United States Christian Commission Civil War Museum

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address:242 Baltimore Street Gettysburg, PA 17325 phone:717-339-0339 website:United States Christian Commission Civil War Museum email:

History

There is a group of heroes that served upon the battlefields of the Civil War without rifles or cannons. They came with bibles, bandages and the love of Christ. These were the heroes of the U.S. Christian Commission.

Where was God during this terrible suffering and bloodshed? The answer lies most notably in the stories of heroism exhibited by the United States Christian Commission and the delegates that so fearlessly and faithfully served the soldiers with the gospel. Formed in the fall of 1861 by the Young Men’s Christian Association to “take active measure to promote the spiritual and temporal welfare of the soldiers in the army, and the sailors and marines in the navy, in co-operation with chaplains and others.

During the war, five thousand delegates volunteered and distributed over $6,000,000 worth of goods and supplies (in 1860's valuation) to the soldiers and sailors of the Union army on the battlefields, camps, hospitals and prisons. They also served the soldiers in grey when the opportunity arose. It is estimated that the service rendered by the delegates of the Christian Commission equal the continuous work of one man for 658 years!

The story of the Christian Commission during the Civil War, although relatively unknown, remains one of the greatest stories of heroism and courage in the course of our modern history. This is a story of heroes…heroes of faith!