George Dod Armstrong (September 15, 1813 – May 11, 1899) was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister and author born in Mendham, New Jersey. He was one of ten children by Amzi Armstrong, a Presbyterian pastor, and Polly Dod. George Armstrong graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1832 and then taught school until he entered Union Theological Seminary, Virginia. He became a professor of chemistry and mechanics in 1838 at Washington College in Lexington, Virginia now

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

. He taught there with

Henry Ruffner Henry Ruffner (January 16, 1790 – December 17, 1861), was an educator and Presbyterian minister, who served as president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University). Although a slaveholder (and whose family had long owned slaves), ...

and

George Dabney George Edward Dabney (1808–1868) was an educator and scholar of classics, who served on the faculty of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) from 1837 to 1854. Early life George Dabney was born in 1808. He graduated from t ...

. He held this position for thirteen years when he left to become pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. He remained here until his death in 1899. George Armstrong served as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. In 1855 his family was nearly destroyed by

Yellow Fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

losing 3 children and his wife. In 1856 he authored a personal account of the epidemic: ''The Summer of the Pestilence.''

Support of slavery

Armstrong was one of many American ministers and prominent Christians who vocally supported the institution of slavery and rejected abolitionism in the years prior to the Civil War. In his publication ''The'' ''Christian Doctrine of Slavery'', Armstrong lays out his defense of the institution of slavery based on his reading of the Bible.

Works

*''Politics and the Pulpit'' 1856 *''The Christian Doctrine of Slavery'' 185
Full Text available at Internet Archive
*''Doctrine of Baptism'' 1857 *''The Theology of Christian Experience'' 1858 *''"The Good Hand of Our God Upon Us," a Thanksgiving Sermon Preached on the Occasion of the Victory of Manassas'' 1861 *''The Sacraments of the New Testament as Instituted by Christ'' 1880 *''The Two Books of Nature and Revelation Collated'' 1886

References

* Starr, Harris Elwood. "Armstrong, George Dod." ''Dictionary of American Biography.'' Vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons. 1928.
Worldcat.org

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, George Dod 1813 births 1899 deaths Princeton University alumni Union Presbyterian Seminary alumni 19th-century American writers Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers 19th-century American clergy