As I mentioned, I was in Virginia In June helping my bonus daughter, Amanda, and her husband Jarrett and their two year old welcome their new baby. Jarrett’s parents came to celebrate Father’s Day and meet their brand-new grandson so I decided to give them some space and avail myself of my surroundings and geek out on history for the day. I started out at Sailor’s Creek Battlefield, a place (and Civil War battle) I’d never heard of before. Turns out, nearly 7,700 men died on April 6, 1865 in three related skirmishes at Sailor’s Creek. Just three days later, as a direct result of his losses and the Union’s position cutting off Lee’s escape to the mountains, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse.
I imagine that on some level it is inappropriate to describe my tour of this battlefield as peaceful, beautiful, and lovely. As I explored a nearly one-mile walking trail around one of the sites of heavy fighting, I was acutely aware that I was treading ground that had claimed countless men’s lives. I stood for a long while in the shade of a grove of trees at the bank of Sailor’s Creek fully recognizing that the Confederates had gotten bogged down at that exact spot and became ‘ducks on a pond’ for Union artillery and a wall of Minié balls (lead bullets from muzzle-loaded rifles). At the top of the hill, a handsome two-story white house called the Hillman House, stood peaceful watch as I walked the grassy, loop trail. It’s a pretty, inviting house, one with character. That house has stood watch over that little valley with a view of the creek since before the Civil War, and in April of 1865 it shuddered with each boom of the Union cannons positioned nearby, and the floorboards of the living room became indelibly stained by the blood of both Union and Confederate soldiers as it was transformed into a field hospital.
Still, my walk was beautiful. Peaceful. Pastoral.
As I enjoyed the battlefield and then drove along the route Lee used in his final retreat to Appomattox, I couldn’t help but think about Lee and Grant. Biographies of both men detail each man’s faith in God. Both men believed in the cause they took up and were convinced they were acting according to God’s leading, each asked God’s blessing and help. Since Lee was defeated, does that mean his faith was somehow inaccurate? I don’t know. We can look back with certainty that slavery was wrong and with conviction that the United States is better as one country rather than two, but that doesn’t explain how both generals could truly have been men of faith and been on such opposite sides.
There are lots of Godly, faithful people with opposing ideas about things. Read the news. Listen to your neighbors. Go to church. Thoughtful, sincere people with opposing views abound. Who is right and who is wrong? On some issues it may seem easy to discern what is right. The Bible is very clear – sometimes. But on others, not so much.
Perhaps we won’t figure it all out until we meet Jesus face to face. I’m certain everything will be clear then. Until that time, the best we can do is follow what the Bible says as best as we can understand it, listen to the Spirit within us, and pray like crazy.
One more thought about Lee and Grant. During the official surrender ceremony, Union general Chamberlain ordered his troops to salute as the Confederates approached. The Confederate Army responded in kind. “Honor answering honor.” I love that. I’m sure nothing was different in the hearts of the men. They still believed what they believed, that hadn’t changed. They just had the integrity to respect the other side and lay down their arms and look for a way to live together.
