People fought in the American Revolution for all kinds of reasons. Some of them saw it as a political fight: to protect their right to liberty, to govern themselves, to rally against taxation without representation. Others may have been more economically driven: over-burdened by British taxation or interested in opening trade routes with other nations. Then there were those concerned about being called up to fight in British wars and, despite shedding blood for the cause, being charged additional taxes to pay for those wars. For most, it was probably a combination of reasons.
I would like to introduce you to James Caldwell. In 1762, he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister. The church he was called to was in Elizabeth Town, New Jersey. In the 1770s, Rev. Caldwell was an ardent supporter of the Patriots. He preached the importance of liberty and that the Bible teaches us to fight against injustice and oppression. In addition to all the injustices mentioned above, Rev. Caldwell and many other churches also faced religious persecution. In New Jersey, the Church of England was the state church and a percentage of everyone’s taxes went to support that church. On top of that, the Church of England demanded that folks apply for permits to build churches or preach the good news; that church doors must always be unlocked so that they could be monitored; that no one was permitted to preach in people’s homes; and that ministers who resisted the Church of England were put in jail. This didn’t just happen in New Jersey. Is it any wonder that so many Presbyterians were on the side of the Patriots?
Rev. Caldwell lobbied for the Presbyterian Church as a whole to support the coming revolution. Then, Rev. Caldwell enlisted. They made him chaplain of the Third New Jersey Brigade. Serving as chaplain, he saw his flock as not just the soldiers, but also the people who lived nearby. He did things that you would expect ministers to do – baptize, preach, perform funerals. At one point he was even a messenger with military intelligence. With his passionate preaching and support of the war, he became known to the Brits and they put a bounty on his head. The Patriots called him “the fighting parson.”
In 1777, he became Assistant Commissary General, which meant that he was responsible for getting and distributing food, supplies, arms. Often, there were no supplies to be found, the merchants were not motivated to sell, and funds were not always provided by the higher-ups. Rev. Caldwell got requests for basic necessities like shoes from foot soldiers and generals alike. Rev. Caldwell went far and wide to serve the needs of the soldiers and townspeople, even taking on personal debt (with interest) to acquire what he could.1
Rev. Caldwell felt a personal connection with the pain of his congregation, of his soldiers, of his emerging nation. Their liberty, their human dignity was being assailed. As a minister of God, he stood against injustice in so many ways.
[1] https://leben.us/rev-james-caldwell-the-fighting-chaplain/