The Impact of God

(I actually intented this article to be written some time ago, but it got lost in my directory.)

God has impacted the United States at every turn. Under God, America has become an exceptional nation. From the first days of our government God was an important part of America.

How can it be denied today?

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The Mayflower Compact was written just before the Pilgrims came ashore and states that their mission was undertaken “for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith”.

Modern version:

In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.

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The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 and the phrase “One Nation Under god” was added to it in 1954

“In God We Trust” was added to America’s paper currency in 1957, and has appeared on many US coins as far back as 1864.

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Popular composer, Irving Berlin, wrote “God Bless America” in 1918. He later revised the song in1938.

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.
God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home
God bless America, My home sweet home.

Many renditions of the song omit the introductory verse and begin with "God bless America..."

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These are all examples that God was intended to be part of our daily lives and part of our American way.

Ray R Barmore
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National Day of Prayer

May 2, 2013

California Pastor Greg Laurie opened the National Day of Prayer at the Pentagon, despite opposition from gay rights groups.

Laurie is the honorary chairman of the 2013 National Day of Prayer. The Human Rights Campaign and Outserve had urged the Pentagon to withdraw its invitation to Laurie because he teaches that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

Laurie says, “I’m not trying to censor anybody else and I don’t think they should try to censor us.”

“We have done our best to removed God’s Word and His counsel from our courtrooms, classrooms and culture,” Laurie wrote in an op-ed published by Fox News Thursday. “Despite the fact that we, as a nation, have largely forgotten God, the good news is: God has not forgotten us. He still can bless and redeem our country.”

“They do not want me to pray. They describe me as ‘homophobic’ and so forth. How can you deal with such a situation? We’re in a time in our country now where I’m attacked because I believe what the Bible teaches,” said Laurie, ahead of Thursday’s National Day of Prayer.

“If people want to make it all about that I’m not going to back down. In the immortal words of the great theologian Tom Petty, ‘I won’t back down,’ I won’t. I’m not going to apologize.”

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Prayer by Pastor Greg Laurie, honorary chairman for the NDOP in Washington, DC, May 2nd, 2013:

Father, we come to You to pray for our nation, the United States of America.

How You have blessed us through the years, Lord! We rightly sing, “America, America, God shed His grace on thee.” Yet we see trouble in our culture today. We see the breakdown of the family, crippling addictions, and random acts of horrific violence.

Lord, we need Your help in America. In recent days, we have done our best to remove Your Word and Your counsel from our courtrooms, classrooms, and culture. It seems, as President Lincoln once said, that we have “forgotten God.” But Lord, You have not forgotten us! You can bless and help and revive our country again.

Scripture tells us that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Lord, in Your mercy, we ask that You would exalt our country again. We have had a number of great awakenings in America. We have experienced times of refreshing, and revivals that changed not only the spiritual but also the moral landscape. As the psalmist said, “Will You not revive us again, so that Your people may rejoice in You?” (Psalm 85:6).

That is our prayer for America today, Lord. Send a mighty spiritual awakening that will turn the hearts of men and women, boys and girls, back to you. You have told us if we will humble ourselves and pray, and seek Your face and turn from our wicked ways, that You will forgive our sins and heal our land (2 Chronicles7:14).

Forgive us today, Lord, and heal this troubled land that we love so much.

We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

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The 2014 National Day of Prayer was May 2nd.

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Ray R Barmore
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The Supreme Court

(This is the ninth post based on and inspired by the book “Rediscovering God in America” by Newt Gingrich featuring the photography of Callista Gingrich.)

The Supreme Court

While recent years have seen increasing hostility from the courts to public displays of religion, the Supreme Court itself is filled with them. To start with, all sessions begin with the Court's Marshal announcing: "God save the United States and this honorable court."

The truth is that throughout most of our history, the decisions of the Supreme Court have recognized the fact that we are a religious nation. For example, in the 1952 case Zorach vs. Clauson, the Court upheld a statute that allowed students to be released from school to attend religious classes. Justice William O. Douglas wrote: We are a religious people and our institutions presuppose a supreme being. When the state encourages religious instruction or cooperates with religious authorities by adjusting the schedule of public events to sectarian needs, it follows the best of our traditions. We cannot read into the Bill of Rights a philosophy of hostility to religion.

Religious Imagery in the Supreme Court

The most striking religious imagery at the Supreme Court is that of Moses with the Ten Commandments. Affirming the Judeo-Christian roots of our legal system, Moses can be found in several places: in the center of the East Pediment on 2nd Street NE, as a relief on the southwest corner of the building on 1st Street NE, inside the Upper Great Hall, and inside the actual courtroom as part of the "great lawgivers of history" frieze.

Along the East Pediment of the Supreme Court is a sculpture entitled "Justice the Guardian of Liberty," which features Moses at the center, flanked by Solon and Confucius.

The following court cases are taken from http://www.pewforum.org/files/2007/06/religious-displays.pdf

In 1984, the court took up its first case that specifically involved holiday displays. In that case, the court ruled that a Christmas nativity scene that the city of Pawtucket, R.I., had placed in a municipal square was constitutionally acceptable. The court stated that the nativity scene simply recognized the historical origins of the holiday, one that has secular as well as religious significance. In those circumstances, the justices concluded, the nativity scene did not reflect an effort by the government to promote Christianity

The lack of clear guidelines reflects deep divisions within the Supreme Court itself. Some justices are more committed to strict church-state separation and tend to rule that any government-sponsored religious display violates the Establishment Clause. These same justices also believe that, in some circumstances, the Establishment Clause may forbid private citizens from placing religious displays on public property.

Other members of the court read the Establishment Clause far more narrowly, arguing that it leaves ample room for religion in the public square. In recognition of the role that religion has played in U.S. history, these justices have been willing to allow government to sponsor a wide variety of religious displays. In addition, they have ruled that the Establishment Clause never bars private citizens from placing religious displays in publicly owned spaces that are generally open to everyone

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Pawtucket’s display did not violate the Constitution. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Warren Burger emphasized that government has long had the authority to acknowledge the role that religion has played in U.S. history. This authority suggests, he said, that the Establishment Clause does not require a total exclusion of religious images and messages from government-sponsored displays. He concluded that the local government had included the crèche to “depict the historical origins of this traditional event” rather than to express official support for any religious message.

For Justice O’Connor, government endorsement was the key factor. Courts, she argued, should ask whether a “reasonable person” would view the government’s actions as an endorsement of particular religions. But while endorsement is prohibited, she argued, mere acknowledgement of religion, or of religion’s role in the nation’s history, is not.

RELIGIOUS DISPLAYS AND THE COURTS: Significant Supreme Court Rulings

Stone V. Graham (1980)
The court ruled that a Kentucky statute requiring public schools to post a copy of the Ten Commandments in every classroom was unconstitutional.

Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)
The court ruled that a Pawtucket, R.I., Christmas display, which included a crèche as well as more secular symbols of Christmas, such as a Santa Claus and reindeer, was permissible.

County of Allegheny v. ACLU (1989)
The court struck down a Christmas crèche displayed alone inside a courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pa., but upheld the same city’s broader holiday display that included a Christmas tree and menorah.

Capitol Square Review Board v. Pinette (1995)
The court ruled that Ohio officials were wrong to deny the Ku Klux Klan the right to place a large cross on a public plaza where displays by private citizens were permitted.

McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky (2005)
The court ruled that the placement of framed copies of the Ten Commandments in courthouses in two Kentucky counties was unconstitutional.

Van Orden v. Perry (2005)
The court ruled that a monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments on the Texas state Capitol grounds was permissible.

Ray R Barmore
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Supreme Court Justice Brewer

“The American nation from its first settlement at Jamestown to this hour is based upon and permeated by the principles of the Bible” (1)

    Justice David Joseph Brewer, Supreme Court Justice, 1837 – 1910

Justice Brewer's book, The United States: A Christian Nation, published in 1905, contained the following passage: (2)

"But in what sense can [the United States] be called a Christian nation? Not in the sense that Christianity is the established religion or the people are compelled in any manner to support it. On the contrary, the Constitution specifically provides that 'congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.' Neither is it Christian in the sense that all its citizens are either in fact or in name Christians. On the contrary, all religions have free scope within its borders. Numbers of our people profess other religions, and many reject all. [...] Nor is it Christian in the sense that a profession of Christianity is a condition of holding office or otherwise engaging in public service, or essential to recognition either politically or socially. In fact, the government as a legal organization is independent of all religions.

Nevertheless, we constantly speak of this republic as a Christian nation—in fact, as the leading Christian nation of the world. This popular use of the term certainly has significance. It is not a mere creation of the imagination. It is not a term of derision but has a substantial basis—one which justifies its use. Let us analyze a little and see what is the basis.

Justice Brewer discusses numerous evidences from public and private life including citations from the Federal and Several state Constitutions before concluding as follows:

But I must not weary you. I could go on indefinitely, pointing out further illustrations both official and non-official, public and private; such as the annual Thanksgiving proclamations, with their following days of worship and feasting; announcements of days of fasting and prayer; the universal celebration of Christmas; the gathering of millions of our children in Sunday Schools, and the countless volumes of Christian literature, both prose and poetry. But I have said enough to show that Christianity came to this country with the first colonists; has been powerfully identified with its rapid development, colonial and national, and to-day exists as a mighty factor in the life of the republic. This is a Christian nation.

While Justice Brewer's decision was not a binding legal pronouncement reflecting an official acceptance of Christianity and did not say that its laws or policies should reflect solely Christian concerns and beliefs, he did outline the influence Christianity had on the history and culture of the United States. It was this influence that caused Brewer to state many times that this is a Christian nation. "

(1) Rediscovering God in America by Newt Gingrich featuring the photography of Callista Gingrich
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Josiah_Brewer

Ray R Barmore
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Rediscovering God in America 7

(This article was taken from the book “Rediscovering God in America” by Newt Gingrich featuring the photography of Callista Gingrich. This article is the seventh of many based on that book)

IN GOD WE TRUST

The U.S. Capitol Building

“The foundation of our society and
our government rest so much on
the teachings of the Bible that it
would be difficult to support them if
faith in these teachings would cease to
be practically universal in our country”

CALVIN COOLIDGE
Thirtieth President of the United States

RELIGIOUS IMAGERY IN THE CAPITOL

The U.S. Capitol Building is filled with religious imagery and inscriptions. As you walk up the steps of the Capitol, recall that on September 12, 2001, two hundred members of Congress gathered on these steps to sing "God Bless America." In a similar scene in June 2002, members of the House of Representatives gathered here to recite the Pledge of Allegiance after the Ninth Circuit Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to describe our nation as "under God," which, of course, was exactly the way Washington described our nation in July 1776 and Lincoln at Gettysburg in 1863.

Today, the House and Senate both open their daily sessions with the Pledge of Allegiance. Representative Sonny Montgomery (a Democrat from Mississippi) recited the first Pledge of Allegiance on the House floor on September 13, 1988. Former Speaker of the House Jim Wright decided to make the Pledge a daily ritual, and in 1995, the House rules were amended to make it permanent. The Senate has never officially made the Pledge a permanent feature, but it has recited it before each session since June 24, 1999.

Upon entering the Rotunda, you will be immediately struck by the religious imagery. Eight different historical paintings are on display. Pay particular attention to a few. First, the painting The Landing of Columbus depicts his arrival on the shores of America. Columbus later said he was convinced to sail because "it was the Lord who put it into my mind" and that "the Gospel must still be preached to so many lands."

Second, on the south side of the Rotunda, between statues of Martin Luther King, Jr., and President Dwight Eisenhower, is a painting titled The Embarkation of the Pilgrims, by Robert W. Weir, from 1843. This depicts the deck of the ship Speedwell as it departed for the New World from Delft Haven, Holland, on July 22, 1620. You will see that the Pilgrims are observing a day of prayer and fasting, led by William Brewster, who is holding a Bible, and John Robertson, a pastor. The rainbow at the left side of the painting symbolizes hope and divine protection.

Third, the painting The Discovery of the Mississippi may be found directly next to The Embarkation of the Pilgrims. This painting shows Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto's encounter with the Native Americans. DeSoto was the first European to set foot in what is now Mississippi. On the right side of the painting, a monk prays as a crucifix is planted into the ground. DeSoto's burial is also depicted in the frieze that goes around the Rotunda. This is identifiable by a priest making the sign of a cross over DeSoto's body, covered by a sheet. Finally, the painting The Baptism of Pocahontas demonstrates the baptism of one of the first converts in the Virginia colony. Directly overhead is The Apotheosis of Washington, which depicts our first president's ascent into heaven. The thirteen maidens surrounding him symbolize the original thirteen states.

At the ground level of the Rotunda, a glass case can be found that holds a gold replica of the Magna Carta. This was a gift from the British government in 1976. Many of the first travelers to what would become the colonies came with a copy of this document in hand. It was later used to justify the colonialists' protests against the Stamp Act and other violations of their rights. In fact, the seal adopted by Massachusetts on the eve of the revolution featured a militiaman with a sword in one hand and a copy of the Magna Carta in the other.

Various inscriptions around the Capitol demonstrate the reliance of our country on God and faith. In the Cox Corridor in the House wing of the Capitol, a line from "America the Beautiful" is carved into the wall: "America! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!"

Also in the House chamber is the inscription "In God We Trust." At the east entrance to the Senate chamber, the words Annuit Coeptis are inscribed, Latin for "God has favored our undertakings." The words "In God We Trust" are also written over the southern entrance. "What hath God Wrought!" the first message sent over the telegraph, is inscribed on the Samuel F. B. Morse Plaque found outside of the old Supreme Court Chamber in the Capitol.

In the House chamber, above the central Gallery door, stands a marble relief of Moses, the greatest of twenty-three noted law-givers (and the only one full-faced). Statues of many early leaders are displayed throughout the Capitol Building. Most of these leaders were Christians, and many were ministers, including George Washington, James Garfield, Samuel Adams, Reverend Peter Muhlenberg, Reverend Roger Williams, Reverend Marcus Whitman, Daniel Webster, Lew Wallace, Reverend Jason Lee, John Winthrop, Reverend Jonathan Trumbull, Roger Sherman, and Francis Willard.

THE CAPITOL CHAPEL

Unfortunately, the Capitol Building Chapel is off limits to all but members of Congress and their guests. However, its history is instructive. The chapel was built after a particularly powerful display of God's role in American public life.

Throughout American history, presidents have called for national days of prayer to pay tribute and give thanks. In 1952, Congress issued a joint resolution calling for a prayer service on the steps of the Capitol. The service was conducted by the Reverend Billy Graham. Thousands of people came to the service in the pouring February rain. After this display, Congress called for the construction of a room " with facilities for prayer and meditation, for use of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives."

Found in the Capitol's Chapel is a stained-glass window depicting George Washington in prayer, under the inscription "This Nation Under God." Furthermore, a prayer is inscribed in the window. It says, "Preserve me, God, for in Thee do I put my trust."

CHURCH SERVICES IN THE CAPITOL

As mentioned earlier in chapter 3 regarding the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the United States Capitol held church services well before the construction of the chapel in the 1950s. A t the time of the building's construction, there were no churches in the District of Columbia to serve the needs of members of Congress and the president. Therefore, such services were held in the Capitol.

Thomas Jefferson attended these services throughout his terms as vice president and president, which were often conducted by his friend Reverend John Leland. Ironically Jefferson attended one such service just two days after he wrote his famous response to the Danbury Baptists Association of Connecticut in which he referred to a "wall of separation" between church and state. President Jefferson clearly understood that his "wall of separation" would allow his attending church services in the U. S. Capitol without even the appearance of the state either establishing a national church or imposing a religious belief system on the people.

James Madison, who is widely considered to be the author of the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment, also attended these church services in the Capitol. In fact, while Congress was debating the language of the First Amendment, they were also working to pass legislation to hire and pay for official House and Senate chaplains. Accordingly, Madison clearly saw no conflict between favoring religious observances in public spaces and opposing an official national religion.

Ray R Barmore
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Rediscovering God in America 6

(This article was taken from the book “Rediscovering God in America” by Newt Gingrich featuring the photography of Callista Gingrich. This article is the sixth of many based on that book.)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
32nd President of the United States; March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945

The recently constructed F D R Memorial is noticeably devoid of references to our Creator, despite Roosevelt's obvious conviction of the importance of the nation's belief in God during the war. (Editor’s Note: The simple reason for this is it wasn’t until 1978 that the design for his monument was finalized. By that time, there was and still is a push to eliminate religion and any reference to God from our daily lives. ) However, faith is mentioned in two areas.

To the right of the first waterfall, you can see this inscription: In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice . . . the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man.

As you leave the memorial, the last quotation on the wall reads:
    "Freedom of speech; Freedom of worship; Freedom from want; Freedom from fear." These words are taken from Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union     address and show the value he placed on our nation's religious liberty. Many are more familiar with this FDR quote from the four Norman Rockwell     paintings inspired by Roosevelt's speech.

THE FAITH OF FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT

As Professor Gary S. Smith has observed, Franklin Roosevelt often "stressed the importance of spiritual renewal, faith, and social justice and urged Americans to work to achieve a more robust spiritual life." It may surprise many to learn that after the Allies successfully took Normandy Beach, Roosevelt led the American people in prayer in a nationwide radio address:

     Almighty God, our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty
     endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our
     civilizations, and to set free a suffering humanity.

He used the occasion to commit the American people to a rededication of their faith:

    Many people have urged that 1 call the nation into a single day of special
    prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our
    people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new
    day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips,
    invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Roosevelt knew how our faith bound us together as a country:

    And, O’Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each
    other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be
    dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but a
    fleeting moment, let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose. Thy will
    be done, Almighty God. Amen.

Roosevelt's faith was very important to him well before the war. He was a member of the Episcopal Church, serving as senior warden of the St. James Church in New York throughout his presidency. Furthermore, as Professor Smith notes, in 1935 he sought "council and advice" on the impact of domestic policy from the many clergymen whom he invited to the White House.

Roosevelt's faith became most important when he needed to rally the American people to defend western civilization against fascism. Even before Pearl Harbor, he recognized the threat that the Nazis and Japanese posed to our religious freedoms.

On May 27, 1941, Roosevelt spoke to the nation in one of his many radio addresses, to announce a state of "Unlimited National Emergency." He accurately described the "Nazi world" as one that "does not recognize any God except Hitler . . . as ruthless as the Communists in the denial of God . . . where moral standards are measured by treachery and bribery."

He recognized that this posed an impending global conflict "between human slavery and human freedom—between pagan brutality and the Christian ideal." America, he explained, shall side with "human freedom— which is the Christian ideal" and will only accept "a world consecrated to freedom of speech and expression—freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—freedom from want—and freedom from terror."

Roosevelt affirmed that such success could only be obtained through a combined faith in freedom and God. He called on Americans to "reassert our abiding faith in the vitality of our constitutional republic as a perpetual home of freedom, of tolerance, and of devotion to the word of God." Roosevelt then concluded by quoting the Founding Fathers, who faced similar odds "with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence."

Roosevelt again addressed the nation by radio as war became ever more inevitable, to express to Americans the threat Nazism posed to our democratic and religious freedoms. On October 27, 1941, he described a German document outlining Hitler's plan to "abolish all existing religions" in which "the property of all churches will be seized by the Reich and its puppets. The cross and all other symbols of religion are to be forbidden . . . in place of the cross of Christ will be put two symbols—the swastika and the naked sword." Roosevelt then concluded with a pledge to the Nazis that "We stand ready in the defense of our nation and the faith of our fathers to do what God has given us the power to see as our full duty."

Franklin Roosevelt was a man of deep religious belief who understood, just as powerfully as Washington before him, that religion and morality were indispensable supports to the preservation of our liberties and our country.

Ray R Barmore
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Rediscovering God In America 5

(This article was taken from the book “Rediscovering God in America” by Newt Gingrich featuring the photography of Callista Gingrich. This article is the fifth of many based on that book)

UPON THE ALTAR OF GOD

The Jefferson Memorial

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”

Thomas Jefferson

President Jefferson allowed the use of public buildings for church services, including the US Capitol Building. When he wrote the first plan of education adopted by the District of Columbia, he used the Bible and Isaac Watts’ hymnal as the principal texts for teaching reading to students.

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HE WHO MADE THE WORLD STILL GOVERNS IT

The Lincoln Memorial

“I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this Book upon reason that you can, and the balance by faith and you will live and die a better man.”

Abraham Lincoln

The Gettysburg Address concludes with “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have anew birth of freedom.”

Lincoln’s second inaugural address, considered by some to be his greatest speech, mentions God fourteen times and references the Bible four times.

At a White House dinner during the war, the clergyman who gave the benediction closed with a thought: "The Lord is on the Union's side" to which Lincoln responded: "I am not at all concerned about that, for I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side."

In the November following the Battle of Gettysburg—the same month as the Gettysburg Address—Lincoln proclaimed that the last Thursday of November should henceforth be set aside as a day of thanksgiving. Many days of thanksgiving had been proclaimed by presidents before this one, but this proclamation is the one that finally made Thanksgiving the national holiday that we celebrate annually. Lincoln explained:

"It has seemed to me fit and proper that they [gifts of God] should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens." [October 3,1863]

A year later, upon receiving a gift of a Bible from a group of African- Americans from Baltimore, Lincoln offered these words of thanks: In regard to this great book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to men. All the good Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it. To you I. return my most sincere thanks for the elegant company of the great Book of God which you present. [September 9, 1864]

Ray R Barmore
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