Rev. Richard C. Christy
Clearfield Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Chaplain, 78th Regiment, Pa. Volunteers, 1861-64. He was credited as Pennsylvania's first Catholic Civil War chaplain and the only one serving a chiefly non-Catholic regiment. Despite the anti-Catholic prejudice of the era, he gained a reputation for bravery and was known as the "Fighting Chaplain of the Army of the Cumberland." Father Christy had been the first permanent pastor of this church. Hundreds of veterans attended his funeral in 1878.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
When the Civil War came, Richard C. Christy left this parish to serve as chaplain of the 78th Pennsylvania Volunteers, ministering to a regiment that was overwhelmingly not Catholic. In an age thick with anti-Catholic suspicion, he won over the soldiers with plain courage under fire, earning the nickname the "Fighting Chaplain of the Army of the Cumberland." He returned to his pastorate after the war, and hundreds of veterans came to bury him in 1878.
Why it matters
Christy's story shows how the shared ordeal of the Civil War could soften the era's fierce religious prejudices, as Catholic and Protestant soldiers alike learned to trust the man who prayed beside them.
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Related people
- · Rev. Richard C. Christy
Related events
- · Civil War service of the 78th Pennsylvania Volunteers
Themes & tags
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