Confederate New Testament
Confederate New Testament
BIB.003333
Bible - Printed Book
1861
United States
English
Printed on Paper
5 × 3.25 × 0.8 in. (12.7 × 8.3 × 2 cm)
On View in The Impact of the Bible, Bible in America
This New Testament was printed by the Tennessee Bible Society and distributed to Confederate soldiers shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War. The Tennessee Bible Society was one of several organizations in the North and the South dedicated to supplying soldiers with Bibles. Because Union blockades prevented the importation of Bibles from Britain or other suppliers, many societies in the South began printing their own. This rare, surviving copy of a Confederate New Testament, which bears the inscriptions of two Confederate chaplains, was designed to be small enough to carry in one’s pocket and is a visible reminder to the Bible’s important role on both sides of the Civil War.
Printed in 1861 by the Tennessee Bible Society, Nashville, Tennessee. Acquired in 1861 by J. C. Granbury, Chaplain, 11th Virginia Volunteers; Gifted in 1862 to Joseph D. Mauck, 11th Virginia Volunteers.[1] Acquired before 2010 by John R. Kelly, private collector, Pennsylvania; Purchased in 2010 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Donated in 2016 to National Christian Foundation (later The Signatry) under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible.
Notes: [1] An inscription on the front pastedown records Rev. J. C. Granbury’s gift to Joseph D. Mauck on February 2, 1862.
Select References:
John Fea, The Bible Cause: A History of the American Bible Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016).
Questions about our Collections?
To acquire permission to use this image, please visit our Rights and Reproduction page .
