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The “Great War” (World War I) was a time of death but also a time of great courage. We have previously highlighted the Covenanter soldiers who served as detailed by John Wagner Pritchard (1851-1924) in Soldiers of the Church: The Story of What the Reformed Presbyterians (Covenanters) of North America, Canada, and the British Isles, Did to Win the World War of 1914-1918. Barry Waugh has edited a fascinating volume containing the correspondence of J.G. Machen titled Letters from the Front: J. Gresham Machen's Correspondence from World War 1 (2012), available here. Today’s post concerns a North Carolina-born Presbyterian who would go on to become President of Union Seminary in Richmond, Virginia and also wrote the notable work Revivals in the Midst of the Years (1943, 1968): Benjamin Rice Lacy, Jr. (1886-1981).
Lacy served in WWI as a chaplain, but the nickname he earned, the “Fighting Parson,” reveals something of his character. After having graduated from Davidson College, North Carolina, and having studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, England, at the time of America’s entrance into the War Lacy was serving as a chaplain in the North Carolina National Guard. He was inducted into active federal military service in July 1917. After basic training was completed at Camp Sevier, South Carolina, Lacy was sent overseas from Long Island, New York to England in May 1918. He preached for the men on his ship, and led them in the singing of hymns as well.
Lacy’s World War I service card (courtesy of the State Archives of North Carolina).
He and his brother Thomas A. Lacy were eventually stationed in France. He preached on the Lord’s Day, ministered to the sick and injured, helped to provide entertainment for the soldiers, and presided at funerals. Matthew M. Peek writes:
Although he stated that he would not trade his job with a man in the regular Army on the front lines, Lacy became known as the “Fighting Parson” because of his heroism in aiding the wounded before the German lines in France. On one occasion, a deserted German battery with guns and ammunition was found, but it could not be turned against the enemy because all of the instructions were in German. Chaplain Lacy — who was read German and was able to decipher the tables and symbols — took charge, and for two hours joined in operating the guns in well-directed fire.
Benjamin Lacy Jr. received the Silver Star citation for his bravery on September 26, 1918, for the following actions:
“By direction of the President, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July 9, 1918 (Bul. No. 43, W.D., 1918), First Lieutenant (Chaplain) Benjamin R. Lacy, Jr., United States Army, is cited by the Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces, for gallantry in action and a silver star may be placed upon the ribbon of the Victory Medals awarded him. Chaplain Lacy distinguished himself by gallantry in action while serving with the 113th Field Artillery, American Expeditionary Forces, in action in Bois de Avocourt, France, 26 September 1918, in rendering aid to the wounded under heavy enemy fire.”
He would be twice cited for meritorious service during WWI. Lacy Jr. was involved in the following military campaigns: Saint-Mihiel offensive; Meuse-Argonne offensive; and the Lorraine offensive. He left France and arrived back in the United States on March 21, 1919, at Camp Stuart, Virginia. Lacy Jr. was honorably discharged from active military service on April 15, 1919, at Camp Jackson, S.C.
At Log College Press, we have recently added a batch of his correspondence to family and loved ones which covers the time period of June - November 1918. He shares with the folks back home a full and lively account of his experiences. In a letter dated October 7, 1918, he recounts the engagement alluded to above, although the reader would not surmise that the writer would be awarded a Silver Star for his brave actions under fire. He does make this poignant remark near the end:
Too long a letter you will say. How I do wish I could write more often. Letters to bereave parents will be the order of the day tomorrow. Don’t measure my love by the number of letters I write. I took my breeches off for the first time in two weeks last night. I’ve tried to do my work, and it takes most of my time. I’ll try to write as often as I can.
Lacy ended up living a long and productive life, serving as pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, George, and as Moderator of the Synod of North Carolina and of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS). He died peacefully over 60 years after his return from the battlefields of France, and his legacy is fondly remembered today. His letters provide a snapshot of a chapter in his life which was not peaceful, but which helps us to know the man and his experiences in the midst of a great war more deeply.
