This article originally appeared in the publication Counsel
of Chalcedon.
On September 4, 1862, a young man from Mobile, Alabama, enlisted as a volunteer
in Murrell's Independent Cavalry (which would later become Company C, Murphy's
Battalion of the Alabama Cavalry) in the army of the Confederate States
of America. Charles meant to fight to defend his country in the war against
his former nation. People in the Confederacy called it the War for Southern
Independence.
Charles was thirty-two years of age. His father had been a probate judge
in Mobile but he had died almost sixteen years previous when Charles was
fourteen years old. He and the two other boys (Maniluis and Bushrod) had
been both providers and fathers for their mother and sister.
It wasn't an easy decision to join up with the Confederate army. But it
was right. Charles knew his father would have approved. His father came
from sturdy, OLD, New England stock. I emphasize OLD New England, for that
part of the country had changed a great deal since the first few generations
of the family had settled in Salem and later, Boston, Massachusetts. It
wasn't the same somehow. The people were different. They didn't believe
or act like they used to in the old days. That's why Charles' father had
decided to come South at the turn of the century. Said the South was more
like the "Old country" used to be.
Enlisting was clearly the right thing to do. It was exactly what his grandfather
Josiah (at the age of twenty-three) had done in 1775 when the British had
invaded. It was the family tradition to fight for freedom and the rights
God gave to them, no matter the opponent. It wasn't easy to take up arms
against former countrymen, but if they were not going to allow Southern
independence, then there was only one alternative. The time had come to
fight!...
What you have just read is not fiction. It is the story of my great-great-grandfather
on my father's side, Charles Ellis Wilkins. His grandfather (my great-great-great-great
grandfather) was Josiah Wilkins who served in the Continental Army in the
company of Captain Cyprian How during the first War of Independence. Josiah's
great-great grandfather, Bray Wilkins, came to this country from Wales in
1628. He was a member of the second company of brave folk who sailed with
Captain John Endicott to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
It is a blessed heritage and a story that my children will hear many times
before they leave home -- and one I hope they will pass on to their children
for many years to come. I only wish I knew more about my mother's side of
the family.
In the providence of God, my fathers have had a role in quite a few of the
notable events in our country's history (yes, even the Salem witch trials!).
But my family is not at all unique. Your family may well have had a greater
part in the events that have shaped our nation. Did they? Do you know?
In recent years I have been amazed over how disinterested modern Christians
are in genealogical studies. Family history is often viewed as the religious
obligation of the Mormons, or as an amusement of the rich and snooty. Genealogical
study is thought of as the pastime of those with more time than they know
what to do with ("Oh yes, my old maid great-aunt did some work on our
genealogy one time!").
But what, you say, does this have to do with history? Much in every way!
The neglect of family history has contributed in no little measure to the
ease with which historians have distorted our past. Consider:
It used to be that history was not the sole province of professional historians.
Nearly everyone knew the truth about what had happened in the past because
they knew their family histories. "Great, great grandpa was there and
here's what he did and said." In such a circumstance, it was almost
impossible for men to do much to distort the historical record. Any historian
with revolutionary designs would have faced quite formidable opposition
if he had tried to monkey with the facts. Too many people had already heard
the truth and it was most difficult for a writer to get away with lies.
But it is not so today.
Today, there are high school students who do not even know their grandparents,
much less their great-grandparents or further back. This has contributed,
in no little measure, to the ease with which modern historians have been
able to re-write our past.
When history becomes depersonalized, men lose a sense of "property"
in the past. In losing these first-hand accounts from family members, this
is exactly what we have lost. It used to be that people had a "stake"
in history and felt a responsibility for it. Their family's reputation and
accomplishments were important to preserve. Many would be upset over any
perceived distortion. Today, because there are so few who know their past,
this major check against m
