Search
Log in
  • Home

  • Categories

  • Audiobooks

  • E-books

  • For kids

  • Top lists

  • Help

  • Download app

  • Use campaign code

  • Redeem gift card

  • Try free now
  • Log in
  • Language

    🇩🇰 Danmark

    • DK
    • EN

    🇧🇪 Belgique

    • FR
    • EN

    🇩🇪 Deutschland

    • DE
    • EN

    🇪🇸 España

    • ES
    • EN

    🇫🇷 France

    • FR
    • EN

    🇳🇱 Nederland

    • NL
    • EN

    🇳🇴 Norge

    • NO
    • EN

    🇦🇹 Österreich

    • AT
    • EN

    🇨🇭 Schweiz

    • DE
    • EN

    🇫🇮 Suomi

    • FI
    • EN

    🇸🇪 Sverige

    • SE
    • EN
  1. Books
  2. History
  3. United States of America

Read and listen for free for 14 days!

Cancel anytime

Try free now
4.0(1)

A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood

In his Second Inaugural Address, delivered as the nation was in the throes of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that both sides ""read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other."" He wasn't speaking metaphorically: the Bible was frequently wielded as a weapon in support of both North and South.

As James P. Byrd reveals in this insightful narrative, no book was more important to the Civil War than the Bible. From Massachusetts to Mississippi and beyond, the Bible was the nation's most read and respected book. It presented a drama of salvation and damnation, of providence and judgment, of sacred history and sacrifice. When Americans argued over the issues that divided them -- slavery, secession, patriotism, authority, white supremacy, and violence -- the Bible was the book they most often invoked. Soldiers fought the Civil War with Bibles in hand, and both sides called the war just and sacred. In scripture, both Union and Confederate soldiers found inspiration for dying-and for killing-on a scale never before seen in the nation's history. With approximately 750,000 fatalities, the Civil War was the deadliest of the nation's wars, leading many to turn to the Bible not just to fight but to deal with its inevitable trauma.

A fascinating overview of religious and military conflict, A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood draws on an astonishing array of sources to demonstrate the many ways that Americans enlisted the Bible in the nation's bloodiest, and arguably most biblically-saturated conflict.


Author:

  • James P. Byrd

Narrator:

  • Donald Corren

Format:

  • Audiobook

Duration:

  • 13 h 56 min

Language:

English

Categories:

  • History
  • United States of America
  • Religion and faith
  • Christianity

More by James P. Byrd

Skip the list
  1. The Story of Religion in America

    James P. Byrd, James Hudnut-Beumler

    audiobook

Others have also read

Skip the list
  1. The Hellenistic Age

    J. B. Bury, E.A. Barber, Edwyn Bevan, W.W. Tarn

    book
  2. SOG Kontum

    Joe Parnar, Robert Dumont

    audiobook
  3. Dark Spies

    Matthew Dunn

    audiobook
  4. SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam

    John L. Plaster

    audiobookbook
  5. SOG Medic

    Joe Parnar, Robert Dumont

    audiobook
  6. The Lion of Sabray: The Afghani Warrior Who Defied the Taliban and Saved the Life of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell

    Patrick Robinson

    audiobookbook
  7. The Encyclopedia of the World's Special Forces

    Mike Ryan, Chris Mann, Alexander Stilwell

    book
  8. Kill Bin Laden

    Dalton Fury

    audiobook
  9. Making Peace with Your Plate

    Robyn Cruze, Espra Andrus

    audiobook
  10. Roughneck Nine-One

    Frank Antenori, Hans Halberstadt

    audiobook
  11. First In

    Gary C. Schroen

    audiobook
  12. Targeted: Beirut : The 1983 Marine Barracks Bombing and the Untold Origin Story of the War on Terror

    Jack Carr, James M. Scott

    audiobookbook

Help and contact


About us

  • Our story
  • Career
  • Press
  • Accessibility
  • Partner with us
  • Investor relations
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Explore

  • Categories
  • Audiobooks
  • E-books
  • Magazines
  • For kids
  • Top lists

Popular categories

  • Crime
  • Biographies and reportage
  • Fiction
  • Feel-good and romance
  • Personal development
  • Children's books
  • True stories
  • Sleep and relaxation

Nextory

Copyright © 2025 Nextory AB

Privacy Policy · Terms ·
Excellent4.3 out of 5