Bringing Back the Black Robed Regiment

It is common today to hear criticism among Christians toward the American War for Independence, citing it as a violation of Romans 13. Many of those who would make such claims don’t even know the history in enough detail to level such a judgment. Obviously, knowing history alone isn’t enough to change everyone’s mind, as there were those during the time of the War for Independence that taught against the war, based on (misused) principles from Romans 13. But what many people don’t know, even those today who are supportive of the war, is that the war was lead and fought by many Calvinist Pastors, chiefly, Presbyterians who wore black preaching robes, thus earning the title of “The Black Robed Regiment.”

These pastors understood King George and the British Parliament to be in violation of Romans 13, not the citizens of the colonies. They thoroughly preached the whole counsel of God and were not timid to apply it to their present situation in conflict with “the crown.” Many of these pastors not only preached in support of the war, but actually took up arms and fought alongside their men, some even giving their lives in battle, or even being brutally murdered in violation of just war principles.

There were many during that day who recognized that the war would not have been fought and won by the Americans, if it weren’t for the “Patriot Preachers.” It was King George himself who referred to the war as the “Presbyterian Rebellion.” The British army confessed that a single “Patriot Preacher” was more dangerous to the cause than an entire regiment. Thus, several preachers even had bounties put on their heads.

The fact is, though there will always be some disagreement, this war was thoroughly thought through theologically by the pastors and the people, and was thus entered into with a clear conscience before God and His Word.

This is the history that Dan Fisher documents for us in his great work Bringing Back the Black Robed Regiment. Contained in this book are biographical sketches of specific preachers – their preaching and their fighting. The author also gives us some of his commentary as he seeks to apply the lessons of history to our day. While there are certain places that I would part with Mr. Fisher theologically and otherwise (such as his positive view of Charles Finney and Abraham Lincoln), the biographies he gives us are worth the book alone.

There’s another aspect of this book that is crucially important for our day. Fisher doesn’t explicitly comment on it, but it is shown on nearly every page. These pastors and soldiers were men of the highest order. The masculinity of the colonial pulpits leaves a ringing indictment to the feminized and traitorous pulpits of our day. These pastors were manly men who sacrificed and suffered much. They bled and fought alongside their men, indeed leading the way into danger. The gayness of our pulpits today is an utter shame to our forefathers and the cause of Christ. Among other things, this book will give you a good shot of manly courage, or a desire to see such again one day.

These men are our fathers. We would do well to know from where we came, what was intended to be handed down to us, and at what price it came. This is not merely American history, it is Church history. Were these men alive today, Evangelicalism would be appalled. Well, they’re not coming back from the grave, but God can raise up new men from the graves to take their place. Lord knows we need them. Look for the men everyone is appalled at. For Christendom!

I am happy to say that Dan Fisher has sent us a copy of this book, along with other materials that we will be giving away at our God and Government Conference this year. I am thankful for his generosity and look forward to giving this book to the winner.

For more information on our conference, to RSVP free of charge, and to make a donation, click here: https://www.hopebaptistspringfield.com/conference

To visit the Facebook event page, click here: https://fb.me/e/1QMyaZFW1

To see previous blog posts about the conference, click here: https://themajestysmen.com/joshuajenkins/the-doctrine-of-the-lesser-magistrates/

And here: https://themajestysmen.com/joshuajenkins/how-to-make-tyrants-knees-knock-a-word-about-the-singing-at-our-god-government-conference/

And here: https://themajestysmen.com/joshuajenkins/trigger-warning-in-this-post-i-will-announce-our-conference-on-god-and-government/