“To the defenders of their country”
From the May 5, 1861 edition of The New-York Times:
New-York Bible Society.; INTERESTING WORK AMONG THE MILITARY DISTRIBUTION OF TESTAMENTS TO TWENTY-ONE REGIMENTS.
The regular monthly meeting of the New-York Bible Society was held on Thursday evening, May 2, at the Bible House, Astor-place, the President, WILLIAM ALLEN BUTLER, in the chair. The Committee for the supply of the destitute resident population, reported the visitation, by the agents in their employ, of the First, Eleventh and Twenty-second Wards, and a distribution of 880 volumes among families in those Wards during the month of April. The principal business of the meeting related to the active operations conducted during the past month by the Committee on Military Posts and Naval Stations, in supplying the soldiers and sailors of the United States service, and the volunteer regiments with Testaments. Messrs. PIERSON, SMYTHE and GARDINES, agents of the Board, have been engaged in this important work, and have supplied the soldiers in the forts, the marines in the navy yard and on the vessels of war, and also twenty one of the volunteer regiments which have left tills City or are now stationed in it. The Testament used in this supply is a neat pocket volume, easily carried in the knapsack, and having an appropriate colored design pasted on the inside of the cover, exhibiting the stars and stripes, with the inscription below — To the defenders of their country: Presented by the New-York Bible Society;” and also with reference to appropriate texts. The details of the distribution were given at length by the Agents, and were of great interest, the officers of the several regiments having cheerfully cooperated with the Agents of the Board in carrying out the arrangements for the supply of every man in the ranks who was without a Testament and was willing to accept it. Contributions for this special work were announced, and the Board, by a unanimous vote, authorized its further prosecution, to as to include every regiment of troops and every vessel of war passing through the City or leaving the harbor. The whole number of Testaments already distributed is over 14,000.
This story reminds me of pocket New Testaments I’ve seen: they were given to American soldiers in World War II. One prefatory page featured an image of “The Stars and Stripes”; a message from President Franklin D. Roosevelt was on another page.
Apparently the New-York Bible Society changed its name to the American Bible Society, which is said to have provided the first pocket bibles for soldiers (during the American Civil War).
Walter G. Jones and the book that saved his life (LOC - LC-DIG-ppmsca-09873)
