Presbyterians in North Carolina: Race, Politics, and Religious Identity in Historical Perspective

7. Rebuilding in the Era of the New South

Chapter 7 Rebuilding in the era of the New south In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Presbyterian Church in North Carolina could be looked upon as a virtual casualty of the strife. In 1865 the church was in shambles, with vacant pulpits, smaller congregations, reduced funds, and an uncertain outlook. Nevertheless, over the next seventy-five years institutional replacement would take place; church extension, both within North Carolina and in foreign missions, would occur; and the role of women would resume its prewar prominence. Presbyterians would address perennial questions concerning how to encourage growth without compromising integrity; how to obtain resources necessary to accomplish its manifold missions; and how best to deal with divisive issues within the church. from one perspective the Presbyterian Church entered into an era of racially charged and segregated existence, seemingly sealed off from other forces within the nation. Though, from another perspective , these were the years of the New south, a time of innovation and growth, sloughing off the old and acquiring the new. Times of Transition In December 1865, barely eight months after Appomattox, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United states (PCUs)—successor to the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate states of America—met for the first time in Macon, Georgia. A pastoral letter to the churches addressed the desolation evident throughout the south: “Many of our houses of worship are despoiled or laid in ashes, our people impoverished, our ministers scantily supported .” A survey of congregations in North Carolina demonstrated the accuracy of the assembly’s statement. In New Bern federal troops had taken control of Rebuilding in the era of the New south 162 the city as early as March 1862 and occupied first Presbyterian Church, converting its buildings into a hospital. The congregation had neither a pastor nor regular services during the years of federal occupation. In september 1866, the church property and buildings were returned to the congregation, which had dwindled down to twenty-nine persons from its eighty-nine members in 1852. The church of the Presbyterian congregation in Washington had burned, and the congregation needed to begin anew. The lumber Bridge church was also torched. In southeastern North Carolina, sherman’s army had roamed through much of Cumberland and Hoke counties, commandeering supplies and property as they went. on March 9–11, 1865, they camped at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Raeford, where the Reverend Hector McNeill served as pastor. While the sanctuary was not damaged, church members found a piece of paper inserted into the pulpit Bible directing Mr. McNeill to demonstrate the error of Universalism. A more somber perspective can be found in the history of the Cypress Presbyterian Church in rural Cumberland County, where the congregational history observed that the Civil War took the lives of more Cypress men than World War I and World War II together. similar scenes occurred in the Piedmont, where the Greensboro Church had melted its bell for bullets, and now its sanctuary was requisitioned as a hospital . Concord Presbytery had a balance in its treasury of $330; however, it was in worthless Confederate currency, and the presbytery executives described its spiritual state as one of “confusion and demoralization.” Religious life in western North Carolina had slumped beneath even its antebellum level. Pulpits in many churches were empty or intermittently filled by temporary preachers. Casualties from the conflict had depleted the membership of most congregations. The profound and immediate challenges of rebuilding personal and institutional existence wore away at the familiar rhythms of church life. even as late as 1877, Judge David schenk riding his western North Carolina judicial circuit described the situation of one group in these terms: their “fortunes have been swept away by the desolation of a war leaving them little else than honor, grace, dignity, intelligence and the love of their Presbyterian faith to solace them in their misfortune” (van Noppen 34). This anecdotal evidence suggests the real problems facing Presbyterians in North Carolina. Beneath it, however, remained a core of Presbyterian strength stretchingupthecorridoroftheCapefearvalleyandintothePiedmont.Anchored in the scots and scots-Irish congregations of these regions, resources for recovery 163 Rebuilding in the era of the New south andrecuperationwereavailable.RecognitionofthestrengthofPresbyterianismin the Cape fear valley prompted the organization of the Presbytery of Wilmington in November 1868. Although discussion of dividing fayetteville Presbytery and erecting Wilmington Presbytery surfaced as early as 1854, no action was taken. By 1868 the synod of North...