Chaplain to the Confederacy: Basil Manly and Baptist Life in the Old South

Chaplain to the Confederacy: Basil Manly and Baptist Life in the Old South. By A. James Fuller. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2000. xvi, 343 pp. $49.95. ISBN 0-8071-2576-8.

In this revised doctoral dissertation Professor A. James Fuller has written a much-needed biography on one of the South's most eminent religious and educational figures. Prior to this study only an incomplete 1868 biography of Baptist divine Basil Manly existed, along with the occasional master's thesis that limited its focus to a particular aspect of Manly's wide and varied ministry. And what a ministry it was. Manly served his denomination as a pastor and evangelist, aided in establishing the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845, labored in higher education as president of The University of Alabama for over seventeen years, and helped found such notable southern institutions as Furman University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He worked to preserve history by establishing the state historical society in Alabama. His unashamed defense of slavery and promotion of states' rights led the solons who gathered in Montgomery in early 1861 to elect him chaplain of both the secession convention and the Confederate States Congress. Indeed, Basil Manly is worthy of a scholarly biography.

Manly did not live his entire life as a Baptist. For most of his childhood he wandered in a spiritual wilderness, unsure if any religion was right for him. Much to his Baptist mother's relief, he underwent a conversion experience at age sixteen. Shortly thereafter he believed God was calling him into the Baptist ministry, and he subsequently enrolled at the University of South Carolina to prepare for it. His full-time Christian service began in Edgefield, South Carolina, shortly after he graduated in 1821. His success at winning converts in Edgefield did not go unnoticed in Baptist circles, and by 1826 the First Baptist Church of Charleston persuaded Manly that the Almighty wanted him with them. For the next eleven years Manly honed his skills as a minister and administrator in perhaps the most prestigious and influential Baptist church in the nation. Never one to say "no" to the Lord-or anyone who happened to offer a higher salary-he heeded the call of Alabamians and resigned his pastorate in 1837 to take the helm at the fledgling University of Alabama.

Founded just six years prior to his arrival, the university reflected the rough frontier that surrounded it. Unruly students roamed the grounds, daring anyone (including faculty) to insult their honor. Admissions standards were extremely lax, and many of the students were a year or two behind in their studies. The faculty had its problems as well, and some even failed to hold classes on a regular basis. Manly immediately undertook the long and arduous process of putting the institution in order. He hired new faculty, raised admissions standards, revamped the curriculum, and instituted a student-run honor system to enforce discipline.

Manly did not allow the weighty responsibilities of managing the university to prevent him from occasionally preaching the gospel at nearby congregations. Sometimes he even held evangelistic meetings far away from Tuscaloosa. His belief in and ardent defense of states' rights, slavery, and Christian honor led him to play an instrumental role in the establishment of the Southern Baptist Convention. Some years later he served as its president.

He resigned as president of the university in 1855. Over the next thirteen years he would move his home to Charleston, then to Montgomery, and finally to Greenville, South Carolina. He died there in 1868, satisfied that he had served God to the best of his ability.

Although a portion of this study buttresses themes championed by such noted historians as E. Brooks Holifield, Anne C. Loveland, Donald G. Mathews, and Bertram Wyatt-Brown, it "offers new contributions to the historiography as well" (p. 6). It draws attention to an often overlooked 1820s revival in Edgefield, South Carolina-a revival that in essence launched Manly's career. It also illustrates the rise of the Baptist denomination in the South and reveals just how influential and prestigious it had become during the antebellum period. Fuller narrates Manly's life against this backdrop of a fast-rising and powerful Baptist denomination, an unrelenting patriarchy, and a ubiquitous evangelicalism. The author has done a thorough job of researching and writing a sound biography of a major figure in southern religion and education. Both laity and students interested in Southern Baptist history or higher education will find this work enlightening.

ROBERT J. VEJNAR II

Emory and Henry College

Copyright University of Alabama Press Jan 2002
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