1861 September 26

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed September 26 as a “day of humiliation, fasting and prayer.” The following excerpts are from a sermon preached in Baltimore:

A

PLEA FOR PEACE:

A Sermon

PREACHED IN THE
CHURCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS, BALTIMORE,

September 26, 1861

The day of National Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer,

BY JAMES PRESTON FUGITT,
RECTOR
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PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.
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BALTIMORE:
PRINTED BY JOHN D. TOY.

1861

"BLESSED are the peacemakers:: for they shall be called
the children of God!" Let it be ours, my dear congregation,
to merit the title and receive the blessing. More particularly
should I, a minister of the peaceful Jesus, with the solemn
vows of ordination resting on me to set forth "quietness,
peace, and love," among mankind, exert all my powers in
the ways of peace. And, as we have the past hour engaged
in the worship of Him whom the gentle St. John wrote of
thus "God is love," praying those "special" prayers com-
posed for this sacred occasion, I trust you are prepared to
listen to the words of your pastor, who labors for peace. If
my remarks shall refer to topics of a political nature rather
than to those duties which are usually the theme of a reli-
gous discourse, be pleased to remember we are called together
'by the exigency of the country, and that consequently a ref-
ference to matter of State is natural, if not opportune. And
here let it be said, as in things spiritual we are taught to
say "OUR FATHER"--thus giving us to understand that man
possesses a common parentage and universal brotherhood--
so, with respect to the teachings of patriotism, let it be
known, aaccustomed in boyhood to hail the flag of my country
with the rising, and to bless it with the setting sun, this heart,
ignoring all geographical lines, by which the States are divided,
embraces every American as a brother! Hence, I am here, in
the presence of omniscience, to plead for my bleeding coun-
try...

[the Rev. Fugitt continues on with analogies to ancient Greece, presumably understood by members of the congregation and concludes:]

I now come to the question, "what is peace on the basis of
common sense and of justice to all parties?" Is it the cruel
subjugation of one of the contending parties into an unnatu-
ral Union?--beggar Southerners into submission and keep the
South as a lair of wild beasts. To do this, you must make
the country a "PURGATORY" and pass through more than
purgatorial fires. To avert a calamity so awful, let us pray
to Him "who stilleth the raging of the sea; and the noise
of his waves, and the madness of the people." What is
peace on the basis of common sense and of justice? Is it
the recognition of the "independence of the Confederate
States of America?" Hear the Unionist: "That supreme
allegiance is due the General Government is to my mind
as legal, as strong, and obligatory, as the laws of the State,
and laws of the nation, could possibly make it; and our
Church has made this allegiance a religious duty. So, it is
perceived, as matters now stand, the honor of my nature,
the patriotism of my hear, and the religion of my soul,
forbid the recognition of Southern independence."

Now, when one party looks on its compulsory adherence
to the Union as something more than a cruel capitulation,
and the other believes its acquiescence in the demand of its
antagonist would be an unrighteous surrender,
what is to be done? Fight out the quarrel? GOD FORBID! I fear that
this civil war, if prolonged, will be as violent as steam, as
destructive as fire, as uncertain as the wind,and as uncon-
trollable as the wave. The alternate successes and defeats
will be as variable as color, as swift as light, and as empty
as shade. The eventual quiet of the country will be like that
which the Roman legions left in ancient Britain, the still-
ness of death. Already, we breathe the sultry atmosphere
of war. And as extreme heat indurates clay, so the heart
is hardened by the fires of those passions aroused by heated
contests. Already, a wave of blood is moving over the land.
Already, the crack of the rifle and the booming of cannon
on many battle fields proclaim that Americans are engaged
in deadly struggle with Americans. Already, the play-
mates of our youth and the friends of our manhood are bay-
oneting one another in the valleys of yon neighboring State.
Already, your brothers and my brothers on yonder plain
receive the fatal shot. On the cold ground they are left to
languish and to die. There no eye pities them. No sister
is there to weep over them. There, no gentle hand is pres-
ent to ease the dying posture,or bind up the ghastly
wounds. Oh! do you not hear the groans and shrieks of
agony! And then, O my God! the very air is

"Wet with orphans' tears,
And shaken by the groans of widowed wives."

Say, my countrymen, Oh, say, shall these things continue?
The voices of murdered American from the grave cry out--
"Have you not learned wisdom from bitter experience; are we
not the victims of your follies and your passions? Cease this
infernal strife and bow before your God for mercy and for peace.

Oh for a Moses to guide us through the Red Sea of blood!
Oh, for a Moses, with rod in hand to smite the rock out of
which shall gush the waters of peace! Patriots shall greet
him as SAVIOUR OF AMERICA! "A name illustrious and revered
by nations, and rich in blessings for our country's good."
Americans, call a NATIONAL CONVENTION for the settlement of
the sectional contest.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.

[The Rev. Fugitt saw all too clearly the intractability of both sides, and the resulting devastation that would follow the resort to war, but his solution for another national convention was far beyond the ability of either side]

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