Leonidas Polk was one of the antebellum South's most significant religious leaders. The son of a wealthy; slaveholding veteran of the Revolutionary War; Polk graduated from West Point in 1827 and seemed destined for martial service. Instead he pursued a ministerial career and was the first Episcopal bishop of Louisiana. Polk attempted to cultivate a religious solidarity among white Southerners of all classes and to broaden the social and cultural appeal of Episcopalianism in the South. Ultimately; Polk's Lost Cause mythmakers developed a public memory of the bishop general that celebrated the virtue of the Christian gentleman who had waged war for Southern independence. A considerable amount of new information on Polk's family; time at West Point; ministry; life as a planter; role with Sewanee; and his place within the pantheon of Lost Cause icons has been brought to light. What emerges is a clearer portrait of the Bishop of the Old South.
#5310228 in Books 2003-12Original language:German 9.25 x 6.25 x .50l; 1.10 #File Name: 0878501460204 pages
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