 bearing a name eminent in the annals of 
 Virginia, endeavored to establish a school 
 among the freedmen in the neighborhood of 
 her mother's plantation. After writing to 
 the various sources for books without suc- 
 cess, and vainly endeavoring to persuade the 
 neighbors to allow her to use one of their 
 barns for a schoolroom, she finally estab- 
 lished her school on the side of the road 
 under a few old oaks, near an old black- 
 smith's shop, the scholars being seated on 
 some rough planks. The teachers who aided 
 her were five schoolboys and two little girls 
 of seven and nine. She then wrote to the 
 Society's agency at Richmond for books, 
 which were promptly forwarded to her from 
 funds given by a Sabbath-school in New 
 England. In acknowledging their reception, 
 
72 
 
 UMCLE JOHN. 
 
 she says, "Until last Sabbath, Avlien jour 
 First Lessons and Primers were distributed 
 to a happy crowd, we averaged two books, 
 generally different in kind, to a class. I have 
 rhe A-B-C department, and have had but one 
 book to sometimes over thirty scholars; so 
 
 
 we made a blackboard of the sandy road be- 
 fore us, in which we traced the letters, and 
 twenty of my class have learned their letters, 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 73 
 
 large and small, in the sand, and on man- 
 uscript cards wliicli they had taken home." 
 
 In a letter from this lady asking for more 
 books, she says : "All my books are exhaust- 
 ed now, and a number of new scholars are 
 unsupplied, although I have used all the 
 Tract Primers which were to have been re- 
 served for prizes for the highest attainments. 
 I wish the children who sent the books could 
 see the crowd pressing up and begging for 
 them, as if they were begging for bread: 
 'Give me one.' 'Give me a book.' 'Oh, 
 please give me one.' ' You promise me one 
 las' time,' etc. Yesterday I noticed among 
 the new-comers a very bright boy, about 
 eii>ht vears old, who watched the distribu- 
 tion of the books with intense interest. Just 
 as the last were given out of the basket, 1 
 asked him if he had a book. The little fel- 
 low burst into a bitter cry, and hiding his 
 face in his sister's apron, sobbed out, 'You 
 never give me none.' Fortunately I found a 
 picture-alphabet book, which soon dried the 
 tears on little Joe's cheeks, and sent him 
 home happier than ever before in his life." 
 
74 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 She continued her school by the wayside 
 until near Christmas, when it became so cold 
 that she was unable longer to teach in that 
 place. Mr. H. E. Simmons, one of the Soci- 
 ety's agents in New England, having become 
 acquainted with the history of this interest- 
 ing school, was able, through the benevolence 
 of a gentleman in Boston, to furnish her the 
 means of building a log schoolhouse, which 
 he presented to her in } erson at her home in 
 Yirginia. 
 
 A Yirginia pastor, after successfully con- 
 ducting Sabbath-schools for the freedmen 
 within his parish during the summer, was 
 unwilling that instruction should cease when 
 the schools closed for the winter. By sys- 
 tematic and persevering effort he organized 
 a school in nearly every family, taught by 
 the white members of his churches; and thus 
 the work so prospered, that the short winter 
 was found even more favorable in its results 
 than the long summer. 
 
 From every portion of the field assurances 
 come that the best Sabbath-school teachers 
 in the churches are either already engaged 
 
AMONG THE FKEEDMEX. 75 
 
 in tliis work, or can be secured. Nothing is 
 wantiiiiT: greatly to increase the number of 
 those ready to devote themselves to the ser- 
 vice of the Lord in this direction icithout ]p(nj, 
 but the means to furnish them with the 
 books required, which they in their poverty 
 are unable to buy. Will not the friends of 
 the Tract Society who can appreciate the 
 importance and the wide extent of the work 
 that can thus be done for Christ, cheerfully 
 furnish the Society with means, so that all 
 willin": to encraoje in this benevolent work 
 
 o o o 
 
 may be supplied with the facilities for carry- 
 ing it successfully forward? 
 
 We might give many illustrations of the 
 good realized from the donations of individ- 
 uals or Sabbath-schools, as they have been 
 furnished to needy schools, or to those vol- 
 untary laborers, to aid them in their good 
 work. The following incident, related by 
 by Uncle John, shows the far-reaching influ- 
 ence of a small donation of fifteen dollars 
 intrusted to his care. 
 
 In midsummer of 1865, travelling south- 
 ward from Richmond, he left the train at 
 
76 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 C station, bearing upon his slioulder a 
 
 heavy package of books. He was not long 
 in learning that a large number of freedmen, 
 employed in the coal mines near at hand, 
 were without a school, and that no one was 
 caring for their spiritual wants. Continuing 
 his visitation and inquiries, he met, three 
 miles distant, a planter ready to devote his 
 Sabbaths to the religious education of the 
 negroes. He also found a convenient build- 
 ing, circulated an appointment, and on the 
 next Lord's day met over one hundred schol- 
 ars. Immediate use was made of the con- 
 tents of the package, from which Uncle John 
 presented spellers, primers, and a card large 
 enough to be seen by all in the house. He 
 gave them their first lesson in concert. It 
 was laying the foundation of a mighty work. 
 A few months later, the colored people, not 
 content with Sabbath- school instruction, 
 hired a godly brother of their own race to 
 teach their children during the week. The 
 Spirit wrought through him; many souls 
 were converted, a church was organized, and 
 the teacher has become an ordained minister." 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 77 
 
 At a subsequent visit Uncle John was 
 much encouraged by the progress of the 
 school, and wrote : " Many of the colored 
 people of that vicinity evince much talent ; 
 most of the children can read, some write, 
 and one class is doing well in arithmetic. 
 Several girls will soon be able to go out and 
 teach ; so we hope to furnish help for other 
 l^laces next year. The best of all is, that 
 many are seeking the Lord. One hundred 
 souls have recently professed to give their 
 hearts to Jesus. I feel thankful that I was 
 ever permitted to visit that place. I wish 
 the friends that gave the fifteen dollars' worth 
 of books that started that school, could see 
 the progress made by the children. They 
 surely would praise God, as we did yester- 
 day in visiting the place." 
 
 What a blessing upon so small a gift to 
 the Lord. Were ever fifteen dollars invest- 
 ed which brought greater gain? Over one 
 hundred children educated; several teachers 
 fitted for blessing others ; J^ut above all, one 
 hundred precious souls saved from death to 
 enjoy God for ever; and a church already 
 
78 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 organized for the edification of these behev- 
 ers, and the salvation of other deathless 
 spirits. 
 
 An English mother, who has been thirty 
 years in Canada, sent seven dollars for the 
 freedmen, through the Bochester Agency of 
 the American Tract Society, desiring to hear 
 of the manner of its appropriation. It was 
 given to a colporteur in North Carolina, 
 who sent the following account of its dispo- 
 sition : 
 
 " I have iiot given it to a colored Sabbath- 
 school, from the fact that our Sabbath- 
 schools among the freedmen cannot be car- 
 ^ried on in tlie winter for the want of suitable 
 irouses. In the warm season, their schools 
 were conducted in the open air, in a grove, 
 and some under a brush-arbor. The same 
 is also the case with some white Sabbath- 
 schools. I have made use of the lady's char- 
 it}^ however, in a different, and I hope more 
 profitable manner. I have visited the poor 
 negroes in th^r own cabins and around their 
 firesides. I have sat and taught them, par- 
 ents and children, to spell and read, and have 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 79 
 
 freely given them Primers and Testaments ; 
 and when they would commence giving me 
 many thanks, I have told them that they 
 were not indebted to me, but, under God, to 
 a lady in Canada who wished them well. 
 Their astonishment was great. AVith tears 
 of gratitude in their eyes they have said, 
 * God bless the lady, and God bless the Tract 
 Society, and God bless you.' 
 
 " On one occasion, when I gave Primers 
 and First Lessons to som© children, and told 
 them w^ho was their benefactress, the mother 
 expressed an anxious desire to see the lad}^, 
 that she might thank her for her kindness. 
 I told her that it was not probable she could 
 ever see her in this life, but if she would be a 
 faithful Christian here, she would no doubt 
 be permitted to meet the good lady in heav- 
 en, where there would be no distinction of 
 color, but all would be alike transformed into 
 the glorious image of our blessed Saviour. 
 At this idea a shout of rapturous joy burst 
 from the lips of the old colored woman. The 
 colporteur caught the spirit of universal love. 
 We all knelt in prayer, and drank copiously 
 
80 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 of the fountain that flows from the tlirone of 
 God." 
 
 A lad of twelve years, a member of a Sab- 
 bath-school in Buffalo, N. Y., made a dona- 
 tion of twenty dollars, his missionary money, 
 to be used at the South through the Eich- 
 mond Agency of the Tract Society. It was 
 used for the organization and aid of four 
 Sahhath-schools in the vicinity of Ealeigh, 
 N. C, and was expended for books. Before 
 twelve months had elajDsed, many of the 
 scholars in these schools had learned to read, 
 and from twelve to fifteen souls had obtained 
 a saving knowledge of Christ, and were labor- 
 ing for the instruction and salvation of others. 
 Surely in the last day these redeemed souls 
 will rise up to call that child "blessed" who 
 was thus the means of giving' them a knowl- 
 edge of Christ and his love. Will not many 
 others make use of the same instrumentality 
 for doing good, thus extending the privileges 
 they enjoy to many of the ignorant and neg- 
 lected, and blessing many homes with Kght, 
 knowledge, and salvation during their lives, 
 and meeting at last the welcome plaudit, 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 81 
 
 " Inasmueli as ye have done it to one of the 
 least of these my brethren, ye have doue it 
 unto me?" 
 
 The crowning feature of the whole is the 
 manifest token of God's presence and ap- 
 proval in the conversion of souls. The first 
 book uniformly desired by those who have 
 newly learned to read is the New Testament. 
 Revivals have been in progress in many of the 
 schools that have been founded, and in sev- 
 eral places churches have arisen in less than 
 a vear after the organization of the school. 
 No record has been kept of the number of 
 those who have been led to Christ by the 
 colporteurs, or in the schools they have 
 formed or aided. Their record is on high ; 
 and in the last great day, when the books are 
 opened, it shall be said of many, "This man 
 was born there." 
 
 Such is a. brief sketch of the w*ork which 
 the benevolence of Northern Christians has 
 enabled the American Tract Society to ac- 
 complish in the South. The work has barely 
 commenced. But two years have elapsed 
 
82 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 since the first colporteur began his Christian 
 visitations, and abeacly with gratitude we are 
 compelled to say, " What has God wrought !" 
 What may we not hope for, if, through the 
 continued benevolence and enlarged liberal- 
 ity of those who bid Godspeed to the work, 
 the agencies for extending it are greatly in- 
 creased, and the stores of educational and 
 religious literature j)repared by the Society 
 are wddely diffused where they are so urgent- 
 ly needed ? 
 
 The work commends itself to the heart of 
 every patriot, philanthropist, and Christian. 
 The evils to be removed are immense and 
 appalling ; the system here presented is sim- 
 ple and effective. When it was explained in 
 a public meeting in Washington, and the 
 results it had already accomplished were 
 reported, Hon. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, 
 United States Senator from New Jersey, in 
 an eloquent address claimed that these ear- 
 nest laborers in the Tract Society had caught, 
 as by inspiration, the one great need of the 
 nation. Their evangelizing efforts must be 
 effective in allaying strife and promoting 
 
AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 83 
 
 peace and good-will between the different 
 sections of the hind. He woukl have colpor- 
 teurs sent into every county. He would have 
 every Sabbath-school in the North sustain 
 from one to six Sabbath-schools in the South, 
 and would have these laborers and their 
 cause liberally supported. 
 
 Hon. Henry Wilson, United States Sena- 
 tor from Massachusetts, followed him, warm- 
 ly commending the design and purposes of 
 the Tract Society, and the excellent adapta- 
 tion of its means to the end to be accom- 
 plished. He greatly valued these truly Chris- 
 tian influences for settling our national diffi- 
 culties. Turning to members of Congress 
 many of whom were present, he said with 
 emphasis, " These men and this agency are 
 doing more for reconstruction than all of us'' 
 He endorsed the wish of Senator Frehnghuy- 
 sen, that the Sabbath-schools North would, 
 through the Society, send down their means 
 by thousands for founding Sabbath-schools 
 all over the South. 
 
 We trust that the generous sympathies of 
 the members of Northern churches and Sab- 
 
84 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 batli-scliools may respond to this desire of 
 these eminent statesmen, elicited by the con- 
 vincing evidence presented to them, that God 
 has called the American Tract Society to 
 occupy the vast and needy field at the South. 
 "With a system of lay effort which can reach 
 every family; with the cooperation of resi- 
 dent Christians of every class in the work of 
 Sabbath-school instruction ; with a literature 
 full of Christ, and suited to the wants of the 
 people, and a depository in the needy dis- 
 trict; and with the blessing of God's Spirit 
 leading hundreds and thousands by this 
 means to salvation, Ave have every encour- 
 agement to carry out the spirit of the resolu- 
 tion adopted at the anniversary at the close 
 of the war, " in Christ's name to strive, with 
 all good men, to make the desolated South a 
 garden of the Lord." 
 
DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF 
 
 THE TRACT HOUSE 
 
 The following ai:)preciative notice of the Society's house 
 and work, appeared August '21st, in the Xeic York Evening 
 Gazette, edited by Chakles H. Sweetser. It contains in- 
 formation of interest to the friends of the Society. 
 
 Of the multitudinous societies established by Chris- 
 tian charity, and for civilizing and Christianizing 
 purposes, we believe the two that rank the highest 
 
S6 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 for the thorough system with which their affairs are 
 managed, are the American Bible Society and Amer- 
 ican Tract Society, With both these organizations 
 our readers are in a good measiu-e famihar, so far as 
 their general field and results are concerned. Very 
 few, however, understand how great is the machin- 
 ery, and how extensiye are the practical details at- 
 tendant upon the working of these two great institu- 
 tions. At some future time we i:)ropose to give an 
 extended description of the Bible Society, and its 
 practical working. Our present sketch will have to 
 do with the Tract Society only, to chronicle the vari- 
 ous facts, concerning which we have taken note-book 
 in hand, and passed through the entire establishment. 
 
 A GLANCE BACKWAED. 
 This national institution was organized forty-two 
 years ago, the other tract societies then existing be- 
 coming auxiliary to it, and is the same to-day in its 
 plan and purpose that it was at the start. At the 
 time of its founding, the receipts of all the tract soci- 
 eties in the country did not exceed 820,000 per an- 
 num. Last year the receipts of the American Tract 
 Society were over five hundred thousand dollars ! 
 The offices of the Society have always been in this 
 city, and where the Society's building now stands. 
 
 THE BUILDING. 
 The building owned and occupied by the Society, 
 is located at 150 Nassau-street, just opposite the Tunes 
 building. It was erected in 1825, the year the Soci- 
 ety was formed, by funds contributed in New York ; 
 
DESCEirTION OF TEACT HOUSE. 87 
 
 and rebuilt ami enlarged in 184G by a loan secured 
 by mortgage on the premises, to be paid from pro- 
 ceeds of rents of parts of the building not occupied 
 by the Society. It is eighty feet by ninet3--fonr, and 
 five stories high, besides basement for storing paper, 
 and sub-cellar for coal. The first floor is occupied by 
 the Society's general depository, sales-room, treasur- 
 er's office, and stores ; the second furnishes rooms 
 for the American Messenger and Child's Paper, and 
 other offices ; the third contains the Committee-room, 
 executive offices, and composing-room ; the fourth 
 is the bindery, and the fifth the press-room. The 
 printing and hydraulic presses, and other machinery, 
 are propelled, and the entire building is also heated 
 by steam. The central court is excavated, and forms 
 a boiler-room. 
 
 THE MEN WHO DO THE TVORK. 
 
 The working force in the House consists of a Sec- 
 retary and Assistant in each dej^artment. 
 
 Of the Publishing Department, Rev. Wm. A. Hal- 
 lock is Secretary. He is the founder of the Society, 
 has watched over all its interests with incessant care, 
 and has been its most prominent officer, holding the 
 most responsible position in it, as editor of all its 
 issues. He is a man of singleness of purpose, strength 
 of ^-ill, and an unswerving adherence to what he con- 
 siders right. Few men have performed as many 
 years of unceasing labor as he, and with such wide- 
 spread and beneficent results. 
 
 Rev. W. W. Rand, his Assistant, is the scholar, the 
 practical editor of the Foreign as well as the English 
 
88 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 publications ; and the musical critic, composer, and 
 compiler of the Society's hymn-books. The Bible 
 Dictionary and Hapjiy Voices were prepared by him. 
 
 In the Financial Department, Rev. O. Eastman is 
 Secretaiy, and O. E. Kingsbury, Assistant Secretary 
 and Acting Treasurer. They have been connected 
 with the Society from the second or third t^ar of its 
 existence. They are laborious, j)ainstaking, rigidly 
 economical, and of sound judgment. To them, un- 
 der the supervision of the Financial Committee, the 
 public are chiefly indebted for the wise and uniformly 
 safe management of the pecuniary interests of the 
 institution. 
 
 In tlie Colportage and General Bistrihidion Depart- 
 ment, Eev. John M. Stevenson is Secretary, and S. 
 E. Warner, Assistant. They arc occui^ied in securing 
 and supervising colporteurs, examining, and, with 
 the Distributing Committee, deciding upon unnum- 
 bered requests for grants, j)reparing articles for the 
 periodicals, and attending to the details of a multifa- 
 rious and world-wide correspondence. 
 
 W. B. Bodge and J. W. Bro\\-n have charge of the 
 printing department, and Mr. Foot of the binding. 
 Their skill and taste are seen in the style of the pub- 
 lications of the Society. 
 
 S. W. Stebbins is General Depositary, and forwards 
 the pubhcations to all the agencies. 
 
 WHAT IS DONE. 
 
 Four thousand bound volumes, pamphlets, tracts, 
 and papers are turned out by the Society every work- 
 ing-day of the year. In July last the total number 
 
DESCRIPTION OF TRACT HOUSE. 89 
 
 of volumes received at the depository from the vari- 
 ous departments, exehisive of tracts, etc., was niiicty- 
 iiiue thousand seven hundred and sixty -two. Of the 
 little Sabbath-school hymn-book known as Happy 
 Voices, 240,000 copies have been published. Of the 
 Bible Dictionary, 124,000 copies. Of the Christian 
 Almanac, 120,000 copies are printed annually. Of 
 the Amei^ican Messenger, there are printed 163,000 
 copies monthly ; of the German Messenger, 32,000 
 copies; and of the ChilcVs Paper, 353,000 copies. 
 The Society has published, during its existence, 
 22,000,000 volumes ! This will give some idea of the 
 vast amount of work done at the printing-house of 
 the Society. 
 
 THE COMPOSING EOOM. 
 
 In the composing room there are nine composi- 
 tors, of whom one is employed entirely on German, 
 and one on Spanish, French, and other foreign lan- 
 guages. There is one proof-reader, one female to 
 read copy, and one man employed in repairing stere- 
 otype plates. All works are either stereotyped or 
 electrotji^ed, except the German Messenger and An- 
 nual Report. 
 
 In the composing room some fifteen languages are 
 set, and the music for the xiublications of the Society 
 is also set here. Mr. Bodge has had charge of this 
 department for twenty-one years, and conducts it 
 with great care and success. 
 
90 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 THE ENGRAVING DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Here are produced all the illustrations used in the 
 publications of the Society. Seven engravers are 
 kept constantly employed, and many others a portion 
 of their time, in prej^aring new pictures on wood or 
 steel for the numerous books, tracts, etc., issuing 
 from the presses of the Society, prominent among 
 which is that favorite of Sunday-school children — 
 and older heads too — The ChikVs Paper. 
 
 The designs are made by the best artists in the 
 country, and paid for liberally. The Society has on 
 hand a large accumulation of beautiful engravings, 
 amounting to several thousand, which they are con- 
 tinually using in the reproduction of their books, 
 papers, etc. 
 
 It may be said here that the Society many years 
 ago resolved to illustrate their cheap books in as 
 handsome a manner as they could by first-class de- 
 signing, engraving, and printing. That they succeed- 
 ed in outstripping all others is well known ; and the 
 fact that the j)oorest in the land have been able to 
 purchase a book — no matter how small the size or 
 price — whose pictures, whether many or few, would 
 compare with the very finest illustrated works pro- 
 duced in this country, has had no small influence in 
 educating the taste of the people and creating a 
 desire for finely illustrated books, thus giving a high- 
 er standard and impetus to the book-trade greater 
 than is generally acknowledged. This department is 
 skilfully conducted by Mr. Elias J. Whitney. 
 
DESCKIPTION OF TllACT HOUSE. 91 
 
 THE PRESS ROOM. 
 
 There are employed in the press and sheet room 
 fifty-eight persons — forty-two males and sixteen fe- 
 males. There are eighteen Adams presses, two cyl- 
 inder presses, and one hand press. Mr. John W. 
 Brown is foreman in this department, and has been 
 for twenty-one years. 
 
 THE DRYING R003I. 
 
 This is an important adjunct to the establishment. 
 Here all the sheets are dried before they pass to the 
 bindery. There are four hydraulic presses in this 
 room. 
 
 FOLDING ROO:\I. 
 
 It is no small matter to fold all the sheets that go 
 into four thousand issues daily. Seven are employed 
 constantly in folding jDapers, and sixty are engaged 
 in folding the sheets of books. 
 
 THE BINDERY. 
 
 There are employed in the bindery ninety-five girls 
 and forty-three men. A book passes through many 
 hands beiore it is ready for delivery at the depository. 
 Mr. Andrew Foot is superintendent of the bindery, 
 and is introducing improvements which cannot fail 
 to make the work of this department still more 
 acceptable. 
 
92 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 HOW THE WORK IS DONE. 
 
 The printing done by the Tract Society is not sur- 
 passed in the world. Mr. Baker, of Baker k God- 
 "vvin, the well-known printers, testified to this after a 
 tonr among the foreign iirinting houses. He said : 
 * ' I think it safe to say there is no secret known to 
 the European i^rinters which we are not in posses- 
 sion of. Perhaps I may be mistaken ; but I believe 
 we can duplicate the most sumptuous work of the 
 English, French, or German press. 
 
 "And in this connection I cannot forbear speaking 
 of the rapid advancement which has been made, com- 
 paratively recently, in printing here, gi'owing out of 
 the increasing demand for better and more expensive 
 books. Perhaps no press has done more than the 
 Tract House to develop this taste ; and I have often 
 expressed my gratification that an opportunity was 
 afforded this Society to exhibit the capacity of our 
 workmen to develox? the beautiful in our art. I am 
 sure the objects of this Society have not been per- 
 verted in thus elevating the tastes of the peojile, and 
 also in directly, softening the hearts of the pubUshers, 
 who, if not mentioned in the Society's preamble as 
 subjects of their mission, have yet, fortunately, been 
 reached by the tract printer's excellence." 
 
 MAILING DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Five persons are engaged all the time in mailing 
 the ChikVs Paper and Messenger. Mr. Thomas M. 
 Lawrence has had charge of this department for 
 twenty-five years. 
 
I^ESCKIPTION OF TRACT HOUSE. 93 
 
 THE DEPOSITORY. 
 
 The depository and store on the first floor is in 
 charge of Mr. S. W. Stebbins. The sales at the store 
 amount to about $50,000 per annum, aside from the 
 general work of the Society. 
 
 COEEESPONDENCE. 
 
 The correspondence of the Society is very large. 
 About ten thousand letters are received every year. 
 All the letters are preserved, and have been since the 
 founding of the Society. They are bound up in 150 
 volumes, containing 1,000 letters each, all ready for 
 reference. 
 
 UNION BASIS. 
 
 The publications of the Society are all based upon 
 the truths and duties generally received by evangelical 
 Christians. The Publishing Committee is composed 
 of Presbyterian, Congi-egational, Baptist, Episcopa- 
 lian, and Dutch Reformed, and without the assent of 
 aU no book is issued. The book department sup- 
 ports itself. 
 
 BENEVOLENT DEPAETMENT. 
 
 The donations given to the Society last year 
 amounted to 3160,000, which was expended, except 
 what was given to increase the stock of publications, 
 in three ways : 
 
 I. Cash to foreign missionary boards. 
 
 II. By grants of books and tracts to seamen, sol- 
 
94 UNCLE JOHN. 
 
 diers, chaplains, literary institutions, humane institu- 
 tions, mission Sabbath-schools, missionaries, and to 
 individuals to do good with. About one third of the 
 benevolent receipts of the Society are thus spent 
 yearly. Since the Society began, forty-two years ago, 
 $1,120,000 have been sjDent in this way. 
 
 III. By colporteurs — men who combine with the 
 circulation of Bibles, books, and tracts by sale and 
 gift in the destitute parts of the land, religious con- 
 versation, prayer, formation of Sabbath-schools, pro- 
 motion of temi^erauce, etc. 
 
 Colportage originated in 1841. Colporteurs of the 
 Society have performed 4,000 years of labor, circula- 
 ted 11,000,000 volumes, and made 9,600,000 family 
 visits. Grand results. There are at jDresent one hun- 
 dred and sixty colporteurs. Perhaps one half of the 
 benevolent funds of the Society are exj)ended annu- 
 ally in tliis way. 
 
RARE BOOK 
 COLLECTION 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 AT 
 
 CHAPEL HILL 
 
 Wilmer 
 524