TRIUMPH AMIDST BLOODSHED gives eyewitness accounts about hundreds of Union soldiers.  An organization, the United States Christian Commission, sprang forth from the Y.M.C.A. to care for soldiers throughout the war and more than 5,000 pastors and Christian laypeople contributed their time.  At the conclusion of the conflict, these “delegates” submitted around 10,000 short stories, of which more than 500 were selected for publication in Incidents of the U.S. Christian Commission (1869).  The present updated version tells the incredible narrative of this largely unknown but extraordinary organization.

TRIUMPH is well-documented in terms of timeframes, battles, participants, and eyewitnesses.  The book’s major contribution is the reference index, which makes the topics highly accessible for the pastors and other communication professionals.  The accounts are equally inspiring for history and military buffs, seekers of truth, workers in Christian ministry, and anyone interested in “high intensity” Christianity.  The editors wish for this book to serve as a fitting contribution to the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War and the soldiers — many of whom gave “their last full measure of devotion.”