Onward Christian Soldier: The Life of Rev. E. R. Beadle

ELIAS ROOT BEADLE (1812-1879) was a clergyman, missionary, orator, scientist, and world traveler who served as pastor of Presbyterian Churches in New York State, Indiana, New Orleans, and Philadelphia, as well as the pastor of a Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a missionary in Syria, delegate to Presbyterian gatherings in the British Isles, and an internationally recognized conchologist and mineralogist. This book is also the story of religion in 19th century America—cooperation among Protestant denominations, the clash with Catholicism, the rising challenge of secular science, and the role of religion in politics and society. The resources of the computer age have yielded an amazingly detailed picture of Beadle’s life and the world he lived in.