In the language of the Holy Writ, there is a time for all things. There is a time to preach and a time to fight. And now is the time to fight. With those words Rev. John Muhlenberg stepped from his pulpit, removed his clerical robe, and revealed the uniform of a Colonial officer. He then marched off to war.

These are stories about ministers that became chaplains in the American army during the Revolution. Most of these men were not content with just administering to the spiritual needs of the troops, but they also took up the musket for the cause of liberty.

These ministers provided eyewitness accounts of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, life on a prison ship, the burning of New York City, the Battle of Rhode Island, the execution of Major Andre, and many more events. The dedication of these men can be summed up in the words of thirty nine year old Chaplain Caleb Barnum as he lay dying on his deathbed, That if I had a thousand lives I would willing lay them down on my country’s cause.