War-weary spirits
An exhibit now on view at Harvard Divinity School’s (HDS) Andover-Harvard Theological Library offers an intimate look at some of the religious dimensions to the Civil War, as well as a sense of the deep involvement of Harvard alumni in the nation’s bloodiest conflict. The show contains a selection from the library’s holdings of hundreds of pamphlets and other documents printed during the Civil War period, many of which have been digitized in connection with an ongoing preservation project. On the library’s second floor, two glass cases and two wall displays hold song and prayer books that were likely used by chaplains and soldiers, as well as a series of Civil War-related sermons and several eulogies delivered in honor of Harvard men who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. “The chaplains of the Union army were populated with large numbers of Harvard-trained clergymen,” said David F. Holland, an associate professor of North American...