Sunday Adventures of Isaac Bangs

23-year-old American lieutenant Isaac Bangs kept an interesting and informative journal of his service in New York during the spring and summer of 1776, as he and the rest of the army waited and prepared for a British attack. Among other things, he described and critiqued the various church services he attended. Being from New England (specifically, Massachusetts), he was used to the Congregational church, but he wasn’t opposed to attending the meetings of other denominations. (One Saturday, out of curiosity, he even went to the synagogue in New York “to observe the Method of the Jewish Worship”, and wrote about the building and the worship service in detail.) Here are a few of his experiences.

The first time he attended church in New York, he got quite a surprise:

In the afternoon, being disirous to attend publick Worship, not having had an opportunity of so doing for a long Time since, I went into a small Meeting House, expecting it to be a Congregational Meeting; but I soon found my Mistake, for when the Priest arrived I could not in a long Time understand a Word he said. I inquired & found it was Dutch Church, & in this Church they used the high Dutch Language. … The Priest delivered a very lengthy Sermon, chiefly without Notes, & in the whole of his performances appeared as compleat an Orator as ever I heard speak.

The following week, he tried two churches but was dissatisfied with both:

In the fore noon I attended publick worship in a Congregational Meeting, where they told me I should hear good preaching; but I was very much disappointed, as the Parson had invited a Chaplain of the Army to do his work for him, who performed as much to my dissatisfaction as ever I should desire any man to do. Being tired with such Nonsence as I heard in the forenoon, I thought to find something better by attending upon Service in the Church of England; but the Satisfaction that I received from the delivery of an Excellent Sermon was greatly allayed by the Pedantick behaviour of the Priest, the Irreverent behaviour of the People, & the foolish parrade of Ceremonies. I am determined that unless I can find better entertainment the next Sunday to attend Worship with the Dutch Priest whom I heard last Sunday, chusing rather to worship where I understand nothing that is spoken than to hear such folly as was delivered in the fore noon; and the Devout behaviour of the Dutch is more agreeable to me than all the Pomp, Equipage, & Majestick Expressions of the English Church, accompanied with such behaviour as was theirs.

The week after that, he finally found something that satisfied him:

Attended Service in the fore Noon at the Brick Meeting; heard an excellent Comment upon the 8^th Psalm. In the afternoon atten^d Service at the Chapel & was well Satisfied…

But the next week, although he attended church, he didn’t have any commentary to make on it:

I was very weak & unwell; never the less I went to the Brick Meeting to attend Service, but was so grievously afflicted, partly with weakness following my last nights Frolick, & partly with a number of troublesome Boils that had now taken possession of my Body, that I can give no acc^t [account] of the Service.

And here’s my personal favorite:

I went to a German Church in the fore Noon with Lieut^s Drew & Alden and Ensigns Bradford & Cotton. As I did not understand the Language, I could not determine as to the abilities of the Priest, but he seemed a poor Orator. In the afternoon we went to the Quaker Meeting & sat about 2 Hours, and nothing being said we set off & left them, took a Bowl or two of Gro & return’^d to Camp.

Washington’s Orders

Lieutenant Bangs was not the only soldier who thought that “publick worship” was important. In fact, the American commander-in-chief encouraged the soldiers to attend worship services regularly. In his “general orders” to the army on July 9, George Washington stated:

The Colonels or commanding officers of each regiment are directed to procure Chaplains…of good Characters and exemplary lives [and] To see that all inferior officers and soldiers pay them a suitable respect and attend carefully upon religious exercises…

Why did General Washington think it was so important? Here’s the reason that he gave:

The blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary but especially so in times of public distress and danger—The General hopes and trusts, that every officer, and man, will endeavour so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country.

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Sources

• A Plan of the city of New York. [?, 1776] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/gm71000646/.
• Journal of Lieutenant Isaac Bangs, pp. 27-28, 30-32, 35, 40-41, 54.
• “General Orders, 9 July 1776,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-05-02-0176. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 5, 16 June 1776 – 12 August 1776, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993, pp. 245–247.]