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A CROSS AND A SWORD

The Remarkable Career of Leonidas Polk
by
Arthur Ben Chitty

On June 23, 1861, there was issued by Jefferson Davis the
commission of major-general, C. S. A., to Leonidas Polk. How this
happened and what ensued makes it one of the most dramatic stories of
the Civil War and of the Episcopal church history. Never before in
North America had a bishop accepted military service although the
practice was not uncommon in the Middle Ages. One other Confederate
General, Ellison Capers, lived to become Bishop of South Carolina.

Many factors blended to produce the Polk phenomenon. He had
been a fellow cadet at West Point with Jefferson Davids, William B.
McGruder, and the son of President Van Buren. Polk had a military
heritage, he thought as a soldier. His remarkable success in the
ministry reflected the rare combination of orderliness, enthusiasm
and imagination. Polk's commission was to command the water and
land defenses of the Mississippi above the Red River. He was superbly equipped for this, having travelled since 1838 by steamer,
horseback, and stage to nearly every part of Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in the conduct of his
priestly functions. Polk had been a planter, a slaveowner, and a
believer in the integrity of state government. In short, he had
the confidence of a vital segment of the southern leadership. His
selection was one of the most promising made by Jefferson Davis.