A Singular Zeal: William S. Rosecrans's Family in Faith, Triumph, and Failure

Union Major General William Starke Rosecrans, a convert to Catholicism, practiced a form of evangelizing faith that made him a unique figure in the history of both the U.S. military and nineteenth century American Catholicism. Unlike many men of his era content to leave religion to their wives, he played the central role in his family's faith life. During the war, he fully believed that Providence had assigned him the task of spreading the true faith by defeating the Confederates and ending their inhumane practice of chattel slavery. All the while, his wife Ann and his favorite brother Sylvester, a Catholic priest and later first bishop of Columbus, Ohio, supported his efforts and cheered on his success. His defeat at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, however, was a major setback and his post-war career was marked by a series of unsuccessful business ventures. His perpetual indebtedness and frequent separations from his wife, brother, and children threatened to tear apart the Rosecrans family. The family's deep faith proved crucial in surviving Rosecrans's personal failures and significant shortcomings.