President Davis and Chaplains.
--The following letter from President Davis answers a memorial of a committee appointed by the "General Association of the Chaplains and Missionaries of the Army of Tennessee, " asking that ministers of the Gospel now in the ranks be appointed to the position of chaplains, when properly recommended and qualified for the sacred office:
Rev. Chas. H. Atkin, Rev. J. S. Chapman, and Rev. W. Mooney, committee, Dalton. Ga:
Gentlemen: The President has received your letter of March 9th, and directs me to express to you his deep sense of the importance of regular and earnest religious instruction and consolation to our brave soldiers. He does not presume to doubt the necessity of chaplains in full number, and knows of no bar to the promotion of such from the ranks. On the other hand, he considers the spirit which prompts ministers to volunteer as privates and serve their country in so glorious and trying a position as an earnest of their fitness for the duties of chaplain, where knowledge of the wants, as well as real for the good of the soldier, is required. The presence of a large number of these devoted men in the ranks of the army has contributed greatly to elevate and purity the religious tone and sentiment of our gallant soldiers, and while it may not be possible to provide for all of these as chaplains, thus rendering necessary a discrimination as to their claims, no intention exists to preclude them from receiving the sanction and countenance of law, in their honorable efforts, by promotion.
Thanking you for your kind wishes in his behalf, the President requests me to convey to you the assurance of his esteem, and of his appreciation of the great work in which you are engaged.
Your obedient servant,
Wm Preston Johnston,
Colonel and A. D. C.
