Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 12, 1994 TAG: 9406170068
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: |By KRISTEN KAMMERER| |CORRESPONDENT|
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
For the past seven years, Linkous has served as chaplain for the 24th Virginia Infantry Regiment, and during dozens of mock battles has tended to the spiritual needs of hundreds of Civil War re-enactors, their families and spectators.
Linkous was first exposed to Civil War re-enactments as a child. "The re-enactors in those days were dressed like cowboys," he said.
Years later, when he took his 10-year-old son to a battle staged in New Market, Va., "everything had become so much more authentic."
He joined up as a soldier, but soon found his new hobby was taking up too much time.
Besides re-enacting, Linkous was driving a delivery truck for UPS, running his own saddle-making business and helping to organize activities at his church. Deciding that his other commitments were more important, he quit re-enacting.
A year later a friend of Linkous' told him about the Reenactor's Missions for Jesus Christ, a Christian ministry whose members portray Confederate and Union chaplains and who "preach and distribute the Gospel to Civil War re-enactors and enthusiasts through[out] the world." Intrigued by the opportunity to combine two of his interests into one activity, Linkous returned to re-enacting as a chaplain.
But again he found that he had taken on more than he could handle. A devout Christian, Linkous reflected on the matter and "turned to God for guidance." It soon became clear that his work lay in re-enacting. He sold his saddle business, lessened his church responsibilities and devoted his weekends to the 24th Infantry.
In the beginning of his re-enacting career, Linkous was not a licensed minister but a layman with an impressive knowledge of the Bible. His service, therefore, could not be used as a substitute for the obligation of Sunday Mass. Keenly aware of the amount of time the re-enactors were already volunteering, it disturbed Linkous that they would have to attend another church service when they got home, or else skip altogether.
He remembers, somewhat uncomfortably, the many times when people came up to him after his sermon and asked if he were a "real" chaplain. "They always looked so disappointed when I said 'no,'" Linkous said. "I got tired of this reaction, so I decided to do something about it."
Last year, Linkous became a licensed minister through the United Christian Church and Ministerial Association in Cleveland, Tenn. As an ordained, nondenominational minister, he is able to conduct services and perform marriages for the troops, families and spectators, though he is not licensed to work as a chaplain in the modern military.
For a re-enactment, Linkous dresses in a long black frock and preaches in front of an open canvas tent on Sunday morning, before the battle. During the battle, Linkous falls in behind the troops. If a soldier is hit, he goes to check him and cares for the wounded, administering last rites if necessary. Though Linkous does not usually participate in the battle, he is dressed as a soldier underneath his frock and will fight if the troops need him. Such participation has historical precedent and Linkous is well-read in the accounts of Civil War chaplains who took on extended duties despite extreme hardship and disrespect.
"At first, the chaplains were looked down upon," he said. "But as the horror of war took its toll, the soldiers became hungry for the Word of God and would walk barefoot through the snow to hear a chaplain preach."
Though in today's re-enactments the bullets are blanks and the battles end peacefully and without injury, Linkous said that he and other re-enactors occasionally experience a hint of the fear and desperation that those involved in the Civil War must have felt.
He remembers the day when he comforted a soldier who had been court-martialed for desertion and sentenced to face the firing squad. "I took the man, who was shackled, in front of the squad," Linkous said. "He handed me his pocket watch and a letter to give to his family. Then they put the hood over his head and I started to read from the 23rd Psalm. I got a strange feeling, like being thrown back in time. And I wondered what it would feel like to know that you were going to die."
Linkous finds that he gains equally valuable insights after the fighting is over and the spectators have gone home. It is during this time that the re-en-actors and their families gather around the campfire to talk. "It is a very family-oriented hobby," he said. "I usually bring my wife with me."
According to Linkous, the campfire discussions cover a wide range of topics but invariably wind around to those of religion and spirituality. "Naturally we don't see eye to eye on every issue," he said. "What I've come to realize is that it's wrong to look at other denominations differently, or to take the attitude that only one little group is going to Heaven. We all serve the same God and we will all go to Heaven because we love the Lord."
Linkous further points out that despite the different denominations among participants, (he is Pentecostal, his song leader is Methodist and another is an independent Baptist), they are able to work together. "You don't see this kind of cooperation between churches," he said. "You never see a Pentecostal church holding a picnic and inviting Baptists. ... My association with re-enacting has truly opened my mind."
by CNB